Im not what you would consider a particularly athletic person. I never did sports growing up….unless you count tennis lessons in the summer as kids which I think was more for my mom’s sanity than anything else. I have always hated running. In gym in high school my friends and I would watch for the gym teacher to have her back turned to walk instead of run. I do like classes- step aerobics, body scultping etc. I think its easier to stay motivated when you’re with a group of people. I hate the treadmill and I think you have to spend a loooooong time on the elliptical machine for it to be worthwhile. I’ve had to find something I could do with kid(s) in tow.

As I mentioned before my friend Stephanie got me started on running (really- jogging; walking breaks allowed). I would run consistently when Nathan was little and since having Mackenzie it sort of gets rotated in every once in awhile. And just so we’re clear- running isn’t fun per se. Its not like its enjoyable to feel like your internal organs rearranged themselves while your heart lodged itself in your armpit and you feel like you are going to barf last nights dinner and the whole time you keep thinking “damn Oreos dragging my ass down.” I’ve found it does get easier but its always going to be…should be- work. The route I’ve been doing lately sends me up a decent hill right out the door, I wind around over by the track, do a loop and go back down the same hill but different route. By the time I get to the track the worst is over. The part where I want to die is past and I can settle into a nice clip. And once you get to that its sort of euphoric. Im not out of breath, my legs aren’t burning, I can just run. But the best part is when its all over and the ‘high’ sets in. Whether its running or shreding or cartwheeling (ok, I don’t really do that), the high you get when its all over is the best part of working out…that is what makes it worthwhile.

I heard about the 30 Day Shred from Sundry, who, for last the year in particular, has been such an inspiration on the fitness front. I love her writing and it’s so motivating to read about her struggles and successes. For a long time I would run 3 days a week. That is all the time I was willing to devote to exercise and I felt like if I was going to stick with it I needed to be reasonable about how often I would do it. Sundry wrote a post about finding the time for exercise and how you just had to make the time. Thats it. No excuses. We’re all moms (or dads). We all have 100 things to juggle. We all want to dork around on the internet. We have the choice everyday to make time or not. As soon as I get up in the morning the workout gear goes on. I (cringe) drive Nathan to school like that, wearing flip flops, hair all kinds of crazy, and I come home and put my time in. I know Im not alone in feeling this way, but its not fun. Sometimes I have to really talk myself into doing it. Its not like I can’t! wait! to have my arss kicked and have sweat dripping down my face. Exercise isn’t supposed to be “fun”. Its hard work, its uncomfortable at times. But thats the point. “If you want results- they aren’t coming for free”, right? There are no secrets, no pills, and there are no shortcuts. Here, [brisk clap] lets have another motivational quote from Dean:

“…[People are] afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not constantly demanding more from yourself–expanding and learning as you go–you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.
As a running buddy once said to me: Life is a not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: “WOW!! What a ride!”

Yesss….that.

If you can push past the heart-in-armpit discomfort, the hard work does payoff. And the payoff of all of this is big. I’ve been doing the shred (in addition to other things) for almost a year, and while the scale has remained steady, my size/shape/strength has changed considerably. I never used to be able to do a real push up and now I can with ease. I can hold myself in a plank position…the Captain and I may or may not even have contests for who can hold themselves in a plank the longest. That whole notion of a strong core? I get it now. I have muscles I never knew existed. Jillian promised me a nice groove in the top of my shoulders and I’ve got that too. Im not trying to belabor the point (“yay for you, I get it, 30 day shred, shut UP already”) but the workout you get in 25 minutes far surpasses 40 minutes of phoning it in on the elliptical machine (for me). Because I do get bored with the shred I’ve gotten a few of her other DVDs and they are all based on the same premise (and many of the same moves) of combining strength and cardio to burn the most calories. I highly recommend it. In addition to the physical payoffs the mental payoffs are equally important. I feel strong, I feel healthy and fit and confident and beautiful and challenged and accomplished and muscle-y (?) and less stressed and just good. (shall I continue with more adjectives?) And on the days I don’t exercise- I feel like a sloth.

The bottom line is simple math (barring medical issues, which I know exist). In order to lose weight you need some combination of eating less and moving more. Brownies can’t be the mainstay of your diet (I’ve tried it, doesn’t work). You have to want it. You can’t be fit and healthy without being willing to put in the (hard) work. Its so much easier to talk ourselves into “acceptance” than to move ourselves into “action.” I’ve so been there.

Once you’ve found whatever it is you “enjoy” be it running or shredding or cartwheeling or bike riding or hiking or swimming or skiing or… (shall I keep going?) Im a big believer in ‘material encouragement’ (I made that term up just for you). Buy yourself some crap. You are going to be more motivated to run in a new, shiny, sparkling white pair of new kicks than an old pair of keds. Better to have some sleek running shorts than some elastic-was-shot-6-months-ago number to put on. Do your socks have holes in them? Time for some new ones. Getting hit in the face? Time for a new sports bra. Going to be a ’shredhead’ [oh gag] buy some weights. I say all this with the caveat– if its not financially possible, then make due with whatcha got. Your old shoes will work fine (my mom used to throw mine in the washing machine anyway). But I think its important to reward yourself from time to time if you can, it helps me anyway.

And, because Im helpful like that, I’ll share with you some of my favorites:

Nike Tempo Shorts: best running shorts I’ve found. Most important feature? They don’t ride up.

Athleta All That Knee Length Capri: because running shorts are no good for anything but running. These are awesome for everything else.

Nike Heartrate monitor: this tells me that, despite the fact that I may feel like Im dying, Im actually not. Also, how many Oreo’s worth of calories I’ve burned.

Nike Plus iPod: I mention it below but its a good motivator too

Saucony shoes: this brand is my favorite. However, running shoes are highly personal so you may hate them.

my wishlist:
-Lululemon pants. I’ve read so many good things about them. Very spendy though.

-a good iPhone workout app. I haven’t spent much time searching though (suggestions?)

In addition to swanky gear; music. Music music music. I have an iPod nano with the nike fit thing, I haven’t used it in awhile but I really like to see all my progress, runs and total miles- thats pretty neat. As far as the music goes, I have a mix of songs I like as well as some songs I wouldn’t normally listen to but are great for a run. Here’s what I’ve got:

Evacuate the Dancefloor- Cascada
Sugar- Flo Rida
Single Ladies- Beyonce (plus- if you’ve seen how she looks in the video– it makes you want to kick your butt a little harder)
Just Dance/Pokerface/Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
Viva La Vida- Coldplay
Alive With The Glory of Love- Say Anything (its a catchy little song– its from the season finale of Scrubs)

And the very best most motivating song I have, I just added it after hearing it on the radio….the one you simply must go put on your iPod after reading this? Black Box- Strike it Up. Do it- YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. Its pretty much the best running song ever. Plus- it brings back fond memories of junior high.

And because not only am I nice- Im SUPER nice; and want to know what you like to do for exercise, what your favorite workout garb is AND if you have some good music– and when I say good Im talking like BLACK BOX good. Leave a comment and my faithful assistant (Nathan) will draw a name out of a hat?….a bowl? something (we’ll say Friday afternoon Japan time We’ll extend this a bit because I know of at least two people who haven’t chimed in because of sick kids. Also there are not as many comments as there are readers- what gives?). And the winner will get $10 to the iTunes store. Your first purchase better be Strike It Up.

Filed under: Because I'm NICE like that, fitness!