You Gotta Work Your Butt Off To… Work Your Butt Off
Posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Exercise with friends to prevent boredom.
We’ve all heard somewhere that you have to vary your exercise routine to prevent boredom from setting in. That’s just common sense, really. I’ve been there, and I’m sure you have – doing the same exercise day in and day out until you can’t stand doing it anymore. So, you just quit, right? The theory is if you do different forms of exercise you won’t lose interest and will continue to exercise. That said, once again I have learned why doing a variety of exercises is even more important than just to prevent boredom.
I’ve been riding my bike for miles and miles and miles, feeling pretty sassy about the fact that I ride like the wind without ever slowing down. Isn’t that just grand! Well, we’ve been having a rainy spell here which forced me to drag out some of my exercise videos that have been gathering dust. After choosing one that I remember was pretty fun, I started in, following the moves, and getting through the 30 minutes without a lot of frustration or pain, at least during the routine.
Then came the dawn…
There I was, trapped in my bed, unable to move my legs, every muscle screaming “no-o-o-o!” When I finally convinced my legs to buck up and get going, my back muscles started with their outcry. I had some seriously stressed muscles from head to toe. I can’t remember the last time my muscles hurt like that – not just that nice soreness from a good bit of exercise – but serious OUCH! As I tried to move from room to room throughout the day, I winced and wobbled my wounded self just enough to feed and clothe my body, but not a whole lot more.
Three days later I was finally feeling normally sore instead of wounded. Three days! I took a chance and hopped on my bike for a short ride. It turned out to be a good idea. Now, back to feeling good, I’ve learned a valuable lesson, again. Change up the exercise a little there gal! Doing the same routine over and over not only can lead to boredom, but your muscles get accustomed to any exercise. Once your muscles get used to whatever you’re pushing them to do, they reach their plateau. No more strengthening, no more stretching, no more calorie burning.
Switching exercise routines out every couple days is like goal setting for your muscles. Every time you surprise your muscles with another set of goals, whether it’s crunches or dancing or free weights or swimming or leg lifts, your muscles respond by stretching and strengthening to reach those goals. Muscles have memories. Throw in a few new tricks every couple days to keep ’em guessing! I sure won’t forget again!
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