Making Fitness A Pleasure(for those not big on it yet)

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Making Fitness a Pleasure



If you’re one to make New Year’s resolutions, chances are this year’s list of commitments to yourself includes a promise to exercise more. Many people start off the year with a fresh vow to get on the exercise bandwagon. I’ll do aerobics, they say, or walk every day. I know I’ll feel better, and I’ll probably look better, too. These are the things we say to ourselves as envision a fitter, stronger self. We say we can do it and we believe that we will.

If your fitness resolution, however, lasts no longer than a few exhausting trips to the gym, you are in good company. Fewer than 20% of Americans get in sustained aerobic exercise just three times a week, fitness industry estimates say, and only a tiny fraction of people actually exercise nearly every day. Why is it that Americans say we are committed to fitness behaviors, yet we practice them so rarely?

A clue to why America exercises so little may be in my own past. When I used exercise as a tool of punishment, I didn’t want to exercise very often. But when I decided I would do only what I liked to do, I found I could make moving my body a daily occurrence, one to which I actually looked forward. We tend to do what we enjoy, and we tend not to do what we dread. Seems simple, yes?

The longest half hour of my life was spent on a treadmill in a health club in Seattle. I was exercising to keep my weight down, and I couldn’t believe how slowly the red digital numbers were moving. Could it be that only seven minutes had passed, when I knew in my heart it had been seventeen? I tried everything to make the treadmill interesting: watching TV, reading, listening to music, talking to other exercisers. But nothing could make the time pass on that machine. The same thing applied to the stair master, or walking/running around an indoor track. I just hated it. And I couldn’t understand why, after all the effort I had put in to finish a half hour on that god awful machine a couple of days a week, I hadn’t lost any weight. I felt as if I was forcing myself to do something that I hated to do, and then got nothing back for it. As you can imagine I didn’t keep going to that gym for long.

What changed my fitness experience from a negative to a positive one was letting go of some of the expectations I had of exercise, and allowing myself to find the pleasure in the sheer act of moving my body. Years ago, when I began reevaluating the way I’d always thought about fitness, I decided I wasn’t going to punish myself anymore, and I would only do things I really liked to do. Once this happened I my routine started gradually to shift from a couple of dreadful workouts a week to two to three challenging but pleasant movement sessions weekly. Now, fifteen years later, I engage in a thoroughly pleasurable dance workout six days a week, and as a personal trainer I help others to come along the same path. Here are some tips to follow if you, too, are looking move away from fitness as punishment, and toward fitness as pleasure:

Stop calling it “exercise.” I can hardly think of a positive connotation that goes along with the word “exercise.” In my youth I hated the word because it meant I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rest of the kids in class. As an adult it sounded like an incredibly boring thing to do. Now I prefer to think of what I do, which happens to be very good for the heart, mind and body, as movement. You might want to try this, too.
Find what’s truly pleasurable to you, and do it. I can’t imagine life without music and dance. It was in college when I first discovered how much fun it can be to move to music. The first time I danced it was on my bed in my college dorm to the beat of AC/DC, Back in Black; I shook and shouted and got sweaty and danced most of the night. Now I work out to different songs but music that is as inspiring as that song was to me at age eighteen. For me, the pleasure is in dance. What is it for you? Have you always enjoyed taking nature walks? If so then a hike around a local park may be the best way to begin. Or do you enjoy the challenge of a competitive sport? You might want to take a friend to play tennis or racquetball as a way to add movement to your life. If you love the feel of the tire against the road, a bike trip might be just the right thing for you. Whatever it is, it’s got to be fun for you, or else you won’t do it more than a few times. So choose your activity wisely, and enjoy every minute of it.
Take It Easy: Most people push themselves way too hard when they first start out moving. They end up very sore, exhausted, and feeling demoralized about fitness. How can you do something several times a week when you feel beaten up after you do it? Well, you can’t and you shouldn’t. The goal of the first few weeks should be to introduce your body to the new practice, whatever it is, and to establish the pace that’s right for you. If you’re walking, stop before you’re very tired, and walk no more than three times a week to start. If you’re dancing, don’t push yourself to the limit, leave yourself some breathing room. Whatever activity you choose, at the end of a session you should feel tired but not exhausted, weak, or shaky. If you do experience these symptoms, no matter how much or little you did, make a note to scale it back a notch next time.

Listen To Your Body: A wealth of internal cues is available to guide us in our movement choices if we only listen. If you experience pain while you are moving, don’t ignore it. There is absolutely no value to you, particularly as you begin moving your body for the first few times, in “working through” pain. Whatever you are doing that hurts you, stop it. If the pain continues after the movement stops, consider seeking the advice of a physician. Nothing you do when you are moving should hurt. By the same token, your body will let you know when you are ready to do more. After the first few times of taking an easy stroll around the lake, you may feel you want to push yourself a little. If so, then it’s fine to do that, either by walking longer or faster. Just remember, the minute anything you do starts to be unpleasant, or painful, it’s time to stop.
Energize Yourself: In order to have the energy to move you’ll need to have some other basics in order. You’ll need to get enough sleep every night (I know, easier said than done, especially if you have small children) and you’ll need to eat frequently throughout the day. I don’t recommend starting any movement session out hungry for two reasons: one, if you’re hungry you won’t have as much strength as you would if you were not; and two, if you start out with an energy deficit you’ll end the session feeling less so, but after a short adjustment period may find yourself absolutely ravenous. So, eat well and eat often. A glass of juice, a cup of yogurt, some chocolate milk, fresh fruit, or cheese and crackers are all good snacks to have during the day. As your blood sugar levels remain more stable you’ll find yourself more ready for movement and generally in an improved mood, and better able to handle the stress that comes your way.

Wear Appropriate Clothes and Shoes: No, you don’t have to have the latest and most expensive sneakers to get in a good workout. However, it is absolutely essential that you wear quality shoes that fit and are appropriate for the workout you’re doing. Also, shoes may look fine after a hundred wearings but you shouldn’t wear them during a workout if they’ve lost their spring, no matter how long you’ve had them. Doing so will protect your joints during a workout of any level or speed.
The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what you do or how long you do it. If you can find the pleasure in movement, and do the movement that’s right for your body, you’ll be making fitness the habit of a lifetime.


Jennifer Portnick is a certified aerobics instructor and personal trainer. She is the owner of Feeling Good Fitness.
SOURCE: http://pages.ivillage.com/brookefinnigan2001/id40.html

[Martrae]

Great article!