Making something too difficult to do works perfectly if you basically don’t want to do it. It seems so noble, but it’s sabotage dressed in silk. We can do the same with exercise, of course. We can go overboard on workouts, beginning our very first session with a full half-hour of heart-pounding, sweatdrenched action (with spurts) on the treadmill, followed by three full sets of 12 reps of free weights that leave us trembling and shaky and prohibitively sore for several days. We can punish, almost torture, ourselves and then, of course, give up. I do assure you, push me too far, too fast, too long and too-inclined on a treadmill, and I will tell you anything you want to know. So let’s not do this. There is another way, and I call it the One Thing approach. One Thing Remember the movie called “City Slickers” where a crusty old cowpoke says the secret to life is one thing – and you just need to discover what that one thing is for you? I think the same thing holds true for changing your body. If you start your body renovation by stripping your diet of salt, fat, and sugar, while asserting portion control and exercising at least five times a week with both cardio and weights – possibly working in faithful attendance at yoga, or kickboxing, or Pilates (and of course down eight glasses of water daily), I can just about promise you will stumble and end up thinking you have no willpower as you come up for air from your consoling bowl of Haagen Dazs.
You know what works in my experience? Doing just one thing and experiencing the joy of results. How can you know what’s really working if you do everything at once? I was such a mess at one time that taking a walk was a big step. I dragged along, everything jiggling under my nobody-will-know oversized dress. Then I found that I wasn’t dragging, I was walking. I felt more energetic. I didn’t get out of breath. Do you know how fantastic that was? VERY! It made me want to add one more thing, like a few not-so-deep knee bends and see if my legs felt stronger. I did, and they did! Then I wanted to start jogging and found to my horror that I could only jog for SIX STEPS before my heart was thudding and my chest was heaving. That appalled me, so I determined to jog for six steps until I could jog for ten. Do you know I worked up to over a mile? I would jog until I couldn’t, then walk, over and over. Eventually I noticed I was jogging and simply didn’t feel a need to slow to a walk. With joy never before experienced, I found I could just keep going!
Don’t Give Up We can punish, almost torture, ourselves and then, of course, give up. I do assure you, push me too far, too fast, too long and too-inclined on a treadmill, and I will tell you anything you want to know.
BELOW Don’t give in to that consoling bowl of Haagen Dazs! Take it slow and you’ll see success!
Would you like to feel successful and strong and empowered to progress? Try doing just One Thing. See if you like the way you feel about yourself! Founder of Sandpoint Onstage, Teresa Pesce is dedicated to supporting and promoting everyone in our community with theatrical gifts, whose age is irrelevant and whose only “weight” is the impact of their art.
Movement Melts Away Stress As much as it may stress you out just to think about exercising, once you actually start working out, you’ll experience less stress in every part of your life. RIGHT Not only does exercise improve your body, it helps your mental function.
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WWW.CDALIVING.COM JANUARY 2015