If I had a dollar. . .

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." -- Michael Jordan 

 

If I had a dollar for every excuse I hear for why people don't workout. I dig it because I used to make excuses and justify my sedentary lifestyle. Seemed like as soon as I got into a groove something would happen and disrupt it: got married, had babies, got divorced, couldn't afford gym dues, work schedule changed, no shower at work, too tired, no time, too many skinny people watching.

Here is a glimpse of a typical day for me:

• Wake up 5am
• Hit snooze until about 5:10am
• Get up and get in a quick 20 min workout (30 min if I actually get up at 5:00a)
• At 5:30 my coffee maker pops on and I start to smell the heavenly goodness that is cafe (ahhh!)
• Start reading my study (currently Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders), I shoot for one chapter a day
• By 5:45 the boys may be up so I send them to put on their clothes (which is an exercise in futility for the twins b/c they put everything on backwards and have to announce to me their every move--Mommy, I put my socks in the dirty clothes)
• At 6:00 it's crunch time and we're all getting dressed, brushing teeth, combing hair, putting on shoes, packing lunch bag, etc.
• At 6:45 I start cursing because we should be in the car.
• By 7:00 we're on the road and the Menaces are attempting to dictate the music selection
• The Menaces are dropped off to daycare by 7:30 (on a good day!) and I'm off to work
• 7:58 I'm rushing to my desk to get the day started
• 1:00 is my lunch hour and four days a week it's committed to the gym--no negotiations
• Fast forward to 5:00p, I'm a whirl of activity as I shut off lights, computers, and drop off pkgs to the mail room. Rush to my car and prepare myself for the joy that is Highway 24E traffic.
• 6:00p The Menaces are back in the car making A & B musical selections and telling me every five minutes that they are hungry.
• 6:30p we are home and it's dinner, baths, story, preparing clothes and lunches for next day, cleaning kitchen (maybe. . .)
• 8:30p The Menaces exit stage left and it's MOMMY TIME, which typically means get in a missed workout, handle my business ventures, pack my gym bag, wash/dry/fold a load of laundry, or watch The Closer. Sometimes these things are done simultaneously.
• 10p (or sometime thereafter) time to hit the sheets. . .And do it all again in the morning.

Why am I sharing my day? Because I want you to look me in the eyes (or monitor, hee hee) and give me an excuse as to why YOU aren't doing something for your health. I want you tell me what in your day is more important than you doing something to lessen your chance of heart disease, high blood pressure, fatigue, and other morbidities. You are important enough to eek out the time in your day. The crazy thing is that you will FEEL so much better (energy, clarity, strength, self esteem) when you do. Dude, endorphins rock!

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to come up with a rebuttal (an anti-excuse) for every excuse you have ever made for not exercising. Then think of a way to improvise--ahead of time--for any obstacle that might present itself. One of my favorite quotes is "A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn."  I'm not expecting you to become a star athelte or telling you to drop 600 lbs. Activity is not about asthetics; it's about being healthy--at any size. At a size 16 (okay, some 18s) I can beat the breaks off a unhealthy size 6--trust and believe this girl is bad!

Now get to it!! And I don't want to hear your belly-aching (in my best drill sargeant voice)!!