Tag Archives: Exercise

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Ouch

Getting back in shape will be the death of me yet.

Why is it when you start an exercise program, you always feel worse than if you sat on the sofa and watched Shark Week? Why?

In between prepping for my Company’s annual meeting (which went quite well), and all the projects at work and at home, I restarted my program to get in shape. It was one of my goals for the year, but I’ll confess — I massively fell down on this one. As in, regular visits to the gym were not in my schedule.

But I’ve turned over a new leaf — more on that later — and that new leaf includes the gym. After 5 days of walking, biking, stairmastering (is that a word?) and assorted yoga and stretching routine — I ache.

Okay, I more than ache. I’m seriously contemplating never getting off this heating pad. Ever.

More tomorrow on the whole hopefully well-thought-out healthy lifestyle change.

Right now, I’ve got to convince my body it wants to roll off the bed and seek aspirin.

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What I forgot about exercise . . .

My New Year restart has two components — getting a new job and getting in shape.  And getting back into shape involves two more things — eating healthy and that dreaded word — exercise. 

I already eat fairly healthy — lots of vegies, lots of fruit and lots and lots of water.  Which means, to lose weight and get back into my ‘skinny jeans’ (in this case, a pair of black suede pants), I have to exercise more.  I had that stereotypical ‘filled with dread’ feeling on that one. 

I just hate the pressure of going to a gym.  

First, there’s trying to actually get to a gym.  I work as a corporate in-house attorney.  I go into work early.  I leave work sometimes at normal hours but more often at oh-dark-hundred.  I will frequently end up in the office on weekends.  Most gyms don’t have classes at ridiculously early or late hours, and if it’s late, there’s a very good chance that I’ll be too tired to even want to drive there.

Then there’s the image thing.  I’m pretty good at blocking out people when I’m doing something, a holdover from my days in journalism, but even so, a gym stocked with model-like people, even if they’re people who are perfectly nice, is a bit disheartening. 

And finally, there’s what I call the pressure factor.  At this point, I know what my body is capable of doing; what stretches, exercises, equipment work for me, and what’s just a waste of my time.  But with one exception, at every gym I’ve ever tried, there’ve been people who insist I need to join a particular class to get back in shape.  And while I like trying new things, my goal at the gym is to get in shape asap, using what time I have.   Given my schedule, odds are I’m not going to make it to that class on anything approaching a regular basis anyway.  

(That one exception?  A Gold’s gym just down the street from my apartment.  I loved that place.  Sadly, it closed.)

Rather than looking for a gym, I decided to try working out at home.  Won’t have to drive like a madwoman to get to the gym before it closes, and I could work out at my own pace.  So I picked up yoga DVDs and weights and planned out a routine.  Last night was the first workout.  And as I moved from stretches to  calisthenics to weights to a full yoga rep, I remembered something very important.

I like working out. 

Without those eyes on me, or interruptions from people wanting to sign me up for a class, I blew through the routines at full speed.  I finished, and I felt wonderful.  I was actually ready to go again.  Being smart, I didn’t — but the fact that I wanted to, that I didn’t look forward to the next workout with dread and stress, bodes well for my getting back in shape.

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Resolutions for 2012

Everyone is making (and posting) their New Year’s Resolutions for 2012.  After reading a number of friends’ blogs, it seems my immediate goals are no different than those listed by 95% of the population:

1.  Get a new job (and get my career on track).

2.  Get back in shape.

Easier said than done, when the economy is moving so slow that a tortoise could beat it to the finish line and my current position involves working massive amounts of overtime.  But as I said yesterday, Everything Is Possible.

Since I don’t have the time to make it to a gym on a regular basis, I spent several hours checking out books and websites to create an exercise program I can do in my home.  Fortunately, I like walking, even in the cold, and have plenty of parks in which to wander.  And I now have yoga programs and a series of preps and stretches to do daily. 

As for the job, I spent the remainder of the day revising my resume and setting up accounts on various sites, including LinkedIn and Monster.  The actual listing will be a task for tomorrow.  But after compiling my accomplishments, and revising the list of my responsibilities (because quite a few have been added in the last two+ years), I realize that I have options for my search.  Not just legal, but tax, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, contracts and HR.  I do a LOT at my company. 

I have some decisions to make on possible career tracks, but at least now I have a clearer picture of what I’d like to do.  And where.  But that’s a post for tomorrow.