To Feel the Pain or To Not Feel the Pain... That is Today's Question

We've all been told to 'feel the burn' and that exercise is supposed to hurt.  So, what is supposed to be our motivation that makes us do something we know will hurt?  It would be so much easier just to sit on the couch and watch another movie.  After all, our grandparents and their parents, and so on throughout the ages, did not get caught up in the latest exercise fads.  Why should we exercise now?

Well, frankly, our grandparents did not have to make a point of exercising.  It was a part of their daily lives: walking through their gardens weeding and hoeing and harvesting; washing laundry by hand and going out to the line to hang it up and back later to bring it in; washing down their walls and sweeping their floors, taking their rugs outside to beat them; and the generation before that would either walk or ride horses into town rather than sit in a car.  They would walk to their neighbors for a visit, which often included helping them with their chores.  Let's face it... older generations had a more physically demanding life, and they got their exercise just by living it.  

Remember as a child all the hours we spent outside, running around playing.  We did not have to make a point to exercise then, either, because we were getting the exercise we needed just by having fun.  Oh to have that kind of energy again!   In high school if you were on an athletic team or in a marching band, again, you got the exercise you needed.  However, as we get older, we don't go out to play.  And unlike our ancestors, many of us do not have to work hard in our everyday lives.  All our modern conveniences have made it so that we don't have to work as hard, which means we are not getting the same exercise our forefathers had.  Therefore we have to make a point to exercise.

And another reason to exercise: to be an example to our children.  Remember Saturday morning cartoons?  Well, they are not just on Saturday mornings any more.  Children can find something to watch on television at any time of day, and TV will draw them in and before you know it, they've spent all their free time sitting on the couch.  Or if they are not watching TV, they are playing their video games.  There is nothing wrong with good, wholesome entertainment of television or video games... in moderation.  However, if the children are watching television or playing video games, they are not outside playing.  If they are not outside playing, they probably are not getting enough exercise.  During the summer in my house, the television and video games are not allowed to be turned on unless it is raining or they need to come inside to cool off (we have frequent and long cool off times when temperatures reach over 100).

If you know me, you know I am not condemning anyone for not exercising, because exercising has been one of my weaknesses.  I am talking to myself, too, because since having children I have let myself go.  Even before children I did not get into a fitness routine; I just had a more active lifestyle.  I used ride my bike in the park, go rollerblading with my husband, and take the dog for walks.  For the past six years, though, we've had a large yard for the dogs to play in, I can't leave the children alone to go exercise, the children cannot keep up with me on the bikes... and I have been able to come up with many more excuses not to exercise (never mind the fact the the children can now run laps around me and I tire out way more quickly than they do).

However, this week I have begun to exercise again.  This week I exercised for 45 minutes on Monday and 20 minutes on Tuesday.  After each exercise, I felt good and energetic, even though my body was tired.  I won't lie, it is very hard to get back into exercise.  And, yes, it does hurt.  But for me, once I start exercising, I want to continue.

However, this time, it really, really hurts.  My hip and knees are protesting like they never have before, and I find myself having to consider what I am going to do.  Exercise and take pain medication or give up.  Or I may take the third route... find out from my doctor why my joints are causing so much trouble!

Anyway, I do not want to give up.  I want to get back in good physical condition.  I want to go outside and play with my children.  If you have an active lifestyle, I encourage you to never give it up!  If you are like me, though, and live a sedentary lifestyle, join me in trying to make a change for a better life.  Not only will you benefit, but your family will, too!