Today's a new day.
I love this fact.
It's a 10 hr day for me, nothing unusual for a DSW where I work.
It's a good 10 hr days because it's pretty low key and it doesn't start til noon which I also like. I use the morning to pretend I'm on vacation.
I committed early in the week to working out 5 days this week (2 with weights) and since it's Wednesday and I've only run once, i figured I better keep my promise to myself.
I hate weight training. I can't lie. I hate it. Nearly every second. The seconds I get enjoyment out of it are generally located at the end when I know that I've kept my promise.
I was chatted last week with my hair dresser about working out and she said that she hated cardio and loved weights. I thought to myself 'You're obviously not doing it right then'. She went on to say that she's never used free weights and then I understood. I only use free weights or body weight exercises. It's more work for the body overall and burns more fuel.
I realized today that the only way I'm going to be successful at continuing to weight train was to take it at my own pace. In order to talk myself in continuing after each set.
I usually do 9 different exercises grouped in 3. So 3 sets of 3. 3 is clearly a popular number. Except when you're on number 1.
When I used to work out with Dee I barely had to think about IF I would continue. I had no choice. If I didn't he'd make things worse for me so I tried to do what he asked the first time. Hmmmm ... kind of sounds like torture. It was but it got the job done.
I continually have to remind myself why I do this, the health benefits both physically and mentally. It was hard training when I started a year ago because I did it for results in my body's appearance. Now I do it for my health because my appearance is largely affected by what I eat and that's an entirely different struggle.
On Monday when I ran I learned how just even a little bit of weight training can improve your running a lot. This gives me another reason to work out.
It's kind of funny because if you read anything I've written in regards to how I feel about running (which is similar to weight training) you'd likely wonder why I don't give up everything. But now that I've found something I hate MORE than running, running doesn't feel so bad. In fact I've been having the urge to run a lot lately, likely because of my dismal emotional state.
Once again I'm not entirely sure of what my point is. But maybe I can encourage myself and you to take what ever things you are challenged with right now and help see some perspective (I really need this).
Sometimes you do what you do because it's good for you. Sometimes you do it because you have to. Sometimes you do it because it will ultimately help something you struggle with to be less of a struggle. So ... you keep hanging on and doing that thing you hate, because it's good for you.
Here are some of the tricks I use to get me through this dreadful activity (maybe we can transfer them to other detestable activities that are good for us):
* Take it at my own pace.
Often we are all by ourselves and expect that we should be able to do things exactly the same as when we have a partner or a group of cheerleaders when that is near impossible. BUT if we slow down a bit (rather than whipping that damned towel across the room 5 minutes in) and take things as best we can in our own time then I think we are much more likely to complete the task at hand. Not everything is a race.
* Focus on one task at a time
Don't worry about the next 8 items on the list until you need to. Do number 1 first then worry about number 2 and so on and so forth. It's easy to get caught up in how you are going to complete the others but if you spend all of your time worrying about that you've just lost precious energy and time on getting number 1 done. That's generally when we decide we can't do any of it and we give up. One worry at a time!
* Give yourself a pep talk
Remind yourself you CAN do it and many times have already done it. Don't blame the world for being inadequate cheerleaders when you haven't learned how to be one yourself. You are your greatest asset and enemy when you're on your own.
* DON'T give up
Slow down, one thing at a time, remind yourself that you can and keep going!!! Even if it takes twice as long as it should, even if you need to adapt your plan of attack, don't let go! Giving up will only feed the devil on your shoulder that feeds you lies like 'I can't do this!'. As cliche and annoying this saying is sometimes I believe it 'We're not given anything more than we can handle', we just need to learn HOW to handle it. We're not going ot learn that if we keep quitting the lesson half way through.
* Forgive yourself
For the times that you've given up, talked yourself down, tore up your list, and sped through things without accepting the challenge .... forgive yourself. You're not perfect, I'm not perfect, no one is perfect. Let go of what you've convinced yourself is a failure and move on. Dwelling on past mistakes only keeps you tied to them. Free yourself, learn and go on.
Wow. I think I just wrote an article for Chatelaine or something. I apologize. This was more for me than anyone else. Wally teases me when I write all sermony.
Peace be with you :)
*giggles*
No comments:
Post a Comment