“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.” ― Ellen DeGeneres
This morning, as I was putting on my warm-up pants, t-shirt, and sweat jacket, it hit me:
There is more to “working out” than just wearing work-out clothes!
You could have knocked me over with a feather!
Most days I put on these clothes with every intention of working out, yet most days I end up wearing these clothes all day without hitting the gym. It’s almost as if I’ve convinced myself that if I put on the right clothes, I’ll somehow be motivated to go down into the basement and workout in our gym or God forbid drive out to Planet Fitness and actually use my gym membership.
I hate exercising. I don’t mind taking Bell for a walk or going for a three mile hike to get my blood flowing, but when it comes to weight training or going to the gym, I have never been good at maintaining a regimen. And this isn’t for lack of opportunity or equipment.
My husband has spent years building a professional-style gym in our basement with equipment off Craig’s List. We have machines that could put some gyms to shame. In all he has spent maybe $700, but retail for these machines is well over $10,000. He has gotten machines free or for next to nothing and to top it all off, he has sold pieces we’ve acquired for a profit to enable him to upgrade our gym without having to spend any money out of pocket.
Still, going into the basement to workout is not as easy as it sounds. Motivation eludes me most days. This holds true for the kids too. So, in order to make sure my son didn’t become a mush and to give him the motivation he needed, we joined Planet Fitness. This was exciting for the first four or five months. I went three times a week and was really dedicated. Then the holidays hit and I used them as an excuse to cut down on going. Then my father joined and he and my son started going to the gym together, making it all too easy to just stay home and find any excuse not to exercise.
“squats are a form of torture designed by people who don’t need to do squats in the first place”
― Nora Roberts, Bed of Roses
I know how important it is to exercise. I know it is not an option, but a necessity. Still, I cannot seem to make this a life-long habit.
Today though, I am going to workout. Before I clean one more thing; before I plan dinner; before I finally pick up that Kleenex sitting in the middle of the floor — I am going to exercise. But if I don’t, which I’m not saying is what is going to happen here but if for some unforeseen reason I don’t, at least I’ll be nice and comfy in my workout clothes as I promise myself, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and for this I am — Simply Grateful.
Simply Grateful Housewife 