Let's talk about exercise

Okay. Ya'll know that I'm not expert and I'm definitely not here to tell you what to do. I just get a lot of questions and comments about how I have so much motivation to go to the gym 6 days a week and sometimes twice in those days.

The answer: I enjoy it.

I enjoy the exercises that I do. Sure... Sometimes I would rather be lazy and sit on the sofa and watch How I Met Your Mother all day. But I know that when I get done with working out I will feel 100 % better. 

Another thing I have learned from the 2 years I've been working out regularly is you have to find something YOU love. I used to be a runner. I guess I still am. But when I didn't have a gym membership that's all I could do. It sucked. I hated every single minute of it. I dreaded it each day in the beginning. Sure, it got easier as I got in better shape but I never looked forward to my runs... unless I was totally stressed out. But for the most part I dreaded it. 

I ran a half marathon last March. I am so proud that I did it but honestly right now I have no desire to do another one. I did it. It was hard. I was still overweight. I thought I would die. But I did it. And now I have a sticker on the back of my car. I will probably go back to running but for now I need new options. 

I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and while I loved it I also dreaded it. I have found that I love working out WITH other people. It's more motivating and I don't quit as quickly (if at all.) Call me superficial but when I know someone is looking at me I will not quit. It's a matter of pride. 

Then we joined a gym. At first we did the normal weight workouts / running on the treadmill. I hated the treadmill more than I hated running outside. Which was a lot. So I dreaded going to the gym because I knew the treadmill waited on me. Then we started doing RPM. Jonathan had done spin classes in college and really enjoyed them. I loved it. I loved how sweaty I got. I loved that there were 15-20 people sweating along with me. I love the instructor yelling at me and telling me to not quit. I have discovered that I need someone yelling at me telling me not to quit... Otherwise I will more than likely quit. My brain is weaker than my body. 

So once we started doing RPM regularly I got my confidence up to try Body Pump. I went with a friend and I was instantly hooked. I called Jonathan on the way home and told him he had to try it. So we went back the next morning. He loved it. The first couple of times we went there was Jonathan and one other man and about 30 women... But recently I've noticed more and more men! I'm glad that they know how great of a workout Body Pump is. 

I have never been a weight lifter. I was pure cardio. I think that me lifting weights is what's causing the scale to drop. I have bicep muscles that I can flex and people can see them. I have never had that before. I used to think that just because I lifted weights that I would immediately bulk up and look like a professional body builder. I was stupid. I don't want to just be skinny. I want to be fit! Then I tried a Body Step class. Instantly hooked. I haven't felt like I was going to puke in a workout in a long time. I loved it. Feeling like you're going to puke = you gave it all you had.

So the point of this whole blog post was to say try new things. If you don't love something then try something else. There are hundreds of different kinds of exercises. Who says you have to be stuck with just one? Try group classes. Don't be afraid. Everyone who is in that class had to walk through those doors their first time too. Just do it. Talk to the instructors and get to know them. It makes me sad when I see people day after day dreading their workouts. It shouldn't be that way. You should want to improve your body and you need to find an exercise that is FUN for you!