Getting Stronger

Many things have motivated me to exercise more lately.  My husband is in the best shape of his life right now.  One of my younger sisters has recently lost significant amounts of weight and it has been inspiring to watch. When, on vacation, we hiked to Timpanogas caves, I was more than a bit winded.  I kept blaming it on the altitude but being in better shape would have helped.  My spouse didn't even break a sweat.  My kids that went did just fine.  I was embarrassed!  

Joining a gym is expensive and who knows if I will actually use it.  I am not quite ready for that commitment.  I have joined a gym before and in my experience when one goes out of guilt over the money being spent it doesn't work out.  I still remember with great shame the conversation with management when I closed my account.  There was this checklist of questions for them to ask me before "letting me out of my contract" 

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How would you rate the equipment in our facility?  What is your reason for closing your membership with us today?  What is your planned exercise regimen in your future?  That question was going a bit too far!  Why is it your business nosey pants?!  I mean nosey spandex!? (was what I wanted to say).  Then I signed away my membership ATA (against trainers advise) never to return and hardly to work out on my own ever again.  That was about 8 years ago.  They may as well have asked me to rate the squishiness of my tummy after childbearing on a scale of 1-10.  That would have been right along the same level of embarrassment/harassment in my opinion.

But like I said before, lately I have heard the quiet stirrings of motivation to get into better shape creeping up on me.  Something my older sister Marie said has struck me.  She is about 10 years my senior, and she said that of all her friends in her age group, the ones who have not spent time exercising all have serious health issues.  However the ones who do work out with regularity are all enjoying healthy strong bodies still in their fifties.  Now that is a nice warning for me at a timely time!  

So I have dusted off my yoga tapes and ordered the right equipment.  I have walked the dog a bit longer, and used the stairs over the elevator.  Parking farther away, etc.  Eating healthier is something I had been trying to do previously.  More vegetables and less meat.  Easy!  Sweets are a hard habit to break and I am not there yet but cutting back slowly is my plan.  You try making your husband a lemon meringue pie for Father's day and then spending the day home alone with it taunting you all day.  I managed to save him a large slice and he had the gaul to eat 2/3rds of it and force the last on me.  He is too good.  And too skinny!  

The point is, and I do have one- is that over the past few months I have been working out on average about 3 times a week.  Working out with sweat involved even!  Getting up before kids do and showering after (cause of the sweat and all).  And here's what I am now getting to.  I am able to do more than before (I know....ground-breaking!) I can now do all those push ups that Karen Voight asks me to.  I was too much of a wimp to do half of what she asked in the beginning.  This is totally new to me!  So awesome also is the fact that when I go to Hershey Park with my family I can feel energized the entire day and drive 2 hours home without pooping out!~ Amazing I tell ya!  I went sight seeing to the outdoor DC memorials with my brother and his kids and all the walking and walking didn't make me sore the next day.  Den walker all day yesterday?  Not a problem.  Am I skinny again like my teenaged years?  No.  But getting stronger is a nice motivation to keep on going.  However I will say that the toughest move in my entire workout routine is the one where I push snooze on my alarm clock.  Second only to the move where I push 'play' on the DVD machine.  Wish there were a better way....  Like eating thin mints.