If you're someone who already has a fitness routine or exercise program going, move along, there will be nothing for you in this post. This is for those of us who are naturally sluggish (which sounds slightly nicer than saying we're lazy), but you know, at midlife, we'd probably better stay active. Damn it. You know how the saying goes: if you don't use it, you'll lose it. I hate that.
1. We've all read those articles that tell you in order to get the full benefit of exercise, really you should be exercising at an elevated heart rate for 45 minutes, five or six days a week. Five-ish years ago when I was in the midst of my determined (and unsuccessful) plan to regain my 40-year-old body, I proudly told my primary care doctor that I was exercising for 30 minutes, 6 days a week. She told me that really I should bump it up to 45 minutes. *auntbean deflates*
2. But I am not a person who is going to exercise 45 minutes, six days a week. It's just not gonna happen. Everything I most love to do involves sitting on a couch or in front of a keyboard. So then for about a year I did nothing, which is when my weight skyrocketed up to an amount that was not OK with me, which led to the Weight Watchers stint, etc etc etc. You've heard that part.
3. So now I find myself looking for a fitness routine that's first and foremost sustainable. A fitness routine that I can really do long-term, because in spite of my desire to sit on the couch all day and read, study, write, and/or nap with a cup of tea and snacks within reach so I don't have to move ONE CENTIMETER, I know I need to move. For one thing, I'm stiff enough these days that if I sit still for 45-minutes, I'm creaky when I get up.
4. So I started with doing squats in the shower as I dripped off. That makes it sound like a real exercise, but honestly the first time I did one, determinedly bracing my feet against sides of the shower, I could barely make my butt drop a couple of inches without feeling like I was going to fall over. I think I did two sort of half-assed mini squats that first time. I've gradually worked up to doing six or eight real ones. It's not much, but you know what? It only takes about 30 seconds and it has made a noticeable difference. I can feel how much stronger my legs are when I'm just walking across a parking lot.
5. And since that worked so well, I've gradually worked on adding other things. My post-shower routine is now up to about 3 minutes of neck and shoulder stretches plus two sets of squats. And a few days a week I fit in five minutes of working with handweights and/or a walk, and it feels manageable, like something I can keep doing long term. It sounds so feeble--seriously, this is a total of about an hour spread out over an entire week-- but it's made a remarkable difference in how I feel. Maybe I'll keep adding to it, but maybe this is it, my lifetime fitness routine. I should write a book.
(aside: squats may not work for you, especially not if you have bad knees. If you want to try squats and you've never done them before, watch this 2-minute video about how to do them without hurting yourself. And I should probably say something like check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program and don't sue me if you hurt yourself, etc etc etc.)
6. Do you still take a shower every day? More and more of my friends say they don't. I still do. I've always had oily skin, and although of course it is way less oily now, I'm still a mucky mess when I get up in the morning. I'm a sweaty sleeper. I'm not even going to dignify that by saying I "glow." I wake up gross. So yeah, I still take a shower every day, although I only wash my hair every 2-3 days now, after religiously washing it every day from about age 13 until a couple of years ago.
7. The other "types" post I was going to write was a long one about how I figured out what my Enneagram number is, because I think it's fascinating. But I was telling someone else about it last week and it was about 30 seconds before their eyes glazed over, so maybe it's only fascinating to me. I had an image of myself formed decades ago based on one of those family myths, and it turns out that I'm really not that person. This has been huge for me, truly transformative. If it's a topic that interests you, highly recommended. Try this book for the brief overview, or this one for a more in-depth explanation. (Those are Amazon links, but just for informational purposes. I am not an associate, I don't get anything from them.)
that's all from me. Have a great weekend.
p.s. Apologies if you got this early, I set the publishing date wrong and it was sent out yesterday before I had edited it. Oops.
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