Starting to Walk

It has been suggested that I go back and revisit the whole exercise discussion. In the last post, I talked about how much I am enjoying exercise, how far I have come, and how much I have achieved. I guess I skipped the part about how I got to this point.

I added exercise to my routine back in September. May I confess just how much I HATED exercise. Hated it! Fortunately for me, I had an exercise buddy who would encourage me every single step of the day. There were many, many, many days where I didn't want to expend ANY energy. But Tracy pushed, and neither of us gave up.

We started out by walking around the parking lot at work. We took a "smoke break". When all the smokers were sucking on their cancer sticks, we walked. One time around the lot turned into two times. Two times turned into walking to the front of the office park. Then, we circled the shopping center that is in front of the office park. On and on, until we got to the point that we were walking 2.5 miles every day.

To step it up, we walked faster. Tracy would jog ahead and walk back to me so we could walk together a little further. I even tried jogging. Walk, run, walk, run… Heartbeat goes up and comes back down. Running would elevate the heartbeat; walking would bring it down. The intervals are good for me as I develop stamina and strength.

I've read many articles that suggest tips to help get you moving. Start out by walking out to your mailbox instead of grabbing the mail from your car on your way up your driveway. Park at the far end of the WalMart parking lot and walk into the store. One that I thought was creative (and keeps you from getting all sweaty) is to walk up and down the grocery store aisles BEFORE you start your grocery shopping. Or, how about waiting until you have finished shopping and walk the aisles with a FULL grocery cart. Strength AND cardio – good for you!! Lastly, might I suggest that you set your timer for five minutes? Start walking away from your house until the timer goes off, then return home. You've just walked for ten minutes.

You've got to starting seeing yourself as an active person. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen overnight. Do a little bit today, and tomorrow a little bit more. Keep it up. Don't quit. You will start to develop some endurance. And then you will start feeling good about yourself.

I can promise this – consistent exercise pays off.