Ten in 10 Challenge – 4 Weeks In

So, I’ve been avoiding this update because I haven’t been doing as well as I wanted to….

I signed up for Recipe Girl’s Ten in 10 Challenge back in December, mostly because participants set their own goals.  I’m notorious for wanting to participate in something like this but then forgetting about it or not giving it the attention it deserves.  I don’t want to disappoint people, so I avoid challenges altogether, but this time, the only person I’m really letting down is myself.

So enough self-bashing, what was my goal?  To develop a regular habit of exercise.  I kept it vague for a reason; I didn’t want to say “go to the gym X times a week” or “run or bike X miles a week” because I know setting a quantifiable goal like that was just setting myself up for the failure-disappointment-depression cycle again.  However, my “start exercising” goal is good enough for now because after my shin splints, I wasn’t doing anything regularly as exercise goes.  It takes awhile to make something a habit, so I’m good with this.

Here’s what I’d ideally like to accomplish in 6 more weeks:

• Do 1 active thing a day.  If I were perfect, I’d say “do cardio and strength training every day,” but that’s not realistic just yet.  I have to get used to moving more before I can set my sights higher.  My 1 active thing can be yoga or strength or cardio, but I have to do SOMETHING.
• Be more comfortable with catching short stints of exercise.  I’ve always been (and still am to an extent) of the mindset that exercise is a chore, that I have to set aside all this time to do it, and that it’s such a huge ordeal.  I’ve always been aware that’s not the case, but I’m still in that mindset.  I’m trying to wrap my head around doing several short sessions instead of schlepping it to the gym for an hour.  I could walk around the block for 10-15 minutes, I could do a short program on the Wii, I could do an interval DVD…there are so many short exercises I could do, and I don’t have to psych myself up to “switch gears” to do them (which I’ve always done in the past).
• Do yoga twice a week.  This is another goal I’d like to bump up, but I have to start small if I want to succeed.  When I was doing yoga every day, I felt stronger and more present, like my mind and body weren’t trying to secede from each other like they are now.  I feel better when I do yoga, but like that 2nd bullet point up there, I need to realize I can do a few asanas and it’s not a huge ordeal.

So, that’s not asking much, right?  Why haven’t I been able to accomplish it in the 4 weeks I should’ve been working on it?  Because I’m not giving myself the proper chances, and I’m not holding myself accountable.  Like I talked about in my post about self-efficacy, I need to believe I CAN do these things and succeed and that they’re not a big deal.  The only thing getting in my way is my own stupid psyche.  These things are not beyond my abilities, and I can’t make excuses for not doing them, because lately I’ve shown myself that I’m more than capable of exercising.

I went to the gym with my friend again on Friday night (and dragged Mom along, too!)!!!  Rachel and I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine (and again, the time flew by!!) and then we tackled the scary weight machines because there were so few other losers dedicated exercisers at the gym on a Friday night.  I did the deltoid press, the butterfly pectoral press, the abductor, and the adductor machines.  Usually when I did do strength machines, I’d stick with only arms or only legs on any particular day.  However, I knew I wouldn’t be going back to the gym until at least Monday, so I just went for arms AND legs.  And I overdid it.  I don’t remember how much weight I put on the adductor machine, but it was tooooo much.  It’s killing me to stand and walk today, two days after working out.

So, blah blah blah, what’s my plan?  In the same way that planning helps your eating habits, I’m going to try scheduling to aid my exercise habits (I’ve never been good with planning meals, though, so this will be quite a task).  Part of my problem is that I have this nebulous voice saying “must exercise” in my ear, but I don’t know or can’t decide what to do, so I’m going to give myself some direction.  I’m going to schedule myself a few options every day, and I’ll record exactly what I’ll do here.  And hopefully y’all will read it. 

So, there’s my problem, there’s my goal, and there’s my plan.  I should’ve done this 4 weeks ago, but February 1st is better than never.  Let’s hope I’ll set myself up for success this time instead of failure.