My relationship (or lack of) with exercise
This article is part of my ‘write everyday for 31 days series’ and is article number 3. To read yesterday’s article click here.
Today, when I was reading through yesterday’s article I noticed I mentioned exercise.
It prompted me to think further about the relationship I have with exercise and why it’s the way it is.
I hope in this article my honesty will resonate with some of you who have also been in a similar position to me.
The beginning
When I was a child, I was always active. Participating in sports at school, and later going on to play professional sport.
Sport was never a chore. It was never something I had to force myself to do. It was fun. It was exhilarating. In some ways I felt free.
It was a way to let go of what (little) stress I had at the time.
But then, when I was a child, other than school I had no real responsibilities. Everything I could need in life was taken care of for me.
So it’s a wonder why, now, being that i’m much older, I don’t have the same feelings towards sport or exercise.
Now
And now, I think back to how many times I’ve told myself “Monday will be the day I go to the gym” and I realise if I tally those remarks together, it’s more than the amount of times I actually went to the gym.
And really I have no excuse.
There is a gym in my apartment complex, no more than a two-minute walk from my bed.
One hour is only 4% of my day, so why can I not seem to drag myself there for just 4% of my day when the benefits of exercise are so apparent and drilled into us?
Finding the why…
The excuses I tell myself for why I’m not going to the gym:
- I don’t have enough time
- It’s Wednesday and I can’t start on a Wednesday, I’ll have to wait until Monday
- I’ve just eaten and if I go to the gym now I’ll be sick
- I’ve had a really hard day and the last thing I want to do is go to the gym
The real reason why I never went to the gym?
I couldn’t be bothered.
It actually hurts to write that down because the “me who had many an excuse” would still attest to the fact that I would be going to the gym the following Monday.
But that just simply wasn’t the case.
Now, i’m ready to admit that. I’m ready to accept that previously, I haven’t had a “why”, but that is going to change.
I think about “why” a lot.
Why do I do the job I do?
Why do i talk to the people I talk to?
Why do i eat the food I eat?
Largely, the answers to those questions fall down to enjoyment. I live my life trying to do as many enjoyable things as possible. And for the longest time, exercise just wasn’t that.
But i’m ready to accept that maybe I wont enjoy the gym, maybe I wont enjoy going for a run when it’s raining and windy.
But maybe there are sports or exercises I will enjoy and i’m prepared to find out.
So far on my list to try for this year I have:
- Boxing
- Bouldering
- Trampolining
If you’ve ever been in a situation like mine, and could never drag yourself to the gym, other than getting better willpower, what techniques have you found that have worked? Drop a comment below.
If you’ve read any my articles in this series so far, I thank you for being here on my journey. If this is your first article of mine, then why not check out my previous articles.
And if you’ve liked this article, chuck a couple of claps my way so others can enjoy it too! :)
