I am definitely the sort of person who needs to regularly 'have a word with myself' about exercise and grooming, which means I love a good motivational quote or list of reasons to exercise. I can often be found looking at before and after pictures of awesome people who have got themselves all sorts of ripped. So, I thought I'd prepare my own round up of honest reasons why I ought to break a sweat from time to time. |
Memo to self:
1. The clocks go forward this weekend. That means British summertime will be here. Yaayyyy. Oh. That means I won't be able to wear roll necks, woollen smocks, trench coats or Doctor Who length scarves, without getting a tad sweaty. The cover it up and let-it-all-go-to-seed season is drawing to a close. Before I know it, it will be so freakin' hot I'll wish I could go out in just my pants and frankly I don't want to scare the locals (we just moved to the area).
2. My boys keep trying to get me to run. I feel like that's all I need to say on that one, but just to clarify, I sprained my ankle last September and haven't gone above 2mph since then. I've been dragging my bad foot around behind me like a ball and chain and have felt my fitness decline and my weight rise as a result. My foot seems to be a bit better these last two weeks, so I need to up my game and get fit, so I can keep up with the kiddos. Once my little one, Ben, is out of nappies he'll be damn fast. At this rate I'll have to get them micro-chipped in case they run off like a pair of greyhounds.
3. There's a mirror in one of the toilets at work which enables one to view ones rear reflection (the size of your butt and whether you've sat in something grim without realising etc) and it's fair to say my rear is now telling the world that I sit down a lot. I'm not body shaming myself but I'm getting a little bit of junk in my trunk. I have lush trousers I can't get over my knees and what with the cost of childcare, I can't afford designer threads anymore.
4. And...all the health stuff. I found this article of 31 reasons why you should exercise and it's a perfect reminder of why we all should treat our bodies a bit better. There's a few things on the list that mean a lot to me (although I'd like all of it obviously, please.) and I'm sure everyone has their own personal 'raw nerves' when it comes to their health. For me it's about prolonging life to be with my boys, reducing anxiety and depression (I had PND twice), prevention of some cancers and increasing confidence.
5. I feel like my life is a series of peaks and troughs (tell me I'm not the only one?). I get into great 'peak' periods when I'm working out, eating clean and feeling super dooper and then something will send me on a downward spiral, into a festering trough (love the drama). The trough periods are quite often related to tiredness (children waking me up at night for kicks and giggles) and they draw me into a seedy underworld of danish pastries, long periods of inertia and caffeine. I guess this brings me full circle to the need I have for visual exercise motivation. I don't have the means for a personal trainer who can badger me into exercise and I can talk myself out of pretty much anything, so perhaps writing this stuff down could help me to become a bit more athletic this year, or like, forever?
Am I the only one who doesn't joyfully skip into the gym raring to go or who would rather hit snooze 15 times than get up at 5.30 to lift weights (I did this last week)? I'm sure I'm not the only lazy one!
1. The clocks go forward this weekend. That means British summertime will be here. Yaayyyy. Oh. That means I won't be able to wear roll necks, woollen smocks, trench coats or Doctor Who length scarves, without getting a tad sweaty. The cover it up and let-it-all-go-to-seed season is drawing to a close. Before I know it, it will be so freakin' hot I'll wish I could go out in just my pants and frankly I don't want to scare the locals (we just moved to the area).
2. My boys keep trying to get me to run. I feel like that's all I need to say on that one, but just to clarify, I sprained my ankle last September and haven't gone above 2mph since then. I've been dragging my bad foot around behind me like a ball and chain and have felt my fitness decline and my weight rise as a result. My foot seems to be a bit better these last two weeks, so I need to up my game and get fit, so I can keep up with the kiddos. Once my little one, Ben, is out of nappies he'll be damn fast. At this rate I'll have to get them micro-chipped in case they run off like a pair of greyhounds.
3. There's a mirror in one of the toilets at work which enables one to view ones rear reflection (the size of your butt and whether you've sat in something grim without realising etc) and it's fair to say my rear is now telling the world that I sit down a lot. I'm not body shaming myself but I'm getting a little bit of junk in my trunk. I have lush trousers I can't get over my knees and what with the cost of childcare, I can't afford designer threads anymore.
4. And...all the health stuff. I found this article of 31 reasons why you should exercise and it's a perfect reminder of why we all should treat our bodies a bit better. There's a few things on the list that mean a lot to me (although I'd like all of it obviously, please.) and I'm sure everyone has their own personal 'raw nerves' when it comes to their health. For me it's about prolonging life to be with my boys, reducing anxiety and depression (I had PND twice), prevention of some cancers and increasing confidence.
5. I feel like my life is a series of peaks and troughs (tell me I'm not the only one?). I get into great 'peak' periods when I'm working out, eating clean and feeling super dooper and then something will send me on a downward spiral, into a festering trough (love the drama). The trough periods are quite often related to tiredness (children waking me up at night for kicks and giggles) and they draw me into a seedy underworld of danish pastries, long periods of inertia and caffeine. I guess this brings me full circle to the need I have for visual exercise motivation. I don't have the means for a personal trainer who can badger me into exercise and I can talk myself out of pretty much anything, so perhaps writing this stuff down could help me to become a bit more athletic this year, or like, forever?
Am I the only one who doesn't joyfully skip into the gym raring to go or who would rather hit snooze 15 times than get up at 5.30 to lift weights (I did this last week)? I'm sure I'm not the only lazy one!