How to Love Exercising

The other day, I came across a message board discussing various health and fitness related topics. The one which caught my eye in particular was a topic entitled "I Hate Exercising!". I couldn't resist reading the post and found that a handful of other women also replied in agreement. Most of them describe their personal belief that they have to exercise or else they will gain weight. They declare a wish to be a "normal" person, not having to work as hard as they feel they do to keep their figure. They all claim that they hate exercising and feel like they are slaves to their workouts.

I believe that the Universe brings certain things to our attention at opportune moments and, for me, reading this topic is not a coincidence! I certainly understand how these women feel and what they are describing sounds to me like a bit of BURN OUT. I am hoping to shed some light on what some of those feelings might really mean so that everyone can find a way to actually enjoy exercising again!

I work in the fitness industry and believe in and love to exercise daily. However, I have experienced times when I don't enjoy exercising and it's usually because I am pushing myself too hard! I have been a runner for 15 years and just now am training for my first marathon. I've waited this long because I knew that it would be tough but it's a goal I want to achieve and this is a good time in my life to do it. It is less than 4 weeks away but every day I have to encourage myself NOT to quit simply because I am tired of running!

I am pushing myself through it because I am so close to finishing but sometimes I feel tired, I don't always look forward to the runs, and I find it affecting other areas of my life because the training requires a lot of my time, focus and energy. Mind you, not every marathoner feels this way and I don't think that running long-distance is necessarily a bad thing. I think it is excellent training for the mind and analogous to the race of life. I also find running to be meditative - a form of movement that balances and harmonizes the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing for smoother, more expansive neural thought and connection. I believe that is what physiologically happens when one experiences a "runner's high". What is also true, however, is that some people acclimate to training different than others and right now, my body is simply tired!

I think, perhaps, the reason why some people begin to hate exercising is because they have become slaves to their workout routines. They do what they think they should be doing and not what they might actually ENJOY doing! For example, a woman runs 6 days a week because she read in a magazine that doing so would help her lose weight but she hates to run and has been running the same route, at the same time, the same 6 days for over a year! The result is that she hates what she is doing yet she forces herself to do it anyway... And it probably is making her miserable in other areas of her life too!

So what is the solution?? First of all, if you have been doing the same exercise routine for more than 2-3 months and are feeling bored or understimulated by it, you need to find a way to change it up somehow or approach it differently. If that doesn't even sound refreshing, then you should probably give your body a break from it. It's OK to "rest" or take time off from exercise every now and then. If you've been pushing yourself, your body probably needs it and your mind will be refreshed because of it. As long as you pay attention to what you eat, you will not gain weight. (Keeping your figure tends to be more about your diet than your exercise routine anyway... And that's a fact!) Take a week off and maybe just go for some nice walks, either alone, listening to music or with a friend.

OR, you can pick some NEW exercise activities to add some diversity to your workout plan. The truth is that all of us should do some form of exercise every day of the week but we don't have to be slaves to our routine! My preferred type of exercise these days is exercising with the BOSU Balance Trainer. It's essentially a stability ball cut in half, mounted on a platform base. It allows you to stand on the ball and perform amazing exercises and drills that integrate balance, cardio, strength and flexibility all in one! I love it and it promotes the same brain hemisphere harmonization that I described about running. Any activity that practices alternating, bilateral patterns will have the same effect.

I would also recommend exploring Pilates, yoga, weight training, kickboxing, DANCING, spinning, HIKING, SWIMMING, and of course WALKING. Power or speed walking is one of the greatest, easiest forms of exercise there is. And it will tone your backside like nothing else!

It's time for us to approach the subject of exercise differently in this day and age. It is simply a fact that our lives have become much more sedentary and all of us need to exercise or move our bodies every day to avoid disease and pre-mature aging. Exercise doesn't have to be a miserable, confining experience! If you approach your daily exercise routine as a physical exploration, you will benefit much more than if you simply read the newspaper or watch TV while you pedal away on a bicycle.

Use the time that you exercise to learn something about yourself, your mind and your body! Explore different movement patterns and come away from it learning new skills. The new wave of exercise should focus on skill development through movement so that you walk away a stronger, smarter, sharper, MORE HIGHLY SKILLED human being. We carry a ton of unrealized potential within our bodies and our minds. Treat your daily exercise as a way to unleash your potential instead of as a dreaded life-sentence. The human body is an amazing thing... The better you treat it and start to connect with it, the more you will start to love it and treat yourself with greater honor and respect. And that, too, is a fact!