Exercise, where to begin?
Be encouraged to exercise.
Once upon a time I had great disdain for exercising. I used to tell my husband, “I have no problem with my weight, why do I need to exercise?” They all told me, “It will make you feel better.” And of course, with a snarky remark, I stated, “I feel great.”
What led me to start exercising? Two specific instances led met to want to exercise. First, when I was twenty-one years old, I was walking side-by-side up ten flights of stairs with my undergraduate professor who was in his 50’s. He was out pacing me up the stairs, while I was out of breath and could barely keep up with him. I knew I didn’t have a weight problem, but I had an out of shape problem. Second experience, I needed an outlet to relieve stress, besides shopping and eating, after a major relocation to a new state.
As a beginner to exercise, I needed to start slow. These are some things I began to explore:
- Walking at least 30 minutes or more a day. I encouraged myself to walk away from my vehicle or house, so that I was forced to walk back.
- Tried low impact exercises, such as Pilates, yoga, and belly dancing.
- Strength-training exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, planks, and others.
While beginning to exercise I remained open to trying various exercises to find what worked for my level of comfort and enjoyment. Consistent exercise energized me and improved my mental clarity and stamina. After one to two years of low impact exercises, my body felt like it needed to try more energetic and high impact exercises. I tried the following exercises:
- Dance classes such as Zumba.
- At home workout videos, such as P90X.
After trying all of these various workout routines and more, I found what was enjoyable. Walking outdoors and Zumba motivated me to be consistent with exercising. Walking outdoors encouraged me to walk further distances while enjoying the scenery. Zumba is a combination of dance and exercise which are two activities that I enjoy doing.
As my life changed with having children, so did my workout routines. I did more walking and jogging with the stroller. I have continued to exercise despite the life changes of motherhood and entering pharmacy school. Now, I am mentally and physically accustomed to exercising that I can’t go two days without doing a quick exercise on the elliptical machine or biking or speed walking.
Included is a link to ‘Benefits of exercise’ on the website of U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html
The hardest thing about exercise is to start doing it
Once you are doing exercise regularly, the hardest thing is to stop it
Erin Gray
Be encouraged to exercise,
Maya Noelle