The topic for today, in our Good Life Guide to Health and Fitness, is getting up off our fannies. I hate exercise, or at least, exercise just for the sake of exercise. I hate sports. I hate jogging. I hate gyms and treadmills and walking round and round in boring circles. Sooo, the trick for me was to find something, anything, that I actually liked!
My first saving grace was discovering that, though I hated walking around a boring track or on a treadmill, I didn't mind it at all if I was with a group of friends and we chatted the miles away, or if I was walking where there was something interesting to see. I never could get John to walk with me though, or if I did, he was ready to head home after 15 minutes. Then I came up with "shoppercising." Just take that boy somewhere that has shop windows along the route, and he'll walk for hours!
My second savior came in the form of gardening, and my job as visual merchandiser at the garden center. Both were such wonderful creative outlets for me, that I didn't mind how strenuous they were. I can't say that I love shoveling a truckload of mulch or compost by myself, but I love the results, and I pass the time by imagining how amazing my Cantina Garden is going to look, thanks to my efforts.
Another boon, discovered just as I hit menopause and was putting on a bit of weight and getting very creaky joints, was Curves. Though I've always hated gyms, I don't mind Curves. I love the music, the camaraderie and conversation, the fact that it's all women and no spandex, and most of all, that it only takes 30 minutes! I don't think it's ever going to make anyone buff, or ripped or torn, or whatever it is they call it these days, but it has kept me mighty healthy, and helped me avoid the heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes, and joint replacements that run rampant through my family. So far, anyway.
Last, but not least, though I've hated every sport I've ever tried, I do love to dance! I just never had much opportunity for it. Because he loves me, John is perfectly willing to get out and boogie with me at weddings and company Christmas parties, but would he want to take weekly salsa lessons? Probably not. How lucky is it then, that I recently discovered a way to salsa, hip-hop, rhumba, jive and shimmy to my heart's content, without needing a partner? Yea, ZUMBA!
So there you have it my friends. Step #4 in the Good Life Guide to Health and Fitness? Keep searching until you find something, anything, that makes you want to get up, and get moving!
P.S. Many thanks to cellspace.org for the image above.
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4 comments:
Yeah, Zumba! I love it so much! I just went last night. I always come out so happy and flushed!
I'm very sad. Our teacher had to cancel our class today because her knee is giving her problems.
Never told me there are guys in the class.
That's not a picture of my class, which is at Curves, which is "women only!" Zumba started somewhere in South America I believe, where the men aren't afraid to dance.
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