IDEAL EXERCISE
There was a day when I would have said, “It is not worth putting my sneakers on for a 3-mile run.” In that season of my life, I was a runner. I valued the miles, the outfits, the gear and the beautiful sneakers.
I thrived in the running community.
Then, I had two girls. While I found it easy to run when they were babies, I found it very hard to run the miles once they were school-aged. I’m a homeschool mom. So, in order to run, I need a babysitter. This cramped my running- my ideal running that is. I do own a treadmill, a nice one. Yet, I long for the freedom of the road, and I longed for the miles.
Fast forward many years… My girls are recently 6 and 8. For the last year, I gave up exercising. True story.
I could not ideally fit in what I wanted, so I gave up.
As you can guess, 8 pounds and just a plain crappy feeling later, I had to dig deep and figure out what exercise means to me. For 6 months, I experimented. I tried waking at the crack of dawn. I tried setting up times with neighbors or my husband to secure runs. I tried arranging things with friends. While all of this was well intentioned, it all failed.
Then, I decided to continued to experiment.
I realized I could not get up at the crack of dawn. My kids still wake me, and I really value sleep. I realized that running first thing in the morning wasn’t going to work for me every day and that the miles I longed for were significantly different than the miles I could manage.
Here’s where I landed: I wake at 6:30 am daily and I create a morning routing. I journal, I read my Bible, I look at the calendar and secure our days. Then I work out and I shower. So…what are my kids doing? I set them up for success as well. They have their “Morning 5” to complete, a checklist of extra things that need to be accomplished to make our day successful, and I place a fun activity on the table. They know I’ll be with them at 8:30 am to serve breakfast and school starts at 9:00 am.
My exercise now is simply walking or running my driveway most days or completing a weight routine in my bedroom. THIS IS NOT IDEAL, but it’s keeping me active, and it works. My driveway is pretty, and I’ve got my weight routine down pat. I shower, get dressed, brush my hair and do a set of weights. Then I wash my face, follow my skin care routine and do a set of weights. I then blow dry, straighten and then you’ve got it….do a set of weights. My weights sit in my bedroom by my dresser.
Again, not ideal, but it works.
On days I have my mom visiting or my husband is off, I will lace my sneakers, or embrace a 45-minute cardio class, but this isn’t my season for consistent lengthy workouts. This is my season to move. I move 20 minutes a day. That’s my minimum and I have found success.
How do I keep myself accountable? Here is what I implemented: I’m not allowed to change out of my workout gear until I’ve MOVED. Those that know me know I really value being put together to start my day, even as a homeschool mom. I either fit in my workout routine or spend the day grumpy without a shower.
My ideal today is different, and it took time to figure out, but it works.
I have gained momentum, felt success and I’m back to being active.
I’ve enjoyed dancing with the word “ideal” and my beliefs around this.
