Oh thank God hot season has come to an end! For the past few weeks we haven't needed the electric fan in addition to the air-con in our bedroom at night. It's starting raining in the middle of the night and here and there during the day. The middle-of-the-night rains are heavy, loud downpours that usually wake us up. I usually find them a bit frightening but I think part of that is because of my half-asleep-half-awake state in which the forcefulness of the rain feels as if it is going to sweep us away. It's still really hot during the day but at least the trend of cloudy days is beginning. This is the Cebu I can handle.
On a totally different topic, for the past three weeks, I have been exercising almost daily. Yep, daily. I can't recall many times, if ever, in my life when I've exercised daily (except those long-gone high school days of running track, cheerleading and strength training classes, which is where I got these [insert sarcastic tone] sweet-looking biceps I still have - ha ha!!).
I'm on a bit of a roll, I guess. It finally occurred to me about a month or so ago that exercise just isn't going to be convenient. I have to prioritize it and go out of my way to make it happen. Ideally, if consistent enough, it will become a habit. I know several people who are good at this and I've always convinced myself that those people have some special skill or ability that I don't. But then I started watching The Biggest Loser. I love this show. It is so inspiring. It's caused me to have a new dialogue. I now say to myself, If the people on that show can do it, then I for sure can do it!! No excuse, Jenifer!
And then I discovered exercise videos that can be purchased and downloaded on itunes. I mean, of course exercise videos are available on itunes, it's just that I never thought about it before. I was so happy to realize this because history has shown that I am much more likely to exercise regularly if I don't have to get in my car and drive somewhere to do it.
I am currently doing the "30 Day Shred" video and essentially have been working out for 20 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. I am hoping I can keep it up. After joining my friend in India for a 20 minute workout led by Jillian Michaels (trainer on The Biggest Loser) in her home on her computer, I was inspired to do the same in my home. Doing that video also showed me how weak I really am. My irregular workouts at the gym and occasional jog-walks at the local running track just weren't cutting it. Go figure.
Andrey and I recently went to a local business park for a run. Andrey previously mapped out a 2.5km route. He has gone a few times without me to run around it twice. I went along for the first time a few weeks ago and was able to run once around the loop without stopping. Yes, I know 2.5 km, which is about 1.5 miles, may not seem like much but considering I usually never run for longer than a few minutes at a time without having to stop, I felt pretty good about running the whole thing without stopping. I have always despised running but I suppose it's something I can do if I work at it. For now, I am aiming to run the same route a week and try to improve on my time and eventually distance. I get bored pretty easily and need variety in exercise, so the occasional run is a nice break from the Jillian Michaels (ass-kicker) "shred."
Training with Jillian has been good for me. When I was running I had some Jillian-inspired self-talk that kept me running to the end. "I am strong and awesome. I can do this. When I get tired, my strong legs will carry me." I just have a disastrous history with exercise but it's something I've really, really wanted to get better at for a really long time. Not because I think I need to lose weight or anything (although I'll be delighted if I can lose 5 pounds so I have a little breathing room in some of my pants that have recently gotten a bit tight) but because it is just SO. EFFING. IMPORTANT! I've known this, of course, for a really long time, but haven't been able to carry through and be consistent.
But now (ever since I identified and treated the anemia I was dealing with unknowingly for many years), I am experience some success when I exercise. I feel stronger and my energy levels have gone up. I am so stoked about this! I wasn't noticing much change at first and I was beginning to get discouraged and then Andrey and I played tennis together last weekend and I was able to play longer with less need for breaks to catch my breath. Yes! All this motivates me to keep it up.
So the fact that my goal is a mere 20 minutes a day, it helps me push through and get it done. When I try to put it off and my lazy mind starts to kick in, I just tell myself, It's TWENTY minutes. It will be over soon. And then I think about drinking a delicious post-workout banana and yogurt milkshake (yummy!) as a reward and so I push through and get it done.
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