Exercise on the Wild Side
Here are a few observations and comments about exercising on the wild side.
- “I think I may walk around the yard and talk to my cow.” You know, if it gets you moving, I’m all for it—you do you. I did not talk to the skunk I met on the sidewalk. I took to the street, and we parted as friends.
- Take a 1½- to 2-year-old to a trampoline park. Watch them run toward the steps; catch them before they fall down the steps; repeat over and over and over, because they never seem to get tired. It’s a naturally occurring HIIT workout.
- Go to the gym and just lift the weights you want to lift. No order. No schedule to keep. Just do a few random sets of whatever takes your fancy. Take a long shower and you’re done.
- Back to the trampoline park—get your steps in while the kids jump. Didn’t even realize what the women were doing completely independent of each other; looking at their watches gave them away.
- Dance. Put on some music and go for it. If you normally bike for 45 minutes, dance for 45 minutes instead.
- From social media: “Do the thing you can do instead of beating yourself up over not doing the thing you’re not doing” is honestly life-changing, even lifesaving, advice. I agree. Sometimes, you just have to say, “Well, that’s good enough.”
What we think about structure and uniformity to our schedule is important; having a schedule and sticking to it relieves you of the need to decide what you’re going to do every day. But some of the time, we just have to think outside the box, shake things up, and go a little nuts. Every time Riley says, “I’m bored,” Paula says, “That’s your fault. Find something to do.” If you get bored with your workout, change it. Sometimes, you’ve got to lose the structure and get a little wild.
Finally, I misjudged the number of voters; I promised to do 10 push-ups after every 25 voters in my precinct, and we had over 500 voters Tuesday. By the time we got to 250, my shoulders were shot, so I substituted 10 squats; I did 100 push-ups and 100 squats over a 14-hour day. Still felt sore the next day.
What are you prepared to do today?
