My favorite son abhors exercise. Well, I’m not at all surprised because I used to hate it too. I was already 50 when I became a running addict. But I can’t help but smile whenever I see him travel to the farthest end of our house to use the comfort room there instead of the one right beside his bedroom. He also trots to the kitchen countless times a day. And I find it amusing that he has to go around his room to reach his bed coming from the door because of fixtures blocking his way to go straight to his bed (though I wanted to remind him that the shortest distance berween 2 points is a straight line, I refrain myself so he could add mileage to his steps).
Given the above scenario, I would estimate that my son walks 1 - 2 kms a day without even leaving the premises of our house. If a person who doesn’t want to exercise can walk at least 1 km a day without even trying, then there is no reason why a person who wants to exercise cannot find the time to do it.
For starters, try exercising 5 minutes in the morning and another 5 minutes at night. Slowly extend the time until you reach a total of 30 minutes a day. I have a friend who runs at 12 noon for 30 minutes then goes back to her office to change and eat her lunch. She is a mother of 3. She avoids running in the morning and after office hours to prioritize her children’s needs. Running during lunch break was perfect timing for her! A very dear friend walks at 4pm for nobody dares to wake her up before 8am or all hell will break loose!
When Eia was still receiving Occupational Therapy before, I run (rain or shine) while the therapist was attending to her but I made sure to be back on time to change my clothes and fetch her.
In one of our previous Agency meetings our Boss asked “What have you done by 8am today?” During that beautiful day, it so happened that I was already up at 4:00am to meet my client friend who just got off from her night shift work. The presentation went well and after she signed the application, I attended the 6:00am mass at Philamlife church. I ran 5 kms after that then joined the Tai-Chi group inside our Village’s basketball court until 8:00am.
Now that most of us work from home, it is a lot easier to find the time to exercise. Or is it really?
If you prefer to stay in dreamland rather than work out in the morning, you don’t have to force yourself to wake up early. You may exercise late in the afternoon. Or you can do it an hour after dinner. You may also do it anytime during the day. Like when you are just listening in a ZOOM meeting, turn off your camera. You can hula-hoop, jump rope, lift dumb bells, jog in place, exercise on a stability ball. My office table is not a table. It is one of my display cabinets when I was still renting a commercial space in StarMall. I use it as my work table so I can stand while working. And while standing I do different forms of exercise. You may wonder if I’m a masochist but I can assure you that I’m quite the opposite. (I ran away from my EX remember?)
If you have the desire to exercise you will surely find the time for it. No doubt about that. You don’t need to be motivated to do it just as you don’t need to be motivated to brush your teeth 3X a day. Your schedule doesn’t include brushing your teeth but you just do it out of habit. Regard your exercise to be as simple as that. As simple as brushing your teeth. Doing it as if it’s the most natural thing to do. You may email me at ndelr62@gmail.com if you’re still struggling with your exercise time or if you have questions about what type of exercise to pursue.
(Thanks for dropping by my blog and messaging me your comments/reactions. I appreciate them very much! Stay safe everyone.)
