Random Poll: What MOVES you?

Some questions I see a lot (here, on FB and other places where post-ops hang out):

 

·         How do I get back on track with my activity?

·         What motivates you to exercise?

 

I think both are very valid questions. If you don’t like exercise, you have to find SOME reason to do it. Your brain is very effective in trying to persuade you not to do it — even if you find something you like doing!

 

So I thought it’d be helpful to do a poll asking folks what motivates them to exercise.

 

Now…not to dictate your answers but…let’s try to think beyond “I was XXX lbs. and I never want to go back!" I think whether we exercise or not, we ALL share that sentiment, so obviously there are more factors that come into play when determining whether or not we actually DO it (provided we are physically able).

So what motivates you to get up and do it? What motivates you WHILE you are doing it? What pushes you to go harder, faster, better, stronger?

 

I’m excited to hear your answers and I’ll post mine separately.

You all already know I am a storyteller – both by trade and inherently.

 

But what you may not know about me is that I have a competitive personality. If there is any realm in which to compete with someone, I do – in my head, that is. Thankfully, God gave me the good sense NOT to be all up in people’s faces all the time.

 

So I sort of combine those two parts of myself: the storyteller and the competitor.

 

That’s part of why I like the gym. If I’m on the treadmill and you’re on the treadmill, I want to go faster than you. I usually pick someone who is going just ever so slightly faster than I’d normally go and run next to THEM. It ****** me off if I can’t run as fast as them and dammit I will keep trying until I do!

 

I like group classes like Zumba because I sort of compete there too, although mostly with the instructor. I want to match her movements, be as precise, as in form as she is.

 

I compete in the weight room. When I do circuits on a machine I get the biggest kick out of coming along after a BIG guy and knowing I can lift just as much as, if not more than, him. And if someone can lift a bit more than me, I sort of push to get to that level.

So that’s how I stay motivated. I place myself in situations where I can mentally compete with people and I tell myself a story about them and about me. About how I can do anything they can do. Hell, I can do it better!

 

May sound nutty, but it works.

I have a workout buddy who keeps me going to the gym.

That's great! I would so love to have a workout buddy but my schedule prevents any consistency to the time of my workkouts. I get 30-50 minutes of SOMETHING in every day...but it is just as likely to be at 11 p.m. as 6 a.m. or anywhere in between.

I "get it in where I can fit it in."

My motivation is the fact that I am going to be able to do so much more with my kids. For the longest time I have wanted to go to an amusement park and be able to fit on the rides to ride and share the experience with them. I could never do that...now I can, but losing even more is going to make it even better. I will be able to swim and not carry my towel to the pool's edge and try to sneak in, same thing getting out. I'm no longer the fattest mom at the school events like music concerts and games. I'll also be able to go on more of the field trips and be able to walk without getting winded...not to mention keeping up with the group of kids I would be in charge of.
While I'm exercising what motivates me is the other people there. I set a goal for myself. After I go 5 miles on the bike, I watch to see who is getting on a machine and I pedal until they are done on their machine. Kind of like meeting a goal every day and that always feels good. I'm also motivated by the people I exercise with. This will sound kind of backwards, maybe? Their lack of exercise or energy makes me want to push myself even harder. We all love compliments and when the compliment me on my strength, endurance or dedication, it keeps me going. One of the best compliments I ever got was from one of my daughters. She is 17 and in shape. She said to me..."Mom, I'm going to the Y tomorrow but I'm going at my own pace, cuz you killed me today!" Loved it, lol.

Well, mine stems from the feet problems I used to have as a big girl -- they used to burn and hurt and I couldn't hardly make it to the restroom at work. Now, when I'm running, I get all mean and say, "take that, bad feet!!!" sounds lame but my feet used to absolutely KILL me. I also have an awesome BFF and BRF (best running friend) who I run with on weekends usually. A good running partner is invaluable : )

I'm not just a runner, though. I lift. A lot. and it shows. I like lifting in front of a mirror and seeing my muscles. Sounds vain but it's not from a vanity standpoint - totally b/c I just think it's damn cool that someone who started where I did can get this far. It's nice to see true results from effort.

What the hell is wrong with vanity?

You need someone to come out and say it? Fine, I will!

I, Nik, am VAIN. I KNOW the song is about me. I love seeing my muscles (although they have to fight through a LOT of excess skin to be seen) and I love seeing that despite the bounce and my skin I maintain near perfect hourglass proportions.

Narcissus ain't got nothin' on me.

Feel better?

(I believe you when you say looking at yourself isn't purely from a vanity standpoint but tell the truth...you sometimes look at yourself and go, "Damn, I look good!" doncha???)

Last September I impulsively hired a trainer I could not afford, and was not convinced he was worth (or I) was worth the investment. Plus, WL doctor was on my case to get moving. Frankly, I thought it would keep him quiet. Six weeks, 25 pounds, and gobs of lost inches later I was kind of like, "Wow...this actually worked."

It was a slight motivator. Not much. I had some habits I needed to get rid of. I was notorious for leaving the office every day and plopping my butt down in my sagging red chair, gluing myself to the television (I had the steroidal cable package) for hours upon hours. That's when I realized I could afford meeting with the trainer should I eliminate it...the cable. Obviously the investment was clearly worth it.

A recent picture I took really impressed me. I don't look like the fat woman I looked like a year ago. I have more energy, I FEEL great...yesterday I got "hoo'd" at by one of the warehouse guys. I never get hoo'd! My best friend's 15 year old son said, "This is so great...I can wrap my arms around you now." Then one of my facebook "friends" posted a picture with his goal weight on the inside of his wrist and the date he wanted to reach it by. So I whipped out a sharpie marker and inked mine on the inside of my left wrist. 

My trainer did measurements the other day. January of 2011 I was 63 inches around. Today...45. I can wear jeans. My shoe size shrunk. I bought a bigger car (yeah...not really sure what I was thinking there). I don't have a dent in my mattress anymore. My gym threatened to put my face on a wall. I've plastered my journey online for STRANGERS to read. I'm in therapy. I have a supply of Zoloft...seriously, why the hell would I ever want what I just got rid of back in my life?

God, I'm happy. For the first time EVER. 

All of this became a motivator for me to really push myself. To really take advantage of what my gym has to offer. I find myself on the elliptical falling in step with the person next to me, increasing the resistance to see if I can keep up. I have signed up for a spin class. I redid my training goals with my trainer. I really, really want to see that inked spot on my wrist come to pass.

And then...I want to push someone to MOVE!

To generally psych myself up for becoming more active, I have to keep (repeating to myself as necessary) #1) "if exercise was available through prescription, it would be the most prescribed medicine in the world." #2) "Exercise, it does a body good." #3) "I can be a warrior, or I can be a victim. To the warrior goes the spoils, to the victim, excuses." Those are just a few of my general mantras for creating the want and desire to exercise. Oh and sometimes, there are days where no amount of self-flagellation or pysching myself up is going to make me "want to" or "like" to exercise, so I go back to #1, if exercise was a prescription...yadda, yadda, yadda and put on my (smaller) big-girl panties and deal.

Once I'm working out at the gym, or on a yoga mat somewhere, or swimming laps, or walking uphill at a brisk pace, or grunting at the last two reps in the weight set, I use a different form of motivation. On machines, I find myself thinking I'll never do 45 minutes of stair stepping, then at 20 minutes left, I'm all about "I can do this, I can do this." Just like the little engine who could...I think I can, I think I can. Then I think of how good it will feel to have actually completed 45 friggin' minutes, climbing 87 floors, whatever. Yoga, it's like "oh I so can't wait until the savasyana...it's going to feel so wonderful." Swimming/water exercise is --"man that hot shower is going to be ******ic when this is over!" Lifting weights -- it's just me giving myself permisson for self-indulgence to concentrate on me, my power, my strength, my body in the mirror (admiring those slim ankles and gorgeous triceps), and allowing my "strong women stay young" philosphy to swell. And while I don't like competition with others, I do compete for personal bests, more burn, more aerobic capacity, etc.

So there it is, beside relishing the changes in my body (shape, fitness, aerobic capacity, lower heart rate, and all the other health benefits exercise brings about), I enjoy the sweat -- pure and simple. I don't think I've ever exclaimed after a one hour of cardio/strength session, "damn I hated that, I want that hour back." I may not be OTT with happiness, but I know that time spent is creating the me I want to be (swell the orchestra strings here).

It's a mind game, it's a physical routine, it's my empowerment, it's stress reduction on steroids, and a kick-ass mood elevator! You know, I've heard it said (ahem by me) over and over again: Exercise it does a body good!

I like the buzz I get after working out.  It's sort of a natural high and it gets better the harder I push myself.  I work a somewhat stressfuly job and at the end of a long day when I've been in two  3-hour meetings and haven't managed to even open my email yet alone address any of the stuff that's sitting on my desk....pounding it out in the gym gets me to my Zen place and helps me unwind. 

I'm also probably weird in this sense, but I like the pain that comes along with being sore the next day after a good workout.  It get a rush from it.  It's almost as good as sex...keyword being ALMOST.