Hi, my name is Lacie and I hate working out. I absolutely LOATHE it. It’s tedious and boring. Oddly enough, I’ve spent the last 5 years of my life working in a physical therapy clinic, where we encourage people to exercise. I know the benefits of exercising. I know I feel better when I exercise. The reality is, I hate doing it. I’m not motivated to workout. It’s one of my least favorite things to do.
So, why am I ranting about my hatred of exercising? Well, I’m going to start working out. Yes, I realize this is a direct contradiction to everything I just said, but hear me out. Over the past several months I’ve noticed some changes: my “love handles” have become more prominent, my arms are more “flabby”, my thighs are larger, and my belly is sticking out. Not to mention my ten thousand chins if I tilt my head down at all!
Right about now you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. I guess I’m sharing this because I know I’m not alone. I’m going to share my journey with you, so maybe you’ll be encouraged to make a change. At the very least, you’ll probably get a laugh out of it. Most of all, I’m sharing because I’ve never seen anyone with my disdain for exercising write a blog about working out. Every time I see a post about someone who’s been exercising they enjoy doing it and I just can’t relate to that. I know I can’t be the only one! Also, this is going to be a great way to hold me accountable, otherwise I’d most likely quit (or never get started). I’ve already procrastinated by taking my time writing this post. The struggle is real.
A Little Bit of Background Info
In 2016, my coworkers talked (guilted) me into signing up for Warrior Dash. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a 5k run through muddy terrain with obstacles. It’s meant to be fun. Not only do people do this on purpose, but they PAY to do it. It’s absurd. Anyway, I got suckered into participating and let me just say, it was the WORST. I hated every second of it. If you think I’m exaggerating, this picture should be more than enough proof of how miserable I was.
I was miserable…until I crossed the finish line. That’s when everything changed. Once it was over, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven’t felt often in my adult life. I didn’t quit, despite wanting to. I successfully completed every single obstacle, even though I wasn’t confident in my ability to do so. Fears were faced and I came out the other side mostly unscathed. I stepped out of my comfort zone and I survived. Plus, I got some really great pictures of me looking sad and angry, which is how I felt. (One quick thing about me: my face almost always gives away what I’m thinking/feeling.) We went on to participate in Warrior Dash for the next two years.
Goals & Accountability
Something I’ve come to realize about myself over the past few years is that the only way I’ll consistently exercise is if I have a goal and someone to hold me accountable. (The downside to this is that goals stress me out, but we’ll talk about that some other time.) There has to be a tangible thing for me to strive for. My goal for the past few years has been to finish the Warrior Dash and not die in the process. Obviously, I accomplished those goals. Working to do so was not fun for me, though. I trained, along with my co-workers, and even though I wanted to quit, I never did (mostly because they wouldn’t let me). Having them hold me accountable kept me from giving up. It’s literally the only thing that kept me going.
Warrior Dash was discontinued in 2019, which means I didn’t have a goal to work towards. It must be noted that I thoroughly enjoyed not working out for a year! However, I’m now suffering the consequences. Apparently, you can’t just do nothing for a year and expect your body to stay the same. Who knew?!
Now What?
Now the question is: what is my goal? What am I working towards? Along with the rest of the Impact crew (and whoever else we can get to join us) I’m going to do a 5k ruck with GORUCK in April 2020. If you find yourself thinking, “Excuse me, what?”, you’re not alone. When Michael first told me about it, that was my response. From what very little research I’ve done (and I can’t emphasize that enough), I’ve gathered that rucking is essentially walking with a weighted backpack. It sounds simple, therefore, I’m expecting it to be difficult. Always prepare for the worst! I was tricked into thinking Warrior Dash would be all fun and games. Never again! I agreed to this for 2 reasons: 1) I need a goal to works towards or I won’t exercise and 2) there’s no running involved.
Running is Stupid, You Can’t Convince Me Otherwise
As far as exercises go, running is my absolute least favorite. I despise running! My husband is a runner and I just don’t get it. What are you running from?! Why do you think this is fun?! Who hurt you?! Therefore, I’m really happy there’s no running involved in rucking. I’m good with walking. That’s a natural thing to do. If you see me running, something is terribly wrong. But I digress. If I have to exercise, my preference is to pick up heavy things. I like weights, or rather I have a love/hate relationship with them. They’re effective and don’t take a whole lot of time, usually.
If I must workout, I want it to be as quick and efficient as possible. I’m not going to spend two hours in the gym. Heck, I’m not gonna spend 1 hour in the gym. I’m good for 30 minutes, 45 minutes maximum. That’s all I have the patience for when it comes to working out. Therefore, my workouts will be intense, but short. As I start this process I’ll share my workout programming.
Keeping it Real
My biggest goal with this blog is to be as honest as possible and keep it real throughout this journey. I’m not a fitness nut or “gym rat” and that’s not likely to change. I’m just a person who hates exercising, but I know if I don’t make a change now, I’ll regret it later. Let’s do this thing!
“Never give up. Never surrender.” – Galaxy Quest
– Lacie
Comments
Go Lacie! I am with you! Great read!
Enjoyed reading and look forward to following.
I’m with you on exercising , I do t mind walking and to be honest, I made myself get out and walk this afternoon . It was only for 30 minutes due to not the best shoes and dogs . Tomorrow I will go into Morris and walk the track and try for 45 minutes with the correct shoes on . Thanks for the blog , hoping it will inspire me to be more consistent .
Lacie you are an awesome person even if you don’t like pecans. LOL I loved reading this story. You go girl, I just love you.
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