Some days, this working hard at being healthy and in good shape is just about enough to do me in.
It’s not that I work that hard either. It’s just the constancy of it all. It’s always in the back of my mind. How to fit it in.
Like today.
I’m writing this post on Sunday. It’s noon. I’ve been to church, got dinner in the crock pot, getting ready to go visit my mom, and wondering, do I take a day off or not.
Someone just asked me yesterday why I’m doing all this. Was it to lose weight, inches? Pain control?
That was a good question. Why am I doing all this? It’s certainly all the things she asked but it’s more than that.
I want to have a strong body. And there’s another reason. Being successful in one area says to me I can be successful in others. And every time I push myself, not only am I getting stronger physically, I feel stronger emotionally and spiritually.
As a rule, I walk my forty minutes every day and never plan on taking a certain day off. It’s like dessert. If you keep saying, “It’s just this one time,” pretty soon, it’s all the time or in the case of exercise, none of the time.
I’m glad I feel this way. It has kept me on track since about April.
If you are wondering here’s what my exercise routine looks like.
- A forty-minute walk (either outside or on my elliptical and treadmill) daily.
- Arm exercises every other day. Eight-pound weights, three sets of 15 arms curls, 15 pumps over my head.)
- Alternate days, mid-section twists and to the side stretches using eight-pound weights.
- Every day, and sometimes more than once a day, my back exercises.
So it’s not like any of this isn’t “doable”. It’s just trying to schedule it in and keeping it a priority.
But that’s with everything in life, isn’t it?
Our days fluctuate. Things come up.
But if we develop a routine, it becomes so ingrained in our psyche we simply don’t have to think about it anymore.
Here’s the interesting part. Whether it’s exercise or something else, developing a habit in one area almost always encourages good habits in another. Life is never compartmentalized.
God bless and I hope you have a good day.
