It's Okay to Try Something New

Everything doesn't work for everybody. Have you ever gotten into a routine of exercising never to see any results in the passing months? I use to do that and just give up, because nothing was happening to my body or at least nothing that I could see. I would always wonder why Sally down the street had lost all this weight when we started exercising at the same time and I had picked up a few pounds.

Well, I had to come to realize that what works for Sally might not work for me. Maybe I needed to step up my cardio from a back breaking 15 minutes to 30 - 45 minutes, as well as add in some conditioning every other day to turn some of this flab into muscle. I could also cut out those late, late night snacks. After much thought, I decided to give my new routine a try, and guess what, I started to see results. I couldn't believe what a few additions and subtractions from my old exercise routine and eating habits made.

Instead of giving up, I'm glad that I tried doing things another way and realizing that it's alright to try something new if what I'm doing right now isn't working. Now when Sally down the street sees me, I know she's probably thinking to herself what I'm doing different.

Food, Shelter, & Exercise

Maybe I've been going about this exercise thing in the wrong way. I simply think of it as something extra to do in my day that I can live without doing. On days that I'm really busy, I'll even consider the mere fact that I have to exercise a burden, and negotiate with myself to leave it out of my routine for that day and add it to tomorrow's list of chores.

Recently I've been trying to think of exercise not as a chore, but as kind of a necessity. Just think about it, exercise is just as important as having a place to live and food to eat. If I didn't get any exercise at all, but continued to eat every day, eventually I would get to the point of being severely overweight and unhealthy, which could lead to death. So with this, I've decided that getting my exercise in as scheduled is important not only to my health, but to my life as well.

In putting exercising in the same class as food and shelter, I'm more inclined to get my bottom moving and keep up with my routine without questioning why I need to exercise today. Besides, if I can walk in the kitchen to eat a snack, then I can walk to my exercise bike and take a ride.

Being a Multitasker Exerciser

Do you ever get bored while exercising? Sometimes I'll get bored right in the middle of exercising and just decide to stop. It doesn't matter if I'm walking or riding my exercise bike, if I get bored and there's nothing around to stimulate my mind, then it takes everything that I have in me to keep exercising. I know that's not a good reason to give up for the day since I'm not tired or worn out from pushing myself to the limit, but I just can't help myself.

Although recently, I have learned to start scheduling riding my bike around my favorite television programs, long talks on the phone with family and friends, reading or listening to music. This way my mind doesn't find the time to get bored, I'm happier that I'm continuing my exercise routine, and time flies by. Usually, before I know it, I've surpassed the inital time that I had intended on exercising, which is always a good thing. I now consider myself to be a multitasker exerciser.

Getting Creative in Exercising

I use to think that just because I didn't have the extra money for gym memberships or to buy exercise equipment, that I would have to wait to exercise until I did have the money. Now, I think that was just a way of putting off exercising, because lately I've found plenty of ways to get into shape without all the bells and whistles of going to a gym.

Aside from burning calories scrubbing down the house, my daughter taught me that I can walk or run all around the house to get into shape. Recently, while watching her run back and forth from one wall in the kitchen to the other, I came to the conclusion that if I can't make it outside or to a mall to walk, that I can get my walking done at home.

Before realizing that her running in the house could be beneficial to me and her, I almost disciplined her, because I was always told no running in the house. After making sure that there was nothing in her way to break or to make her fall, I sat back and watched as she happily ran from one wall to the next giggling loudly. Not only was she having fun, but she unknowingly was getting in a workout and wearing herself down at the same time. I wouldn't say 15 - 20 minutes after her run, she was laying down to take a nap.

I found that I can speed walk from one wall of my house to the other and get in some exercise. From my daughter I learned that it's not about what exercise equipment or gym memberships you don't have, but it's about getting creative in finding ways to exercise that you might not have thought of before.