BREAKING NEWS: I went to the gym! I also sweat the gym.
Last night, I went to the gym.
If that’s not a captivating subject line, I don’t know what is. A healthy living blogger going to the gym? That is certainly headline news. It’s not like most of us don’t do it every day right?
Well, for me, I felt like going to the gym last night was an accomplishment to be celebrated. Why? Because I had an arsenal of excuses that I could have used to NOT go.
- I was tired from traveling, drinking (too much in Nebraska) and getting in late on Monday night.
- I was feeling a little homesick.
- I didn’t get much downtime on on my vacation, worked late on Monday night and deserved a little “Sometimes Healthy” date with the Couch Monster.
- I needed more sleep!
Dazed and Confused
I intended to workout yesterday morning but, even though I woke up early, I just wasn’t up for the challenge. I’ve been feeling a bit dazed and confused since I got back from good old Nebraska. New York City is unlike any other city, because I almost feel like it’s necessary to “re-introduce” yourself to the lifestyle if you’ve been away from it for a while.
This city is crazay, yo!
Eight days in Nebraska, and I was humming country tunes, dreaming of white picket fences and babies and saying “You have a nice day, now!” to everyone in sight. That kind of mentality just doesn’t fly here in the Big Apple.
Cornhusker Fo Life!
So, I’ve been slowly but surely weaning myself back to the lifestyle. Today, I bumped into someone and didn’t say “Excuse me” and kind of stared him down afterwords as if to say, “How dare you run into me?” I am officially a New Yorker again. Phew.
Anyway, my long-winded point is that I’ve been a bit “out of it” since getting back from the heartland. Many times before, this feeling has led me straight to the Couch Monster. The idea of squeezing on to the subway, walking to the gym, changing into my clothes, pretending not to know the random people I see every day at the gym, pulling together some sort of workout and finally walking home from the gym without stopping at 16 Handles would have seemed to overwhelming.
But not last night – last night, I willed myself to the gym with the following thought process:
- Statement: Not working out is NOT an option
- Excuse: But, I’m soooo tired.
- Response: Okay, you can do the Lazy Girl’s workout when you make it to the gym.
- Excuse: But, I’m so tired and haven’t been sleeping well!
- Response: Okay, leave work at a decent hour so you can get to the gym and back in enough time to get to bed early.
- Excuse: But, seriously, I really am SO tired. It’s not even going to be a very GOOD workout
- Response: That’s okay – any workout is better than no workout. What’s your alternative? Sitting on the Couch Monster and devouring a bag of pretzels dipped in cream cheese and chased with a can of Reddi Whip? Yes, you must go to the gym.
- Excuse: But how can I do the Lazy Girl’s workout if there is nothing good on tv?
- Response: There will always be something somewhat interesting on the Food Network or Bravo. Promise. Tuesday nights are Cupcake Wars, remember? Plus, you can listen to all of your new hot country music songs that you discovered via the 10 country music stations in Nebraska.
- Excuse: Okay, okay but are you sure MTV’s The Challenge wouldn’t be better for my “soul” than working out?
- Response: Absolutely not! Working out always makes you feel better. There is no need to go home and feel sorry for yourself just because you are a tad bit homesick. Suck it up, and get that toned a** to the gym!
Can you imagine working next to a Sometimes Healthy Girl like me??
Anyway, what’s the point of me showing you my “complicated” thought process? It’s to demonstrate that there will always be an excuse not to the gym, but for every excuse, there is an equal and STRONGER response. You can always talk yourself into a workout and unless you’re sick, extremely sleep- deprived or leaving work at midnight, you might as well just do it.
Look how happy I am to be doing situps!
Motivate, Motivate, Motivate
In case my genius thoughts aren’t enough to get your engines revved, here are a couple of fellow bloggers who have provided me with exercise motivation in the past:
- PB Fingers’ Exercise Mantras: My favorite is “I’ve never regretted a workout.” So simple and so true.
- Carrots n Cake’s “I Don’t Want to Workout Today” Flow Chart (via No More Bacon): I printed this out for lots of my coworkers, and they love it. It actually kind of works.
- Running off the Reese’s “To Run or Not to Run: Hilarious, yet insightful, just like her blog. As she writes, “Just make your choice and don’t be all sad and pathetic about it. You will run another day.”
And finally, when in a desperate state, go the vanity route and use gorgeous, unattainable, yet extremely desirable celebrities with washboard abs as your #workoutmotivation.
Theme Song Thursday: “Who I Am”
You didn’t think I’d forget about Theme Song Thursday, did you? I am so loyal to this thematic concept that I’m doing a dual post just so I can fit it in. That’s dedication for a busy Sometimes Healthy Girl.
And today’s theme song stems from a little revelation I experienced at my 10 year high school reunion. Apologies ahead of time for those who don’t like country music…I swear I’ve almost got all of it out of my system. What can I say? A week in Nebraska turns a cynical hard-headed New Yorker into a sappy country-lovin’ chick. Ok, fine, I’ve never actually been a cynical hard-headed New Yorker, but usually the cheesy side of me stays buried in my Sometimes Healthy soul.
Today’s Theme Song: Jessica Andrews’ Who I Am
I Like Myself!
As I was chatting with old friends at my high school reunion, I had an epiphany (through the fog of beer and shots): I LIKE MY SOMETIMES HEALTHY SELF
I like myself almost as much as I like cinnamon raisin pretzels. That's LOVE!
No, I am not going all “self-help” Sometimes Healthy Girl on you – do not worry (anyone who considers pretzels and cream cheese a food group is not qualified to dispense life advice).
However, it occurred to me after I got back to NYC that this realization is kind of a big deal. At 28-years-old, “Who I Am” today is likely the person I’ll be for the rest of my life – and I kind of like her. She’s relatively kind-hearted, remarkably driven, pretty funny, slightly wacky, a little quirky and certainly very unique.
Who else runs to bbq festivals? This girl does!
Yes, I get overwhelmed at the drop of a hat, spend enough money on groceries to feed a small army, sometimes drink one too many glasses of vino and experience a Sometimes Healthy Hangover, could not eat just one bowl of cereal if you offered me 1 million dollars and couldn’t keep a clean apartment if you offered to pay me 2 million dollars. But, these are a little things that make me even more unique, and at the end of the day, I’m pretty proud of the Sometimes Healthy Girl that I’ve become.
There is definitely no one out there quite like me, that is for sure 😉
Throughout the evenings’ conversations, I didn’t feel the need to sugarcoat any part of my life, stretch my accomplishments or pretend my life in NYC is picture-perfect. I can honestly say that I was “keepin’ it real” the whole time. And that felt pretty damn good. I’ve learned a lot these past couple years in New York City, but I think most of all, living in a city with so many incredible and accomplished people has taught me how important it is to embrace what is unique and special about this Sometimes Healthy Girl.
I may not "own" this city, but I fit inside just fine!
It’s easy to look around and feel inadequate walking down the crowded streets of NYC alongside highly intelligent people, models, celebrities and ridiculously wealthy individuals. But whenever that happens, I just remind myself of “Who I Am.” (and the fact that none of these people can make a can of whipped cream disappear in 20 seconds…now that’s special ;-))
Question:
What’s your biggest excuse to not go to the gym? How do you make yourself ignore it? Unique workout motivation?
What’s your cheesy “I am awesome” song?
Lots of great stuff in this post, and I could comment on all of it, but really what I want to say is I WANT ONE OF THOSE CORN HATS. Those are amazing. Holy crap.
that was an awesome post, and very timely for me to read 🙂 thanks for the inspiration, and have an awesome weekend!!!
When I’m not feeling like getting a workout in, I always tell myself how I’ll feel tomorrow if I skip it. If I skip a workout, I always feel bloated and irritable the next morning. It’s never a good feeling, so I just get over my lack of motivation and get movin’!
My biggest excuse is definitely that I’m tired and had a long day OR I have too much to do at home, like cleaning etc. Totally lame.
“I never regret a workout” is probably my favorite, too! Although, I seriously have that conversation with myself every morning at 5am when my alarm goes off. I scheme in my head how I can get an extra 5 or maybe 10 minutes sleep by skipping like, one exercise. In the end, I always feel better when I just wake my butt up and GET THERE!
My WORST excuse about not going to the gym is that “I dont want to wash my hair later.” haha. that’s horrible!
I love coming back to NYC after a trip home. Yelling at tourists or people that don’t move in on the subway always screams “Ahhhh, I’m back!” hehe.
This post is great. I think when I’m not feeling like working out or going to the gym, I just think of how much better I’ll feel afterwards. That usually gets me going!
I love that song and I’m almost positive it is going to be incorporated in our upcoming wedding slideshow!
I always procrastinate on my workouts! I usually end up getting them done, but if I wait to long then my husband gets home from work and I just want to hang out with him so I don’t workout!
Ryan Reynolds = sex :). He is so freaking gorgeous! The times I usually don’t want to go to the gym are when I’ve procrastinated and it gets later in the day (I prefer morning workouts) or when I’m tired and feel lazy!
You are so talented my dear, I loved every bit of this post! I can tell that you put genuine effort into this blog and I wanted to make sure that you knew that.
But yes Ryan Reynolds= get in my pants now 😉 I’m sorry was that inappropriate?
That is such a great song too! A forgotten one for me, so I am quiteee glad you brought it up! It is a bit cheesy, but awesome like you said
Yay! Love this…and congrats on making it to the gym! My biggest excuse? I. just. don’t. want. to. But that’s why I’m an up and at ’em girl – get in, get out, get it done is my mantra. And I remind myself how great I’ll feel afterward!
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