Weekly Meeting Topic/Friday Fitness: The motivation to Exercise.

I am combining my Wednesday and Friday post together for two reasons:

One, they happen to go together.

And two, Blogger wasn't letting me log in last week and I couldn't write my Wednesday post on Wednesday.

So - motivation to exercise...

This is something I have to say that I am fortunate in that I don't have any issues with this.  I love to exercise. I feel great when I do, and I feel sluggish when I don't.

If there's ever a reason that I can't do my usual FIRM workouts, I miss them terribly and I itch for the day I can get back into the swing of my routine.

I wasn't always like that though.  I was never much of a fitness person. I never exercised.  I had tried a couple of DVD's but never stuck with anything. I had even tried a little, folding treadmill. That lasted about a day. (It was so small that my stride was too long for it.  And I'm only 5'2").

And then I was in a car accident and sustained a pretty serious muscle injury.  And muscle injuries are hard to heal. But everyone, everyone, everyone - doctor, neurologist, chiropractor and physical therapist said that in order to heal I needed to exercise.

I also knew from reading up on the topic that women need a combination of aerobics and weight training in order to achieve the best fitness.

And that's when I found the FIRM. They are DVD's you can complete in the privacy of your own home (thank goodness because I have two left feet!) and you don't need to pay for a gym. They alternate between aerobics and weight training so you get the best of both worlds.  And there are enough workouts to alternate so you will never get bored doing the same old routine over and over again.

For the most part, I love all of the workouts available (and I have most of them!) with only a few exceptions. And I started to not only enjoy working out, but I fell in love with the results and the wonderful changes I saw happening to my body.

I started to become strong. I could lift a case of water into the shopping cart and into the car without struggling. I noticed muscle definition in my arms and abs! And I found I could eat more because I was burning more calories! Jackpot!

And so I fell in love with exercise.  And the past two weeks I have missed it. My knees have been so sore and I just have to wait till they heal. I've been making sure not to bend/flex more than necessary and I've been applying a herbal muscle massage cream. But, I know from experience, it just takes time.

In the meantime, I'm trying to be vigilant about my calories until I can get back into my routine.

Motivation to exercise? No problem.