Let's Get Physical...

I'm off to take a walk, a pretty long one too, as I go to catch up with the rest of my family out at the youth soccer fields. Now that the weather is soo beautiful here, I'm looking forward to incorporating more activity into my daily life after a sorely exercise-starved winter. I'll be doing more walking and lots of gardening. Hanging laundry on the line. Spring cleaning. Yard work.

I do have a long history of jump-starting highly ambitious exercise programs that start off with a bang, keeping up with them for months or more, pushing myself, before gradually finding myself dropping off because they don't prove to be sustainable for the long-term. It typically tapers off almost imperceptibly -- but little by little, I find myself making excuses to shorten workouts, or even skip them outright, rationalizing the whole time, while swearing to myself I'll be right back at it. Tomorrow. Next week. Over time it simply becomes harder and harder to maintain my motivation, as I lose steam, get bored with the program, or just plain burned out. Then comes that 'All or Nothing' mindset -- which is a real trap. The attitude that any exercise short of killing myself with the effort of simply doing it wont do at all -- so what's the point? Eh, I may as well sit my booty down in front of the bloody computer for several hours...

Well, I now recognize this pattern at least. And I think I finally understand that it really isn't necessary to go nuts with the exercise to receive health benefits from physical activity. Yes, I have a slow metabolism that probably needs to be shaken up a bit and would probably benefit with a more regularly rigorous activity program. Yes, I wish I were one of those naturally athletic people with stamina doing all sorts of amazing physical feats, even while poking the big 4-0 with a short stick, like me. One of those people who dont' look upon exercise as drudgery, a necessary evil. Yes, I not infrequently use my motherhood, my schedule, my physicality (or lack thereof), and my age all as excuses....

And yes, my walk today will do very nicely indeed....