The sub-title's sub-title for this post: Sometimes, Getting to the Gym or Out the Door to Run the Roads Is the Hardest Part of Working Out.
For real.
You see, yesterday was filled with lethargy. I literally sat on the couch all day, didn't shower (gross, but I know you appreciate the honesty), and read about 450 pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
I may as well divorce my husband and go live in my mom's basement if I'm going to act like that every day of my summer vacation.
After I got a whole lot of "all you did was sit on the couch and read and not shower all day?" side-eye from Kevin last night, I knew I had to make something of my day today. Big plans were in order:
-Go to the gym
-Take a shower (yeah, it's on the list for today)
-Blog
-Finish up my Attune Foods review post
-etc, etc, etc...
... and then this morning happened. I didn't want to move. Google Reader and a mug of organic green tea were sucking me in to staying at home.
But my gym called to me.
"Come work out, Megan," it pleaded with me. "I know it's hot out there today, and I have plenty of nice treadmills for you to run on. You'll feel better, you'll look better, and your sweat will be worth it."
But still, I didn't budge, save for Tweeting that I needed some motivation to get my work out on.
And then I went back to bed. Ha. So much for that to-do list.
And hour later, I woke up, feeling slightly refreshed and more ready to take on the day. After mulling it over and checking Twitter, I finally pulled on some running shorts and shirt long enough to cover my burgeoning bump, and headed out.
Here are the Three Things that finally got me to the gym to do 3.2 miles in about 32 minutes:
1. Help from my Tweeps. After my initial Tweet, I got 3 replies from kindly Twitter friends who wanted to send a little motivation my way.
Dang. That helped.
Although sometimes it sucks me into doing nothing at all, social media can really help me out in my times of need. Besides getting motivational Tweets in response to my laziness, I find that reading running blogs or seeing Tweets about others' runs makes me want to get up and go, too.
2. The Half-Ass Bargaining Method. Whenever I feel like not doing anything, but know that I should do something, I make a half-ass deal with myself.
For instance, my gym plan for today was to do a treadmill run of 35 minutes followed by some light strength training and stretching. I didn't want to do any of it, though, but I bargained with myself in the voice of Buster Bluth:
"Hey, self. How about you just go to the gym and walk on the treadmill for a while? If you still don't want to be there, you can leave after 30 minutes of simple walking. You can do that, huh?"
(source)
Sometimes, I do end up just walking. But most of the time - I follow through with my original plan. And then I feel awesome.
3. Consider one word: balance. Today is Kevin's 28th birthday, and we're going out to dinner not just tonight, but tomorrow night, too. I know that I'll probably have more than my fair share of unhealthy food over the next two dinners, and while a short run doesn't give me license to pig out, it does make me consider the choices I'll make when we sit down to eat.
It's all about give and take, really.
And it's about this cool picture of my husband in honor of his birthday:
Lastly, go check out Blonde Ponytail's Sporty Girl Jewelry Giveaway!! You can win some adorable athletics-themed jewelry.
1. What do you do when you need a kick in the pants?
2. Calling all strength training types: have any good strength training resources (books, DVDs, websites)?