Amazing results for a lazy girl... finding the right exercise

[C33]

I am the kind of person who hates to exercise, and even more than that: hates the gym environment and the sight of big buffed up bodies. Somehow, I have always found the setting very aggressive and completely foreign to me. I guess because the esthetics of the gym ( iron, hard muscles, machines) seem very punitive.
I wish there were gyms in forest settings, populated by the Elves from "Lord of the Rings" with ab work done on a bed of flowers to divine flute music... But I disgress.

Believe me, by looking at me: you can tell that the bookstore is my place of predilection and not the gym !

But of course, I do hate to look like a big piece of lard with the muscle mass of a firefly....

I have to admit: vanity is my motor, and that looking good is the reason I would do any kind of exercise. ( well, being paid could work)

And also, like everyone, I like a quick fix solution!

The past 5 weeks,I was successful at losing weight, by restricting my food intake, but I could not get myself to be motivated to go to the gym.

Even though there is one in my building. I tried and tried and tried to get myself there, but couldn t push myself to do it. I have muscle trained, with trainers in the past, yet I profoundly disliked the work on machines and the no pain / no gain attitude, as well as the way I gained muscle. I was getting a firmer, more muscular body, but I was not getting the type of body I wanted.

I then asked myself: when was the last time I transformed my body significantly, in a way that was esthetically pleasing to me ( remember, I am vain) and in a short amount of time? I remembered doing Callanetics, years ago. I decided to give it a try. I have a 20 Mns Callanetics on my computer, a copy from a VHS, and I have started doing it every day.

I go to bed very late, and tend to eat my last bite at about 9 pm. I know that it is optimum to exercise after your last meal, but have never been able to do it, because I have no energy for the typical muscle training routine at that time. Because the Callanetics program is challenging but short enough to tackle, I have been able to exercise, even as late as midnight, without demotivating myself.

The results have been amazing! I have never seen my body shrinking and firming at that rate! Not only that, but my posture has changed, the lower back pain I usually get after sit ups and regular gym exercises is history, and I feel a tingling in my muscles hours after I have exercised. I went to check the DVD on Amazon.com and the reviews are raving about this type of exercise. I even get better results than with Pilates.

The production values are horrendous and the fashion in the DVD is laughable, but I can live with that for 20 minutes. I am going to buy the DVD that has both routines( AM and PM) and endeavor to do both routines in one day.That would be 40 minutes per day.( The AM segment I am doing is 25 minutes but only 20 minutes of actual exercising).

I recommend this to anyone who has a hard time getting motivated. Results are a wonderful motivation.

[Natasha]

Congratulations on getting motivated!

I tend to think that the "best" exercise is something you can and want to do, and can stick to. So, if you really dislike the gym atmosphere, I think it was wise of you to find an alternative that works. Otherwise, even if you could occasionally "make" yourself go to the gym, you wouldn't enjoy it, and it probably wouldn't be too effective, since the habit would likely not stick.

You might also want to try what I call "alternative exercise," which are activities that give a workout, but you do them for fun. For example, maybe take swing dance classes or go wall climbing or volunteer to take a friend's kids to the park and run around with them there.....I don't think working out has to be work.

Good luck with your new program!

[Adrienne]

That is a good enough review that i just ordered a dvd on it from amazon since my local library did not have one (what did we do during the days when we could not just hop in the internet and check library holdings?? i shudder to think).
I have never tried Callanetics before but i love Pilates. I will check it out.. thanks for the recommendation.

Adrienne

[maclinda]

You go, girl!

Congrats on finding your own path to a good solution for you.

[peacefulmind]

Congrats, congrats. You sound just like me haha. I will definitely give this a try, thanks.

[shesaboutspirit]

I remember Calenetics. I think maybe I got the tape from the library way back when. Since I finally put an end to my gym membership this week (as I couldn't take any more guilt), I'll give this another look. I keep thinking that I have some decent, not too irritating tapes around here and should dig them out.

I appreciate your thoughts about working out. It's not easy to admit hating exercise, but I'm pretty sure most people can relate.

Thanks for the inspiration,

Pam

[C33]

Thank you for your encouragement.

Here is the link:

Lose Ten Inches In 10 Hours - Fitness | Exercises | Sports | Advice – MSN Health & Wellbeing UK

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by C33

Thank you for your encouragement.

Here is the link:

Lose Ten Inches In 10 Hours - Fitness | Exercises | Sports | Advice – MSN Health & Wellbeing UK

Thanks for the link. Interesting article. I love to work out (i love to hike, white water raft, mountain climb etc) but i love the idea of this. Cant wait to try it.

I think i will add it as a one of my experiments on my website. Sounds like an interesting experiment to me!

Thanks
Adrienne

[m0vingon]

Originally Posted by C33

I wish there were gyms in forest settings, populated by the Elves from "Lord of the Rings" with ab work done on a bed of flowers to divine flute music... But I digress.

Wow! Now that is a visualization can get with

You have also convinced me to give calenetics a try. I was just searching for a quick way to tone up for a fundraiser I have in April.