Whooo hoooo for gym and exercise freedom!!
I suspect my most recent gym “aha” was inspired by a great post at the Rotund. Over the years, I have been working away from my entrenched years of over-exercising and I’ve made a lot of progress, but there has still been some mental block with me and exercise. Exercise has still been frustrating and getting myself to get up and move has still been a challenge indeed…
Then I saw that lovely picture of a smiling woman obviously having a so much fun and OMG… I love the pom poms! I was inspired to take my focus on ENJOYMENT of movement to the next level and the “aha” rolled right in.
When it comes to exercise (especially at a gym, since it seems like such a loaded atmosphere to me) I learned a long time ago to honor my own needs, but I was also getting confused as to what my needs really are. There were these two layers of needs and I didn’t know which one should take priority. One layer was the human need for exercise… and in this regards, my thinking was something like “the more the better” and I felt pressure to push myself beyond the point where exercise was enjoyable. The other layer was my actual immediate physical needs. Like… sometimes I NEED to slow down my pace because my knee starts to hurt or my left foot ligaments start to hurt. So, which should take priority? Yeah… I wonder why this hasn’t been obvious to me before… hah! After reading that post at the Rotund, I was inspired to focus fully on my immediate physical needs. It was AWESOME and I’m starting to understand why exercise has been such a frustration to me all these years – my priorities were all messed up.
For example, I would work so hard on the treadmill or elliptical that my breathing would start to hurt or I didn’t feel like I was getting enough oxygen or something. In these cases, I felt like my body was letting me down… letting “the program” down of whatever I felt I should achieve at that gym session. Besides, I was raised on the “No Pain – No Gain” idea, so wasn’t being in pain supposed to be good for me? If it’s so good for me, how come I hated it so much? What’s wrong with me that I get so frustrated with exercise when I see so many other people who don’t? I get it now… “no pain – no gain” is the problem, not the solution. It seems I have been realizing this in increments over years now…
Sure, there have been these rare exercise experiences where I just naturally let go and enjoyed myself, but these have been the exception and I’ve spent years trying to figure out what I was missing most of the times I exercised when I didn’t feel this way. I had no idea how to create this experience for myself. Yesterday, for the first time, I consciously created this experience for myself! Whooo hooooooooooooooo!!! The top priority was enjoyement – period. My knee pain wasn’t a disappointment. It was a sign to slow down and perhaps readjust my posture to give my knee a break. I was so fun and fulfilling! This was a way of exercising that I feel is sustainable… not something I will feel obliged to rebel against with days, weeks, months of being sedentary.
Wish me luck, folks! Working this stuff out could improve the quality of my life substantially. 😀 I get so sick of being rebelliously sedentary.
–AngryGrayRainbows
Angry Gray Rainbows 
Yesterday, for the first time, I consciously created this experience for myself! Whooo hooooooooooooooo!!!
That is SO AWESOME. AWESOME!
hehehe… thanks!
Way to go! It’s such a hard concept to grasp. Exercise can be so enjoyable, but we’re told for so long that we have to push ourselves to exhaustion. Congrats on finding a place in yourself where you can see past that fallacy.
You hit the nail on the head, Amelia. Thanks for the congrats. 🙂
Good for you, man! I am just recovering myself after about a year of being “rebelliously sedentary” (mom’s death = scarce motivation for the gym)
LUCKY for me, I have always loved to dance, and if you’re looking for a new activity, I highly suggest attending some shows, concerts, or clubs with danceable music & just let ‘er rip! *haha!*
My creative use of the treadmill has also saved me from exercise ennui…I put some slammin’ tunes on the discman and walk in rhythm, whatever I feel like, increasing or slowing the pace of the treadmill to match whatever I’m doing to the music. Caveat: you will probably attract some attention from other gym-goers with this funky style. After a prolonged absence from my own gym, upon returning and having finished my workout, on my way back to the dressing room, I overheard someone behind me remark to the desk attendant, “Hey! It’s the GIRL FROM THE TREADMILL!” *hahaha!*
So, yeah. my guidelines for myself are: physical activity must be enjoyable and bring happiness.
* : )
LOL Hope… do you know I’ve been doing that same thing for years? That’s pretty cool! I have wondered if I’m the only one who does that. I love to exercise to the music rather than whatever machine program is on. It’s way more fun to slow down or speed up or pace myself according to some awesome music. Plus, I have always really liked dancing and going to the music brings that element to the exercise. And yeah… sometimes that does get attention… lol… but maybe those people just wanna know how they can enjoy themselves like that too…?
When I joined my gym a little less than a year ago, I started using their trainer and I was terrified. I just knew she would push me to the point of exhaustion every time I worked with her but she didn’t. I told her from the beginning that my goal was not to lose weight but to improve my mobility and to reduce some stress. She took me at my word and treated me with total respect and dignity.
I definitely got a good workout with her and I learned something new every time I saw her but I didn’t “hate” going. I didn’t “dread” going either. It was a great time to go to the gym and leave everything else outside the door and outside my mind.
I know that your awareness of this will help you to enjoy your workouts whenever you decide to go!
Yup… I’ve watched you over the years with your exercise and I’ve learned a lot. You’ve been an inspiration to me.
Exercise without dread or hate? It sounds revolutionary or somtehing.