Do we have to call it "working out?"
When I think of working out, I think of the exercises I did a long ago. I think of spending 3 hours at the gym completing my aerobic exercises and then working with weights. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were days that I worked on my upper body strength and then Sunday, Tuesday, and, Thursday were lower body strength days. I totally enjoyed working out. After my workout, I relaxed in either the sauna or the whirlpool. The whirlpool felt so good on my tired muscles. Those days were great, a sort of celebration of self. I was proud of my strength and swimmer body.
But those days were before before marriage (B.M.) and before children (B.C.). Somewhere in that time, I became so busy caring for everyone else, that I neglected the person who should be the most important to me- ME. Without me, who was going to care for the children? This realization hit me hard. If I do not take care of myself, then either life would not be the life that I know now, or there may not be a me to even worry about. I had to change something and I needed to figure out how I was going to do it.
I first sat down and figured out what I do know. Here is what I know:
- I do not have 3 hours to spend at a gym.
- I am bigger than I use to be.
- Going to the gym seems a little like a torture session.
- I need to stretch, however I am afraid that once I touch my toes, I might not be able to get back up.
- I like to take elevators. Stairs are overrated.
- Working takes up a large chunk of my time. As a nurse, I work about 13 hours a day. I also know that nursing is a contact sport. It not only requires strength, however it also requires stamina. As the years ticked by, I seemed to be slowly losing both.
- Something needed to be done.
Now that I cleared the air, I hope that you can see my point of view (POV). I wanted to get healthier, that was and still is for sure. It is just that purposeful exercise seems like a such a big task. I know that moving is essential to life. If we do not use our muscles, we will lose strength. This is a great fact of life.
I knew I needed to move more than I was. Wait, what did I just say? I said I needed to move more. Those words felt doable. Maybe I just needed to change my perspective. Instead of thinking about exercising as I once knew it, I needed to concentrate on simply moving more.
This is a goal that I can achieve.
