Learning to love exercise

I have never been a fan of exercise. Well, I am now. Most doctors are! But in a personal and practical way, I haven’t been a good example of physical fitness and exercise. Right now, I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in most of my life. And  yes, having lost the weight is a big part of my overall health. But wonder of wonders, I’m finding exercise to be useful and sometimes even fun! Let me tell you how I’m doing it…

 

First, the history. As a kid, I wasn’t all that interested in team sports. I played softball for one season – that was enough for me. It wasn’t that anything was wrong with it, I just didn’t find it fun. I didn’t like being hot and sweaty for the sake of a game. Actually, I didn’t really like being hot and sweaty for almost any reason. (I still don’t – being hot just makes me irritable.) In school, physical education class was taught by a Hungarian soccer lover who made us run laps around the track or play soccer all the time, both of which I HATED.  I was coordinated enough to do the activity, it was just miserable for me. Running and being overweight was torture as far as I was concerned. I played tennis for years and enjoyed it, but the anxiety that went along with matches was very stressful.

 

This is how I felt!

Then came dance. Can you hear the choirs sing as the heavens open up? That was how I felt in dance class! It didn’t matter how hard the choreography was, or how sweaty I was: it was music and beauty and patterns and balance. I loved every minute of it! I had an amazing teacher in high school named Lynn Modell who made me feel that no matter what size I was, my movement was beautiful. I danced in school, at a studio in the city (Boston), in college. I created choreography and our company in college performed some of my work when we had concerts, both at school and on the road. It was part of me…

 

 

Then I went to medical school [tires screech]. And all that beauty went away. Maybe that’s part of why the first year of medical school was so hard. I was in a new city, all my friends from college were gone, my boyfriend was in another city, and there was no dance. That was a dark year. Then came residency and 80+ hour work weeks, pregnancies with nausea THE ENTIRE TIME, and preemie babies and no sleep for years. Exercise was on the back burner. I knew it was important for me to exercise though. My whole family has problems with all the usual suspects – hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and coronary artery disease (complete with heart attacks and sudden cardiac death). I needed to get moving!

 

I didn’t use exercise to lose weight though. Actually, I didn’t exercise at all the 6 months it took me to lose the weight. I started exercising years later, after I decided that my spiritual walk needed some firing up. Reading my bible and praying in my closet (which often meant I fell asleep because I was so exhausted) really wasn’t helping me feel connected to God as much as I hoped. So I decided that prayer walks were the answer. But when? I had three small kids, all of whom needed to be in a stroller if they were going with me.  I didn’t have enough time in a day to load all of them up into the triple (!) stroller and go for a reasonable walk. That meant I had to go alone, while another responsible adult was in the house. Also, walking in the evening wasn’t going to work. Remember, I don’t love hot and sweaty, and I live in Georgia now. Also, I’m a morning person and my energy is zapped in the evening. I was going to have to get out early, before the kids were up and the day really got rolling. My husband was generally home early in the mornings, so that was going to be the window. Now all I had to do was get going…

 

My walking shoes

 

I set up my sweatpants and top out the night before. My coat, hat and gloves were set up in the closet and my shoes and a pair of socks were in the shoe rack near the door. I put a safety pin on a spare key so I could pin it to my clothes when I left. I prayed too – this wasn’t going to work if I didn’t get some motivation!

 

Prayer walks were my beginning. It was incredible to be up in the dark, before sunrise to commune with God. I would talk to him and no one was around to think I was the neighborhood crazy lady talking to myself! I used some of the days to run-walk and that helped bring some desperation into the prayers (running is hard, y’all!). Then one of my best friends gave me a yoga video to try at home and I loved it! It wasn’t dancing, but it used my body in similar ways and felt really good. Then a Groupon for yogadownload.com came in my email and I bought a year subscription. Then I could alternate yoga and walking days. I made it my goal to do something everyday, even if it was only 10 or 15 minutes. Then I had done something, even if it wasn’t as much as I wanted. I hadn’t skipped a day and that was something to be proud of. And, if I missed a day, I still had done something most days that week.

 

My favorite yoga mat

 

 

Recently I’ve added short kettle bell routines a few times a week. I bought a couple different bells and use some beginner workout videos on youtube. They’re a challenge, but I can see the changes in my arms already. That part is fun!

 

 

The thing about exercise is this: everything is not for everyone. Even if you paid for a gym membership, if you hate the place, you’re not going to go, at least not much. You can gut it out doing something you dislike for a result, but it’s much easier to maintain if you love it, or at least enjoy it. How good can it be for your spirit if you put yourself through an activity you hate indefinitely? Sure, you may learn to love exercise, but you are more likely to get to that point if you start with something you like doing.  Also, don’t try to adopt someone else’s schedule. If you are a morning person, don’t plan to go walking at night. If you can’t get out of bed in the morning to face your day, don’t plan to workout first thing (but first think about getting more sleep!). If you can’t figure out how to go to a gym, find ways to workout at home. Videos, online yoga, weights, walking – what serves you?

 

My kettle bells

 

A benefit I didn’t anticipate was that I feel better in my spirit when I exercise. I had heard about people using exercise for stress relief and as a mental break, but I didn’t know what that felt like. Until recently. There’s so much to the mind-body connection than we give credit for. One thing to consider is this – if your body isn’t cared for and feeling good, your mind isn’t going to be functioning at full capacity either. Some of the most amazing insights have come to me while prayer walking and breathing the fresh air. Being a busy working mom often means I shortcut things that I need. Exercise helps me to feel like I did something good for me, like I’m taking care of myself too. I feel best when I sleep enough, eat cleanly, and get some exercise in!

 

What do you think about the place of exercise in your life? How do you take care of your body and your spirit?