Exercise.....Eeek!!!

"Regular exercise can lift your mood, boost your mental health, help you sleep better, helps you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce your risk of chronic disease."

Hmmm. 

Sounds good - let's go!

Wait, doesn't it take effort? I don't like effort. It makes me tired.


And that sums up my inner dialogue about exercise.

I've been trying to take better care of my physical health lately... one of the main reasons being for my mental health. For a whole year after having my second daughter (who is now 1.5 years old) I consistently exercised. I ran 5km 3 or 4 times a week most weeks. I'd do my run, then straight away do 200 bicycle crunches, followed by a 3kg (6kg total) weight exercise. I think I missed one or 2 weeks due to sickness, but I got on with it the rest of the time. Even got up to 9.5km at one point!

Then this last winter hit. It hit me like a brick. The bugs went round and round. I generally got lazier and lazier for whatever reason. I also turned into a bit of a wimp. My mental health suffered. The tired factor was a big one. My second child has never been in a habit of sleeping well. She still wakes up nearly every night. Yet, during that blissful year I really didn't let the bad nights put me off. I still went for my run. In fact, it turned out that those were the days I needed my run the most. It put me in a better mood. I was less irritable. More productive. I managed my emotions better. I never regretted running on those days. I understood the benefits.

So what exactly happened then?

Why can't I get my backside out the door? I've started getting back into it the last month, but I'm really only doing one 5km run a week, even once in 2 weeks. I run slowly, huffing and puffing along like The Little Engine That Barely Could, while other runners leap past me like graceful gazelles. You know the ones? The ones who seem to have springs in their feet and you feel extra tired just watching them quickly fade into the distance? Lots of them. And I've struggled to get into my core exercises again. The silly thing is.... Danica's sleep is the same now as it was back then. So, why is the lack of sleep bothering me so much this time?

I think forming a habit is a powerful thing. I was consistently doing my exercise for so long that I just didn't really think about it that hard. I just got it done. Now, I'm finding myself back in that 'setting up a new habit' phase and it's hard! I'm constantly having to start again. And that got me thinking.... I need to think about what helped me get back into it last time. What was I doing/thinking last time that made it successful? And THEN I thought, I'm sure there are others who might find my brainstorm helpful. Surely I'm not the only one struggling here!

So here are my tips/thoughts... they are for me as much as they are for you. Please note, I refer to running as the method of exercise, but that's just because that's what I prefer. Modify it in your mind to whatever exercise you want to try or whatever works for you. I hope this gives us a bit of inspiration to get on track and start feeling good! I actually find running a good time to chat with God. Sometimes it's as simple as, "Help! Please help me get to the end!" Comical afterwards, but He does help me. He probably has a good laugh while He's at it!

Tips for Getting Into (or back into - in my case) Exercise:

• Don't compare yourself with others. Especially when Super Woman glides past you effortlessly, while you're dragging your feet. Like I tell myself, "I run to the beat of my own drum." So they're fast. Whatever! Let 'em go. What they're doing has got nothing to do with you. They're running their race, and you are running yours. And the awesome thing about running your own race is that you always win - even on those slow days!

• Set a goal and make a plan. It's great to have a big goal. Make one! We are all different and I'm most definitely not referring to a marathon, but rather, an ultimate, realistic goal that you would be proud to achieve and stick to in the long run. Something to work towards does wonders for your motivation. But don't stop there! Make a plan of how you're going to achieve that. You may have to adjust it along the way, like I've had to do. When I first started running I totally overestimated how far I'd be able to go. I planned to be able to run 2km after 2 weeks, increasing my distance by 1 km a week, but it took me weeks and weeks to get to 2 km! I ended up increasing it by half a km per week. And that was successful! So don't be discouraged if it doesn't go perfectly according to plan, as long as you're not giving up, you will get there.

• Persevere! I feel like I should warn you, the first few weeks, if you're consistent, are tough. Your body is struggling and straining to keep up with what you're doing. But here's the awesome thing - it does get easier! I promise. It gets a lot easier. You just need to persevere and be willing to stick it out in the meantime. It's SO worth it! You won't be sorry.

• Tell everybody! If you spread 'the good news' around (especially to those who are interested in exercise), people are bound to ask you from time to time how it's all going. And you will have to answer them! And why not make it a good answer? It feels great to be able to confidently say, "Why, yes, I have been doing my exercise!" and it really helps keep you accountable on those days when you just don't feel like it.

• Make sure you've fueled yourself properly. There's nothing worse than eating a piece of cake and then going for a run (speaking from experience...). Sure, the first bit is fine, but when you crash, you crash hard. Like, really hard. You just hit a brick wall and there's no way around it. It is a struggle to the bitter end. I've been there - don't do it! Eat something wholesome like a piece of wholegrain toast with peanut butter or banana. I often eat a Weetbix or 2 if I can't be bothered putting too much effort into the food. After all - the exercise is the main event! Just make sure you've eaten something that is going to help you. Eat something healthy afterwards within half an hour to help your muscles recover. And make sure you've had enough to drink, not just before you go, but throughout the day. It will help you later on when you do your exercise. 

• Make sure you stretch before and after. This will help prevent pulled muscles and other injuries. Don't skip it at either end. If you're not sure which ones to do - look it up. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, it should only take a minute. I used to skip this and often got injuries. Then I started stretching before and after every single time and I've had no issues at all.

• Gently push yourself.  It's good to push yourself a bit beyond what's comfortable. That's what builds up your fitness. You will not get much of a result otherwise. When you get to that point where you feel like it's a struggle, hang in there. Just for a little longer. It's necessary. But don't let it get painful.

• Don't overdo it. Yes, you heard me right! .......I'm hearing you say, 'But you just said to push yourself!". Yes. But, don't hurt yourself. I'm talking injuries. If you're not used to much exercise, your body will hurt just a little. You will feel a little stiff. That's normal. You should be able to move without taking Panadol, though! You shouldn't be limping around. Your body needs time to recover from the stress of exercise, otherwise you risk injuries. If you pull a muscle or injure yourself some other way, it's going to set you back as you will then have to stop altogether so that your injury can heal properly. That's disheartening and it's discouraging. Not what you need! If you're just starting exercise, give your body a day in between to recover. Alternating days is a good idea.

• Be consistent! Consistency is the key to forming a new habit. I don't mean a few days. More like a month or two. Set your alarm. When you hear it, get up immediately and put on your exercise clothes. No stalling.  Just cause I said to set your alarm doesn't mean you have to always do it in the morning. We all have stuff going on. Set it for a time that suits you. Set yourself up in whatever way you think you need to get yourself out the door. 

• Don't make excuses! Unless you're sick, there's not really a lot of good excuses left. Exercising when you're sick could very well delay you getting better. But as for the rest - don't go there.

           It's too cold!
          It's too windy.....
          I'm too tired.
          It's raining!
          I'll run tomorrow...

          Don't let your mind go there. It's a pessimistic place and you will feel stink about yourself if you don't get it done. It never feels good to bail. It makes you feel guilty and makes you feel like a failure. I'm not saying you should feel stink if you don't do it. Not at all. What I am saying though, is that you're far better off training yourself to think positively and getting that amazing sense of achievement when you're done. Such satisfaction, when you realize that you've done what you set out to do. You're in line with your goal. You have the self-discipline! You feel like the strong person that you are. And man, it feels good! Don't underestimate the confidence boost it gives you. You will never be sorry you went. Today I went for a run  and a quarter of the way it started raining. I think perhaps God held the rain off so that I would go, then let it fall and showed me that it really isn't that bad. It was refreshing actually and a  welcome distraction. I decided to keep going!

• Don't overthink it. In fact, if you can just ignore whatever jitters you're feeling over the impending exercise, that'll help a lot. Put yourself in robot mode. You've received the command. Now, do it. It doesn't necessarily mean the nervousness will go away immediately, but you need to be able to push through it to achieve your goal. Feel the fear and do it anyway. I always feel anxious when I'm getting ready for a run. I feel queasy. I feel horrible, actually. Even right now as I'm typing this, just thinking about it makes my tummy feel quite uneasy. It's just something I've come to terms with and have realized that if I'm waiting for that anxiety to go away, I'll be waiting forever. So, I just get on with it. And the good news is that once I start running, it starts to melt away!

And that, my friends, is what I can come up with for now. These tips are all things that I have learned from my own exercise experiences - often the hard way! So, I thought perhaps I might spare you the pain by laying it out... I'll let you know how I'm getting on...

I'm also trying to incorporate some other healthy habits at the moment. I'm on Day 18 of my sugar detox. 

But that's another story! I won't hold you up. Next time? 

In the meantime... take care of yourselves, you're worth it xx