Do you exercise? What do you like to do? What kind of exerciser are you?
Up until about 15 years ago I was not an exerciser. I hadn’t been active and I recognized that it wasn’t a good idea to continue that way. So I made a change. I was really regular for a number of years and then life got in the way and I just got back to it a year ago. I’ve paid for a streaming Beachbody membership and so far I’ve done MM100, 21 Day Fix Real-Time, PiYo and then got hooked on Barre Blend. I’ve done two rounds of regular barre and now I’m doing Elise Joan’s Pre/Post Natal Barre Blend program using a calendar that Elise said would be good for anyone – even if you haven’t had a baby in 40 years! Since my “baby” is 19 that sounded good. I’ve seen great results from it and love it.
Due to chronic back issues I decided a couple of months ago that I needed to change the cycle of chiropractor visits and massage therapists and see if I could do something more long term so I talked to my doctor about physical therapy. My physical therapy has two parts; exercises to strengthen my smaller stabilizing muscles and walking. Walking, it turns out is one of the best things you can do for back pain.
I told my physical therapist I hate walking, it’s so boring! (And I’m also afraid of dogs so I won’t walk outside. Our town has too many dogs running around despite a leash law.) After finding out I have a treadmill he told me to find a 30 minute show that would keep my interest and turn it on while I walk on the treadmill. Turns out, I need the visual stimulus to keep me engaged. That’s why I find walking boring.
Except, I’m still bored. My treadmill is old and falling apart so none of the electronics work on it. My phone won’t fit on the holder because I had to go for the big upgrade and get the iPhone 11 Pro Max. I can’t see my timer while I’m walking. I find myself counting commercial breaks to guess how long I’ve been on the treadmill. All the shows I find are 40 minutes not 30 minutes (currently Gilmore Girls) so I’m getting good at figuring out how far into the plot we’ll be when I’m done. My goal is to get through a whole 30 minutes without getting off to look at the timer. So far, I’ve achieved it once. I’m terrible! I don’t know why it’s so boring to me but it just is. I’ve tried listening to podcasts, finding a dog-free route around town, varying my speed, all the things! Walking has just never been my thing. Can anyone else relate??
I’m doing really good at performing the exercises and my back has been so much better lately. Sometimes I can modify Barre exercises to my PT exercises and kill two birds with one stone but that walking, mmhmmm, well, we’ll get there. Hopefully.
Diffusing Hope 