Okay, I have to admit that I am currently suffering from inertia. You may remember the Law of Inertia from school – an object at rest stays at rest whereas an object in motion stays in motion. I am the object at rest, as I am sure many of you are. If you were like me, you tried to squeeze way too much into your pre-Christmas holiday time so that you are now just a blob of jelly on the couch. I may be slightly blobbier than you, since my husband is actually the one to pry himself off the couch and make us meals. He at least gets that much exercise!
So, how am I going to get out of this state of inertia and back into the second/moving state? I am going to employ an outside force (Newton’s 2nd Law), namely my children. My husband is scheduled to go for a run with his friend tomorrow. I am scheduled to look after the children. I, however, am going to take the children for a walk, maybe even a bit of running, maybe even a bit of playing, maybe even a bit of jumping and skipping. There will be no anxiety regarding finding time to do my workout, decisions about whether to do a sustained cardio or a metabolic interval workout – I will just announce to my children tonight that we will be going for a walk and play tomorrow and they will be the external force that will get my bum off the couch.
Why are you waiting for your New Year’s Resolution to get moving again? The whole thing about fitness is that is is not a quick fix but a lifetime of conscious decisions to become healthier. Don’t wait for a strenuous heart-pounding workout that is going to cause you pain the next day or week. Do it now. Go for a walk, do a quick mini-workout of 10 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 low-rows with tubing and 10 curl-ups once or twice a day. These are super easy and help you keep moving – maybe not at the same intensity as you were working before but it does ease the guilt and helps maintain your joint stability. If you can’t do it yourself, call on a friend or your family. Instead of going for coffee, go for a walk (with coffee). Rely on them to help push you from your state of blobishness to a state of motion.
I love my friends and family for in the end, they will be the ones to make sure this Mommy Moves.