Nemesis
You know how Sherlock has his Moriarty and Superman has his Lex Luther and Pinky and the Brain have Snowball (a hamster that defeats them every time they attempt to take over the world)? I feel as though Exercise is my nemesis! We have been on opposing sides forever it seems.
I was listening to a podcast in the car the other day that extolled the virtues of exercise (“What’s the Best Exercise” – Freakonomics). They had several experts talk about ‘The Three I’s’- Intensity, Individualization and I like to do it’ (translation – I will do it). The statement that really stood out for me concerned one of the leading indicators of how well a person will age (i.e. how healthy someone is going to be in older years). It referred to the ease, or difficulty, with which one gets up off the floor. Seriously, the simple act of getting up from the floor (or even out of a chair) tells volumes about our state of health!!!
I’m not looking at exercise as a weight loss tool. I am looking at it as a way to improve the quality of my day-to-day life. Losing weight will help that, getting organized will help that, saying yes to more things will help that, etc. All tools to help us get where we want to be. I’m going to make exercise my sidekick (pun not originally intended but it’s grown on me). It is going to be the Robin to my Batman, the Tonto to my Lone Ranger, the Wonder to my Woman, and the El to my M! With the fierce team that we’re building here, we’re going to be getting up and down like nobody’s business. We’re not done discussing exercise – its a topic that will surface from time to time as we find our way to our best selves. We’d love to hear what exercise routines you follow and what keeps you motivated to continue! – M
BTW – According to the aforementioned podcast, the best exercise to strengthen your core, thus enabling you to get up and down with ease, is squats! Now that is Fierce!
AND
P.S. – Sherlock and Moriarty in the PBS series ‘Sherlock’ are amazingly fierce.
One of the best exercise programs that has worked for me is Pilates, which is all about “the core.” I do it twice a week in a class. The class aspect is a “must” for me, because it provides a social setting and it keeps me accountable. And Zumba is the most fun I’ve ever had for getting an aerobic workout.
Way to go Dee Dee. Pilates is tough – I am impressed. Those planks are killers!!! Keep it up. I used to go to Jazzercise which totally cracked up my daughters who would occasionaly go with. They thought their mother was hilarious doing the dance routines. – M
Yay for both of you! Yes. Love the attitude you’ve brought to this effort. While I do try to lose weight here and there, one of my all time favorite fitness motivations has to do with making exercise your servant, not your master. Works for me,. Best wishes!!
Thanks Marie and welcome to our blog! I am hoping this ‘change in attitude’ towards exercise will keep me motivated. I give up too easily if I don’t see a change in the scale so…now I am just looking for a change in how I feel and to be truthful I always feel better after having exercised – if not physically right away, the mental boost is immediate. – M
I do aerobic imagery. I imagine myself doing aerobics!!
LOL! I would imagine you look awesome while doing those aerobics Lisa 🙂 – M
I scheduled all my exercise next week. I am trying to achieve at least 3 activity points a day. I started today with a short walk with hubby and hope to get on the elliptical later this afternoon. My goal is to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.
Scheduling in exercise is such a smart idea. It’s so easy for it to get squeezed out of the day if we wait and ‘fit it in.’ Yea you for setting goals and getting started! Let us know how it’s going. – M
Go Sharon, go Sharon – hopefully you will hear that little chant encouraging you to keep those appointments with yourself this week! – M
Well, I could go on and on about this post … so much I want to comment on. I used the word “nemesis” in my next blog post, so this one really caught my eye. You know, that’s not a common word that just pops up everywhere.
And my husband just told me about a study he read that let us know if we’re overweight. One of the requirements for being a healthy weight is if you can get up from the floor without using your hands. I did it and stopped right there. I figured why push my luck on trying the other two. i passed one and that was enough even if my pants don’t button. 🙂
He and I have decided we’d go to the gym together (he’s never step foot in a gym until three months ago … seriously). We’ve taken Piloxing, which happens to be one of the harder classes r our rec center. I think we need to find something a little easier because sometimes I don’t go because it’s too intense. I especially like Zumba and Pilates. I also enjoy a brisk walk outdoors.
Thanks for the encouragement to get back to it.
Whoop whoop! Congrats on passing the first test, I’m sure the other two were even easier :). I love that you and your husband are doing this together, that should help keep you going. Never heard of piloxing though, sounds like a combination of pilates and boxing? We’ll have to keep an eye on those ‘nemesis” that visited both our blog sites this week :). Keep us posted on how the classes progress. – M
Loved reading all the comments on this one! It’s a hot topic for sure. I will say that exercising for weight loss does NOT motivate me. (All kinds of articles are showing up these days that support exercise is necessary for health, but 80% of weight loss is what we put into our mouths.) I’ve become much more consistent at doing SOMEthing since my focus shifted to health rather than weight-loss. My current faves are yoga and line-dancing, and nice weather will get me out the door for a walk – especially if Hubby wants to go too. But honestly, exercising continues to be a day-by-day challenge. Sometimes I’m up for it, sometimes really not…