Exercise. Some people absolutely hate it. Some people absolutely love it. I have to admit, I’m somewhere in the middle. Growing up, I hated it. I would do anything in the world but exercise. I had no problems walking to the refrigerator for something to eat, but heaven forbid somebody asked me to go ALL the way to the mailbox. Anarchy! Although back in the day, I loved getting the mail because I had no concept of bills. Money grew on trees in my mind. Ahh to be young again.

It wasn’t until I got to college and my clothes sizes got bigger that I realized I had to exercise. Granted, I’ve done every single weight loss program you can think of. I drank shakes. I skipped meals. Whatever worked. I tried it and believe it or not, I was hungry a lot; however, I was losing weight. I realized that exercise was something I had to tackle. (Pun intended…maybe? ehh)

I’ve had so many ups and downs when it comes to exercise. Ups, downs and sideways. I’ve been on the treadmill & cruising at a 2.5 and sweating like it was the middle of July. I’ve been on a stationary bicycle watching an aerobics class and judging the stew out of everybody in the class. I’ve been on an elliptical for an hour and a half and stopped because I didn’t want to be the poster child for Exercisers Anonymous. I took a spin class out of boredom that turned out to be a spin-a-thon fund raiser. After 2 hours, I left. Forget the cause, yo! I’ve been to a strength class before where a woman several years my senior had 20 lbs for shoulder exercises. My friend & I had 5 lbs “donuts” and were in terrible pain. I once went to a water aerobics class where I was greeted with “So nice to meet you! When are you due?” Turns out it was for expectant mothers only. I’ve been at a boot camp class where I yelled at somebody to not puke right by the track. It was an angry yell too and I later apologized.

I’m not going to be the best every time I work out. I don’t even have that expectation. Sometimes I surprise myself at how good I did. Sometimes, I’m super mad at myself because I didn’t even give 20%. I have shouted out, in my head of course, why I can’t do something. I’m always my own worse critic. Lately, no matter how good or bad, I have enjoyed it. I’ve switched things up and am working on running. Mostly because a 5K I’m doing is near & dear to my heart. That, and I hate running. I figure if I do it enough, I’ll enjoy it. So far, it’s not working out that way.

The point is, get out and do something. You’ll have a story to tell – whether good or bad. On top of that, I tend to solve most of my problems when I’m exercising. My head is clear and I can conquer anything, or so I think.