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Get Moving!

  • Jerilyn
  • Nov 19, 2019
  • 4 min read

I will be the first to admit that I have never been a huge fan of working out. Going to the gym was always more out of necessity than desire to do so. And let me tell you... I am SO good at coming up with reasons why I need to skip the gym. The colder weather makes it even easier to find an excuse to not leave the house again once I'm home from work. Growing up, I was always athletic and I never had to consciously think about making time to exercise. Unfortunately as an adult, I don't have the energy or metabolism I once did and it's a lot harder to stay on top of being as active as I need to be. I go through random periods of time where I'll be motivated, but that doesn't usually last. There were times I regularly went to Zumba classes at Gold's Gym.... then I belonged to Lititz Rec Center and went to Body Pump twice a week... and finally I took Barre classes for a few months. Nothing stuck! My enthusiasm would fizzle out and then I'd end up paying for a gym membership that I never used.


Once my dad passed, any motivation I had in my body left me and you better believe exercising was down towards the bottom of my list of things to do. I spent a lot of time laying around and crying... just trying to process what was happening and how to get through it. As many of you who ever had depression might know, getting out of bed is the most that you can accomplish some days. My eating was sporadic... sometimes I would have no appetite for a period of time and then other times, I would eat whatever I wanted to. I'm sure my body was not getting the water or vitamins that it needed and I know I didn't take good care of myself at all. There would be random days where I would say to myself, "I'm going to start eating healthier" or "I'm going to start exercising regularly" but more often than not, that wouldn't last long. Unfortunately, I lost any muscle tone that I had and started to put on some weight. It is also true that once you hit your 30's it is harder to lose weight.


I got to the point where I really didn't like my body and was so upset about my weight. I couldn't give the excuse "oh it's just a few pounds" anymore - my clothes were starting to not fit! The only options I had were to do nothing and continue to be unhappy with how I look and feel or get off my ass and do something about it. One of my wonderful golfers, Ember, started talking to me about wanting to work out and told me about a gym her friend was going to and loved. She asked me if I would try Orange Theory with her. I figured, I need to start somewhere, so we went. It totally kicked my butt... more than I'd like to admit, but it was a great workout. There are a number of things I like about OTF (Orange Theory Fitness) and how their workouts are structured. First, you never do the same class twice - they change every day. I also like the variety of what we do. The classes always involve rotating between a rowing machine, a treadmill and the floor exercises, but there is always variation in what you do. Finally, I like that you wear a heart rate monitor throughout class and can always see on a screen how many calories you're burning and more importantly, what your heart rate is at. You do everything at your own pace and weight and having the screen to look at helps you to see if you can push harder or need to slow down.


I still have my same mental struggles with working out, but I am trying to make a better effort to push through them. Hands down my biggest problem is actually getting myself there. Even though I always enjoy my classes, I like the instructors, and I always feel better after working out, mentally, I still have trouble motivating myself to get there. Lately I've been doing better at going consistently and I'm going to do my best to keep up with that. If you hate working out, believe me, I totally get it. I encourage you to try to find something that works best for YOU and gets you motivated and moving. There are plenty of scientific studies out there proving that exercising and moving help improve our moods and mental health. Everyone is different - my sisters both love Yoga but I have never been able to get into it. Other people like Cross Fit or the many programs they have on Facebook where you drink shakes, do workouts and you post consistently to keep each other accountable. Even though it is cold and it is the time of year to be a fatty, I'll encourage you if you encourage me 😁😊

This was totally me!!










 
 
 

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