OK, FACT is that I very much DISLIKE exercise. Really HATE IT, actually! But when someone says, “I exercise!”, this is what my mind conjures:
https://image1.masterfile.com/getImage/700-02798065em-man-on-treadmill-stock-photo.jpg
It says to me, “BORING! ENDLESS! STUPID!”
One or two of you know what I mean.
The other side of me says, “But my blood sugars and blood pressure go down when I exercise!” You know, the “My doctor says that I should exercise to lower my blood sugars and blood pressures and lose some weight…” lectures.
This is what my mind conjures:
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/74878707/photo/mature-doctor-with-stethoscope-portrait.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=yEvDUO9q1xD8QdX_6ZccXVKoCBidszgMc2a_leYmBr8=
One or two of you might know what I mean.
So, I set out to figure out what I can do to exercise – that isn’t the first image and WON’T trigger the second image.
From the day I got a three-speed bike for a Confirmation gift when I turned fifteen – to three or four years after we moved into our new house, I’ve been a biker.
I DON’T DO RACING! (Though I started doing biking for fund raising. My first “bike-a-thon” was for the March of Dimes when I was sixteen…(of course, I’d ditched the three-speed my parents got me and bought a REAL ten-speed!)
And then I started biking. Initially, I rode a short loop – end of the block, around and home. *whew* It had been a LONG time since I’d made any serious effort at riding. Getting used to the new bike. (Put the old 10-speed on the curb and it was carted away for scrap (I suppose)…) I rode three miles around the nearby marsh. Did that for a few weeks, building up endurance only on weekends. Worked up to five miles, maybe ten on the weekends.
My teen-year love of biking reignited! I wasn’t doing it to “get healthy!” or “lose weight!” or even…“cause it’s good for you!” I was biking because I LIKED IT! All that other crap was beside the point. I LIKED BIKING – I wasn’t “exercising”…I was doing something I’d loved since that first 3-speed when I was fifteen.
From there, I kept going. I rode all summer, then asked my son to ride with me on the Grand Round Scenic Bikeway – it was a fifty-one mile ride around Minneapolis and St. Paul, sometimes cutting through the cities down the street in a designated Bike Lane. Other times riding along the Mississippi and pulling up behind Fort Snelling…then finishing up weaving around Minneapolis’ famous Lakes: Bde Mka Ska, Harriet, and others I don’t even remember. We signed up for a couple of fund raisers – breast cancer; MS; Diabetes…
And by then, I was hooked. But I wasn’t “exercising”. I was ENJOYING MYSELF! That was the key for me – exercising? (spit on the ground) – was a total NON-motivator for me. So, what is it that YOU LIKE TO DO? I’m sorry, it does require MOVING. But some moving is better than NO moving. So find that moving thing you like and keep doing it, setting little, teeny goals for yourself. I’ll share more next time around about what’s happened in the decade since I was riding in those fund raisers…
So MOVE! Here's a link to our own Minnesota Health giant that promotes this very thing! The Mayo Clinic -- https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/topics/move-more
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
It says to me, “BORING! ENDLESS! STUPID!”
One or two of you know what I mean.
The other side of me says, “But my blood sugars and blood pressure go down when I exercise!” You know, the “My doctor says that I should exercise to lower my blood sugars and blood pressures and lose some weight…” lectures.
This is what my mind conjures:
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/74878707/photo/mature-doctor-with-stethoscope-portrait.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=yEvDUO9q1xD8QdX_6ZccXVKoCBidszgMc2a_leYmBr8=
One or two of you might know what I mean.
So, I set out to figure out what I can do to exercise – that isn’t the first image and WON’T trigger the second image.
From the day I got a three-speed bike for a Confirmation gift when I turned fifteen – to three or four years after we moved into our new house, I’ve been a biker.
I DON’T DO RACING! (Though I started doing biking for fund raising. My first “bike-a-thon” was for the March of Dimes when I was sixteen…(of course, I’d ditched the three-speed my parents got me and bought a REAL ten-speed!)
I had no idea how far the ride was THEN, but I calculated it recently and found that with only regular biking (to work and home again) plus my age (16), I’d biked 49 miles with little to no effort.
That was the beginning. About six years ago, I picked up biking again. It started with my janky ten-speed bike. Then the school district I work for offered a perk: they’d give me $600 toward ANY health thing I wanted! Gym membership! Diet program! Treadmill! Home gymnasium! Personal trainer! Nice bike…
That was the beginning. About six years ago, I picked up biking again. It started with my janky ten-speed bike. Then the school district I work for offered a perk: they’d give me $600 toward ANY health thing I wanted! Gym membership! Diet program! Treadmill! Home gymnasium! Personal trainer! Nice bike…
Hmmm…so, $600 in hand, I bought a $1000 bicycle from Trailhead Cycling in Champlin, MN and only paid $400. A basic Giant, it was strong, sturdy, and I even splurged and bought the Old Man Bicycle Seat so my butt wouldn’t go numb any more. I DON'T have biking shorts or a biking outfit or biking shirt or any of that other crap. I wear a helmet and shorts and tennis shoes and a T-shirt. I absolutely REFUSED to get dolled up to ride my bike and get sweaty!
And then I started biking. Initially, I rode a short loop – end of the block, around and home. *whew* It had been a LONG time since I’d made any serious effort at riding. Getting used to the new bike. (Put the old 10-speed on the curb and it was carted away for scrap (I suppose)…) I rode three miles around the nearby marsh. Did that for a few weeks, building up endurance only on weekends. Worked up to five miles, maybe ten on the weekends.
My teen-year love of biking reignited! I wasn’t doing it to “get healthy!” or “lose weight!” or even…“cause it’s good for you!” I was biking because I LIKED IT! All that other crap was beside the point. I LIKED BIKING – I wasn’t “exercising”…I was doing something I’d loved since that first 3-speed when I was fifteen.
From there, I kept going. I rode all summer, then asked my son to ride with me on the Grand Round Scenic Bikeway – it was a fifty-one mile ride around Minneapolis and St. Paul, sometimes cutting through the cities down the street in a designated Bike Lane. Other times riding along the Mississippi and pulling up behind Fort Snelling…then finishing up weaving around Minneapolis’ famous Lakes: Bde Mka Ska, Harriet, and others I don’t even remember. We signed up for a couple of fund raisers – breast cancer; MS; Diabetes…
And by then, I was hooked. But I wasn’t “exercising”. I was ENJOYING MYSELF! That was the key for me – exercising? (spit on the ground) – was a total NON-motivator for me. So, what is it that YOU LIKE TO DO? I’m sorry, it does require MOVING. But some moving is better than NO moving. So find that moving thing you like and keep doing it, setting little, teeny goals for yourself. I’ll share more next time around about what’s happened in the decade since I was riding in those fund raisers…
So MOVE! Here's a link to our own Minnesota Health giant that promotes this very thing! The Mayo Clinic -- https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/topics/move-more
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
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