I Don't Wanna!

One of our princesses, (I call all our ladies princesses because they are the warmth and softness that helps to smooth the rough edges of our lives, for that they deserve royal treatment), made a comment that it was easy to get out and go for a run or walk but it was hard to get motivated to lift weights.

I believe that is because running, walking, biking and swimming are natural activities. That side of us that isn't completely domesticated yet likes to get out and move. Lifting weight is not a natural activity, it's an extremely good way to build muscle but it's not something we would do normally. A few people would disagree with me but it's not fun either. We have fun when we go for a run, a walk, a ride or a swim, we are out in the fresh air seeing the sights and doing what he enjoy doing, moving free.

When we lift weights, in order for it to be a meaningful exercise we have to get past the fun stage and into the work stage. I have the same motivation issues with doing speed intervals. My fast walking over distance is fun, I'm enjoying it. But when I go to the track for speed intervals it becomes work, it's beneficial but it's hard work.

So what do we do about that problem. The extra things we need to do are to much like work and we can't seem to ever get motivated to do them even though they are probably just what we need to take our fitness and race times to a higher level? Good questions deserve quality answers.

First of all we need a new outlook on exercising for fitness and for building strength. A lot of people will go out and run or walk for the recommended 20 min 3 times a week and leave it at that. Are those people healthier for that, of course. But we are looking at things differently now right? We are not looking for the minimum to keep our risks of a heart attack lower, we are looking for fun, adventure and the thrill of racing, even if it's just racing against ourselves.

So with that new way of looking at our exercising how can we do the extra stuff that will make us stronger and keep it fun? Someone once said that when American runners want to get stronger they go to the gym, when a Kenyan runner wants to get stronger they go run some hills. Humm, building stronger legs by finding a route for your run or walk that has a few hills. That would be more fun than leg lifts right. How about running or walking on grass at a park or over fields, the softer surface makes you work harder and builds strength. How about hiking or trail running to add both the hills and the soft surface to build stronger legs. No place around where you live to hike? How about steep hills to walk up, or stairs.

If you think about it you can find ways to use your fun workouts to get a wider range of fitness. We can do our speed training by doing some accelerations during your walking and running. Speed up between power poles, then slow back to normal between the next to poles and repeat several times.

We can also get in some good total body training with everyday activities like hand washing the car instead of taking it to the car wash. Mowing with a push mower instead of a rider. Raking leaves is a great arm and back workout. Pushing a broom, vacuum or mop when your cleaning house is great upper body exercise. Just put a little extra effort into it and make it a workout.

Keep an open mind and look for ways to make your chores and workouts more effective and more fun.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda