If you've read my blog posts "There's No Excuse" and "Exercising is Hard" you know that I was trying to get back on an exercise routine this week. I am happy to say that I did really well this past week. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I exercised for 30 minutes on the Gazelle. On Thursday I went to the mall and instead of just going to the 2 stores and leaving I walked around the mall too. On Friday though I had no desire what so ever to exercise I talked myself into just doing 15 minutes on the Gazelle and ended up doing 20 minutes.
Reading Dr. John Ratey's book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain helped to reminded me why I want to to exercise. I was pleasantly surprised when he discussed the idea of Should vs Want in the book when it comes to exercising too. In addition to the scientific research and reasons to exercise Dr. Ratey also goes into reasons why it's challenging for people people with Anxiety, Depression, ADHD and other issues to exercise. Unlike many other medical professionals he doesn't use the "just get off your ass" approach which I know has never worked for me. He does provide examples of people who were able to begin exercising and how it dramatically improved their quality of life.
I highly recommend Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
Curves is working well for me! I do not get overwhelmed at all, because the circuit is simple. The harder I work, the better the results.
The only downside is that the club near my house is not open early enough for me to go before work, so I have to rush to get my workout done before they close at 7 or 7:30pm. I have about an 45-minute commute during peak hours. But I am also lucky enough to work off hours sometimes, so I can get in to Curves before or after work.
Posted by: Amy | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 10:26 AM