I've never liked to exercise. During childhood summers, my brothers would try and convince me to come outside and play baseball or basketball or some other sport. I would accept occasionally, but I much preferred to stay in the comfort of the air-conditioned house on my bed reading a book.
We had P.E. class at school, and I didn't enjoy that, either. I played volleyball in middle school and decided to try out for track. We spent the entire first day running around the gym and I promptly quit.
I loved playing tennis in college, but after college and marriage and motherhood...well, I just didn't like exercising. I went to Curves for awhile, then quit because of cost, and would walk when possible. But I didn't make it a habit.
Once I did start making it a habit, however, I discovered how much my body craved movement - as long as it was the type of movement I enjoyed. Don't try and get me to run a marathon because I will absolutely say NO WAY. Don't try and get me to do one of boot camps where you pick up tires and logs and ridiculous things like that. Not only can't I do it, I don't want to.
But walking? Oh yes. I absolutely love walking. I started making it a daily habit about a year ago when my doctor at the Mayo Clinic said it was beneficial for my chronic illnesses. My boyfriend and I love to take long nature walks and when I can't go outside, I jump on my treadmill.
Tonight I finally felt well enough to jump on the treadmill. I created a playlist on Spotify - a mixture of grunge, 80s and 90s pop, and hard rock - and just walk, walk, walk. I only did 35 minutes, but after being sick for two weeks, that's fantastic! (Gotta celebrate the small wins) My boyfriend and I usually try and walk for an hour, but that all depends on my health. Even if I can get in 20 minutes, it helps me feel better.
No, I'm not going to have a six-pack just by walking nor will I kill myself trying to get one (in this instance, I literally would be killing myself to try and get a sick-pack ab due to the stress that type of high-impact exercise would put on my body). I've made peace with that.
I use my walking time to think, to look at nature, or to enjoy my music. Many a time I've taken a walk and figured out a plot point, or written the beginning to a class paper.
Walking is essential for my well-being - and it's essential to my life as a writer.
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Nope, I don't do exercise either, but yup, walking is a thing. If I'm not feeling up to it and it's a nice day, sometimes I'll just take a turn around the garden, just to get some fresh air. But, like you (again), if I'm under the weather, it's the walking that gets pushed to the back.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about walking is that you don't need a membership, or any fancy equipment: you can just go outside and walk (weather permitting!).
DeleteYoga is my thing. I have a daily practice, and it makes a huge difference. When i lived in NYC, I walked a lot. On Cape Cod, you had to drive to take a walk, because there were so few sidewalks it was dangerous to walk in the neighborhood. Here, I am in walking distance of a lot of errands, plus I have nature walks not too far away, so I'm trying to get back to it (in good weather, anyway).
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