I Hate to Exercise...

Or so I thought. (Grin here). I have always hated to sweat, didn't like to push myself beyond my limits. But an interesting thing happened as I began to MOVE. Just move. That was my personal trainer, Linda's goal. She said, "We just want to get you moving". That was our first goal. I was afraid to move. I had spent so much time trying to protect myself from the pain in my knees, the crippling pain in my back, the sweating that other people may see. I didn't want to fall in front of others, or not be able to do something, that I shied away from MOVING. And what a wonderful thing moving is. Because its easy, and its free, and you learn so much on the path. My "Moving" began when I started walking to take photographs of the birds, walking the simple trail with my husband, and then alone. Taking each step one at a time, sometimes getting down on my hands and knees to scoot from one step to the other.

By the time I started with the personal trainer, I could move, but my balance was bad, my hips hurt, my knees hurt. I complained, not too much (Another GRIN HERE), but I complained. I thought I knew my limits, but my personal trainer knew better. She pushes me to do one more, sometimes slips in a heavier a weight. But all in a way that makes me feel a part of the decision making process.

And I think that is what its really all about. We want to be part of our own change. We need to have a say in our growth and development. For me, my weight caused me to hold back, not always speak my piece. But as I began to tackle one problem after the other, I realized that only I am ultimately responsible for my successes and my failures.

An attitude that says "I hate to exercise" may be true at the time, but we should add, "I will do it anyway because I KNOW it will make me stronger". I think that our negative thoughts force us to figure out who we really are, what we really like and to move in the direction that makes us complete.

There are parts of exercise I do not like. Those that challenge my knees, those I have to do while laying on the floor because its so difficult to get up off the floor are on my top two list. I haven't ventured onto the floor yet in front of all those people. But I do the knee exercises anyway, because I know it makes me stronger.

Today, I was able to move from a sitting position into a standing one without using my hands to push me up. For many that may sound so simple, for me it is not. I don't mind the sweat anymore. It makes me feel like a part of this new healthy club. I am getting stronger each and every day, and those little extra challenges push me to move forward, to keep coming back.

Sometimes you just have to show up and do it anyway.