Friday, July 16, 2010

Enjoyment is the key

Hey everyone! Before I get onto the topic at hand, did you notice when you clicked over here that the little icon next to my web address has changed? It is no longer the boring old Blogger icon! Yup...it's cool. I know. I was lucky enough over at my other blog to win a "favicon" from Angela over at Striking Keys. So once I had installed the one over there, I went searching and figured out how to get one over here too! Ain't it cool?

Also...I weighed in this week and was down 1 kgs (2.2 lbs) bringing my total loss to 22.8 kgs (50.16 lbs) and my current weight to 135.8 kgs (298.76 lbs). Thank you, hold your applause!


Anycoolness, I wanted to talk about exercise today. I know, I know...it's the end of the week, you've been working hard since Monday, you just want to relax and have a beer and some chips, blah blah blah. Well, suck it up princess (or prince...I have no idea if any guys are reading, so if you are...say hi!) because we're going to do this!

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional and mental states."
~ Carol Welch

We all know that exercise is good for us. It's common knowledge that the more you move, the healthier you are. And moving from the couch to the kitchen and back again doesn't count! Our doctors, nutritionists, personal trainers, families, friends and opinionated strangers on the street will all tell us that if we just got off our fat asses and DID something, that we might be able to lose some weight.

They're right.

Sorry, but they are. I hate to burst your bubble of ignorance, but they're right. It took me a while to come to terms with that, but I had to. If I hadn't come around, if I hadn't acknowledged that exercising needed to become an essential part of my life, I would very soon not even have the chance to change my mind....because I'd die. Plain and simple.

For some people, fat or thin, exercise sucks. It's just not an enjoyable thing for them.

For a fat person, exercise sucks more than a two dollar whore. (Sorry, was that rude? Get used to it, I'm here to stay. )

It sucks because:

~ you look out of place at a gym and everyone, including you, knows it

~ it puts pressure on all your joints & your back

~ it's hard to breathe and when you do, you often end up wheezing

~ it puts extra stress on your heart & lungs

~ you think you have to be running or doing some sort of heavy cardio

~ you haven't found a workout you enjoy

Well here's the simple answer: You deserve to be in that gym as much as possible, the pressure on your joints will ease as you lose weight and your breathing will improve, your heart will be less stressed as you lose weight, you can do something other than running and there ARE workouts to enjoy.

Ok. Now that we have that out of the way, let's pick just one of those bullet points and run with it, shall we?

Finding a workout you can enjoy!

Exercise = Enjoyment ??
FAIL

For a long, long time that was how I viewed things. I knew I needed to lose weight, I knew how to do it. I just didn't equate the two. And for some things, I still don't. For example, I don't see the fun in sitting on a hard bike seat, in a hot room, with some bitch at the front yelling at me to pedal faster because I'm a lazy, fat cow....yet others think spin class is great!

The key (ahhh...and now the title gets tied in!) is to find something that you can do, do well, and have fun while you're at it. So I thought, for the purposes of this little project, that I would let you in on my feelings about some of the stuff out there. Ready?

Walking - I started this journey by walking. A lot. Everywhere. I still do it. Once I am plugged into my iPod, with the tunes playing in my ears, I get lost in my own little world. This is a great exercise for anyone, whether you're morbidly obese or at your ideal weight. Walk slow, walk fast. Just walk. Enjoyment factor (on a scale of 1 to 10)? = 7

Running - I am only just getting into this and honestly, at 135 kgs, it's still a bit hard on my knees but I am beginning to enjoy it. I can feel myself building a rhythm and with the music in my ears, it's just me. I think to get to the point where you enjoy it, doing a program like the C25K is important. Enjoyment factor = 6 with room for improvement

Swimming/Aqua Aerobics/Water Walking - Being in the water makes me happy. I started off slow, swimming about 10 lengths in the pool and now I can do 80 lengths (2 kms) with and without fins. It's very freeing, floating along, weightless. Enjoyment factor = 7
Aqua Aerobics gets the heart rate up but with no pressure on the knees and back. Enjoyment factor = 6
Water Walking is fantastic. You get the resistance of the water, with no pressure and you can just keep walking til you get tired. Enjoyment factor = 7

Gym Slog - That's about the only good name I can come up with for it. I have a gym membership and I use it...but only because it's a nice alternative to walking in the rain (where I might melt) and it has the weights for toning up a bit. Beyond that, meh. Enjoyment factor = 3

Yoga/Pilates - Never tried them...plan to soon.

Kickboxing - Been a few years but liked it when I did it. Very good for stress relief. Enjoyment Factor = 7

Wii - Meh. Good in a pinch or if it's miserable outside. Too stoppy/starty for me. Enjoyment factor = 4.

Zumba - I've saved the best for last. In my opinion, this is THE best thing to hit the world since the day I was born to make your lives complete. I have never had so much fun at an exercise class. EVER. It's a latin dance based workout and REALLY gets the heart pumping. There are people of all ages, sizes and abilities that attend. No one cares what you look like....mostly because they don't notice, they're too busy keeping track of their own thing. It's fast paced, it's fun, it's ....awesome! Enjoyment factor = 12!



What kind of workout makes YOU feel good? What you truly enjoy doing?

Now, get off your ass and go DO something!!

15 comments:

  1. i love the new icon!!! congrats! and i agree about how much exercise sucks. i'm working on it. i swear. and aside from the fact that i don't have a scale, i think i'm still losing weight. but slow. ugh.
    i think what i do enjoy is swimming and yoga, but i have to try pilates again, and get my flexibility back!!

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  2. yay for Zumba I love it too. Ive only just started but it doesnt even feel like exercise.
    I love the design of your blog!

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  3. I must try Zumba, it seems everyone is doing it lately.

    I've always wanted to try Aqua Aerobics, but I can seem to muster up the courage to do it. Then again, the last time i went swimming in public I was 14, and a group of boys laughed at me.

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  4. I have the pleasure of walking through my place of business, sometimes at a very high rate of speed! And I do mean it when I say pleasure, as I work at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. so I can walk through Greenfield Village or the Henry Ford Museum.
    http://www.TheHenryFord.org

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  5. Congrats on the loss.

    i think exercise can be enjoyable. Most people like something, it's just different for everyone. I looooove Zumba too!

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  6. Cute new icon!! And congrats on the weight loss - keep it up - you're doing great! For me, I enjoy swimming the most, but don't get to do it as often as I like. So I get on the recumbent bike, click on the Kindle, and cycle through a few chapters. The time goes by quickly, I work up a good sweat, and my brain gets a boost, too.

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  7. cute icon... and congrats on the loss.

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  8. You are so delightful it makes my brain explode in glee. Of course my exercise "thing" is my recumbent bike. Love. It. My thing used to be Tao Bo and Ellen Barrett's pilates dvds she did for Crunch ... but it's been eons since I've done either. The bike just clicks for me!

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  9. Love the icon!! I hate to workout!!
    But as far as Like ~ the Wii Fit is ok and I found Julian Michaels (not sure about the spelling) 30 shred is ok too. Wish I loved to b/c I know it is good for you!!

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  10. You are sooo right. You have to get off your ass and do something! :)

    It took me many years to realize this and a good 3-4 weeks with working out with a personal trainer to fully embrace how good exercising makes me feel. I wish everyone could get to the point of enjoyment because it's so worth it!

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  11. I have to change my workouts up -- I do a combination of walking on the treadmill at home, Wii Fit, elliptical at the gym, step class at the gym, occasional swimming, stationary bike at the gym, walking the dog, and videos (I have 30 Day Shred and a Reebok Step...and P90X, which is torture).

    Someone once said about being at the gym to keep in mind that those other people aren't there because they're thin; they are thin because they are there!

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  12. I love LOVE love the exercise bike at the gym. I take my iPod and just zone out for about an hour. It's complete bliss. I may do some weights afterwards, but the exercise bike is my escape pod from the world. It's like meditation.

    And I will get off my ass and go do that after I pop this baby and breastfeed him for a few months. Then I will be back at the gym several times a week.

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  13. I have to check out this Zumba thing, everyone keeps raving about it.

    I love sports. I play field hockey and lacrosse, and it's just FUN to play them.

    I do weights at the gym, but the fun part of that is seeing my weights get higher as I get stronger. Same with running, the only part of it I like is going farther or faster, but that's something, right?

    I'm trying to cycle more, to work and back. Sneak in some exercise into my busy day, and with some tunes I actually enjoy it.

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  14. I run. I don't like it, but I do because I like the results. It works. That's pretty much all I need to know. It does the job.

    Same with vegetables. I don't really like them, but I appreciate that they are good for me and I eat them anyway.

    Nice to read a blog with a little backbone :)

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  15. zumba sounds like fun. i HATE running. walking is good. spin, fuck that, won't even consider trying it. yoga is amazing, but not sure i'd call it fun... very relaxing and centering. so awesome though after about a month to 6 weeks how good you feel and flexible you become. i *love* aquasizes.... as for the gym, i like dumbells best, but need a work-out buddy, otherwise i get bored, piss around, and leave before getting anything worked on, and unlikely to return.

    Nicole S,

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