Exercise

It's April 30th and I made it to my 100 km rowing goal for the month, despite taking 4 consecutive days off last week (unplanned)... - simple lack of motivation there. LOL hey, it happens. So the past 5 days I've rowed 6 kms a day instead of 5, and here we are, end of the month and I (just!) made it to 100 kms.

I got back into rowing in November 2008 after taking most, well, all (really) of 2008 off because of surgery back in February. In November I started rowing again in earnest (I rowed 10 kms a day, 6 days a week from April 2006 to about December 2007), rowing a modest 5 kms a day on weekdays.

As well as rowing 5 days a week (about 1/2 hr a day), I also practice tai chi - usually two to three times a week for an hour to an hour and a half. I will sometimes do a set before bed; it takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete the 108 moves.

And I swim 1 km once a week while the children are in their lessons. Partly because I want to be a good role model for them (being active speaks louder than saying, "get off the couch and get active!"), and partly because I enjoy being healthy. :) All told, I think I exercise about between 4 and 6 hours a week, on average. This doesn't include strenuous household chores such as yardwork or housework.

What I've noticed is that if I take more than a few days, well even just a few days off of exercising, it's quickly apparent in many subtle ways... my moon cycle, my mood/feelings/emotional and mental health, my energy level, my eating habits.... all (and more) are tied to regular exercise. My body was made to move. It feels good to move it in healthy ways. It just feels really really good.

When I think about my family of origin, neither of my parents were active exercisers (excepting my mother's daily 2 km walk). I remember one time my dad decided to take up running. I used to go with him on my bike, all of about two weeks I think that lasted. I understand if you're a person who just doesn't see yourself as an active person, a person who jogs, or goes to the gym, or plays volleyball or skiis or whatever. There's a myriad of reasons why exercise doesn't have a place in your life right now. It's an understandable place to be; I have certainly spent enough time viewing myself inside that box. But then, one day, (3 years, 1 week and 1 day ago, to be precise), I decided to shed that belief that "I'm not a person who..." and just try new things... like exercising regularly. And lo and behold, now I enjoy it, and it's totally transformed my life.

I'm just gonna say, Try it. You never know, you just might like it.