Well, it's the second day of the blog and for some reason this morning I woke up feeling like a bump on a log. Not sick enough to call myself "sick", but definitely didn't wake up ready to face the day either. It was one of those days when I mentally told myself it would be OK to bag the whole fitness thing for the day, sit down with a new book and lose myself in a bag of beef jerky.
But then I remembered. I started this whole "Blog" thing. I said I'd try to post my activities daily and I couldn't bring myself to post that I'd spent the day on the couch for day 2 of my project. Bummer.
So, still in my pajamas and curled up with the dog I contemplated what to do. The weather here has been pretty hit or miss and today it looks like it could start pouring at any second, so Pooch and I decided that a walk was definitely out. We're too soft and delicate for any of that "rain" business.
In true lazy form, I picked up the remote and started scanning to see if any of the "good" daytime workout programs were on. Darn, it looks like I missed the dance one that I liked so much. And the last time I tried to work out with Gilad I almost passed out when he suggested doing lunges with weights and then continued bouncing around the screen like some cross between Billie Blanks and Russel Simmons. Darn, struck out again.
Pooch reminded me (in a not so subtle telepathic dog expression) that there are plenty of exercises saved On Demand. And they're free. Damn the dog for knowing these things and for making me feel guilty for trying to skip out on my exercise.
The great thing about the On Demand exercise programs is that there are a really wide variety of them. Want to catch a 5 minute workout before heading out the door? They've got that. An hour-long full body toning exercise? They've got that. Want to focus on your shoulders / thighs / abs / left ankle / right toe? Got that too. Whether you're on the run, or have an afternoon to kill, you can find something to get your body moving.
Since I was feeling low and slow, I settled on a 20 minute yoga exercise called 10 Pound Slimdown with Chris Freytag. It turns out that Chris has an entire workout program (including days off for rest) focused around helping you get over the 10 pound hump. All of the workouts are roughly 20 minutes long, which makes them non-intimidating. Hell, it takes almost 20 minutes to make macaroni and cheese on the stove. I could do that.
And I did. I love yoga because it seems like it's going to be super easy to follow and won't give you a heart attack. You don't realize how hard your body is working to hold the poses until you're half way through and you fall over into a dresser or you realize you've sweated through your underwear. (Always do your home-exercises away from the furniture!!) By the end of the workout you can feel every muscle burning, the sweat rolling down the small of your back, and you feel... relaxed. Refreshed. So much better than a bump on a log.
And so thanks to Pooch and Chris Freytag, I got my workout done today. It only took 20 minutes, I now have to wash my stinky pajamas (probably a good thing anyway), and I feel far more energized than I did at 6:30 this morning. All I had to do was stop giving myself an "out" and get it over with.
In the end, it's more work to find reasons NOT to exercise than it is to just do it and stop worrying about it.
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