Note from Audra…I don’t want y’all to get tired of me so I’ve asked Beth to help me write a few Fitness Blog entries. I definitely wouldn’t still be working out if it wasn’t for her. Check out w what she has to say about what motivates her!
Submitted by Beth Dubsky (Audra’s Fitness Friend) Last month was my wedding anniversary. Well, since there are two of us, I guess it was OUR anniversary…23 years. For the first couple of years, my husband would go to the gym after work a few times a week. That meant that he did not get home until about 8:00. That was fine for a while until we started having children, and he decided to change to a morning workout schedule. Now, if you have to be at the office by 8:00, that means that you have to be at the gym pretty darn early. You need time to work out and to shower and to get dressed. And then drive to work. He has been getting up at 4:30 in the morning, three times a week for 20 years! That is some serious commitment. I have a ton of respect for him and anyone else who can stick to that kind of schedule. I mean, I am in such a deep sleep at 4:30 a.m. that I rarely ever hear him leave. But I get it. That is his routine. It works for him. (God love him.) It also motivates me. If he can make that kind of commitment to being fit and healthy, I can, too. And I stay home, so my schedule is very flexible most days. But here’s the thing about staying home….my couch and a really good cup of coffee, and yes, Netflix. Sometimes it is really difficult to stay motivated. Especially when it gets cold out. (How does he do those early mornings when it is 30 degrees outside?!) I am very thankful that I have a workout buddy who I am committed to twice a week. I can’t let her down. But what about the other 5 days when it is just me? Sometimes the weather is so beautiful that I HAVE to go for a walk. Good weather can definitely be motivating. But what about when it is rainy? Or cold? (Or smoky, for Pete’s sake?) I am not the kind of person who is motivated by fitting into her jeans. (Probably because I don’t wear jeans.) I don’t really have any food cravings. (Chardonnay is not a food.) So, how to stay motivated?? Sometimes I obey the voice in my head that says, “think about how good you feel after a workout”. (Sometimes that voice is negative and says things like, “think about how crappy you feel when you DON’T workout!”)That works about 50 percent of the time. Other times I will make deals with myself, like, if I walk for an hour than I can sit down with coffee and a book. Or, 30 minutes of strength training before catching up on The Walking Dead. Occasionally, I actually FEEL like working out. But it is much harder to be motivated when I am doing it alone. Walking and talking is therapy, so if anyone asks me to walk with them, I almost always say “yes”. When my daughters are home, they will walk with me. The hubs usually walks with me once a week, and every now and then Audra will take a break from her busy schedule and walk with me. But sometimes I want to take a class, and if I can convince someone to take a class with me, I am much more likely to go. So, socializing while working out is definitely motivating. And let’s face it…who doesn’t like feeling stronger as they age? Every time that I am able to complete a Jose workout without dying, I know that I am getting stronger. And it definitely doesn’t suck to hear my husband say to me, “I am so glad that you workout”! That is totally motivating. (Maybe I should get a pair of jeans?)