Another night, another mood, another workout.

[curgoth]

Yet again, the gym saves the day. I seem to be out of the pit of depression, for now - the fact that I am having upswings in mood suggests things are getting back to better. There is still brain work to do to make this state sustainable, but I am in a place where I can start to hope again.



Tonight I did my warmup and stretching. Then 20 min of cross trainer, and 10 min of kung fu forms. Then I did a one hour body combat class. And then, about 20 minutes of chi gung and meditation.

That last part means that not only did I get my endorphin fix, I got a energy back, and actually relaxed, which is not something I do easily. I'm feeling calm, and energized. Balanced.

I really must remember to do this more often.

Comments

[djinnthespazz.livejournal.com]

That icon is just Too Damn Cute.

[burning-string.livejournal.com]

I wish I was as disciplined as you. The only thing that would convince me to work out is if it made sex better. And I'd be perfectly happy getting all my exersize from sex. Too bad I'm so antisocial and covetous of my personal space.

Apologies for the TMI. It is just my lament of laziness.

[mycrazyhair.livejournal.com]

I need to figure out a way to ease back into exercise. I've been trying for about a week now, without success. Any suggestions?

[curgoth]

!

[curgoth]

Ah, but exercise *does* make sex better.

You just need to work out a sexercise program that works all the major muscle groups! And of course, for cardio purposes, you need a minimum of 20 minutes, 3 times a week.

[curgoth]

If you haven't been going for a while, one thing to start with might be giving yourself permission to do less than a full workout for a while. It takes a week or more to readjust, depending on how long you've been gone. My jujutsu teacher used to say that the first 3-4 weeks of a new exercise program are hell - then it gets better.

When I've been off for a week or two, I generally do about half what I usually do for the first few workouts so that I don't hurt myself, with special emphasis on stretching, to give my body time to loosen up again before I start pounding away. My normal stretching regimen has me holding stretches for 20 seconds (the minimum for a decent stretch is 15 - I want to be flexible) - when I've been away for a while, I turn that up to 30 for the first few workouts, and generally only do cardio.

Among other things, this keeps me from being too miserable when I'm getting back into it, so I don't get discouraged or hurt. Try just doing your favourite stuff, and do that at a lower level than you're used to. Then after a week or two, start ramping it back up.

Focus on the good things, and try not to get frustrated or compare with what you were doing pre-break - it'll take time, and it's more important to just get to the gym and do something. The rest follows later.