Don’t push, be comfortable: pace yourself

I feel good when I’m finished my exercises and I like to sit in this rocking chair when I’m done.

If you look forward to your next exercise session then you’re doing something right! It means that your last session was comfortable or even enjoyable! You are on the path to reaching your goal.  You have figured out the exercises you can do without being uncomfortable and you’re looking forward to the next session. How long to do each one and the order you do them may take time to figure out. I’m 92 so I got mine figured out a long time ago!

You may wonder how in the world I would think exercise could be enjoyable. Well, when I finish a session, I often feel a certain exhilaration. The experts call it ‘euphoria’. I call it ‘feeling good.’ I feel I’ve done something worthwhile and I’ve had a success! So, I call that enjoyable! I believe the aerobic is what triggers it and it’s something you may feel too, after a few months of a routine that includes aerobics.

You may wonder how in the world I would think exercise could be enjoyable. Well, when I finish a session, I often feel a certain exhilaration. The experts call it ‘euphoria’. I call it ‘feeling good.’

You will look forward to your next session because you’ve learned not to push yourself too hard. If you do too many repetitions or jog or use the elliptical too long you may start to hurt or get a pain somewhere. Getting fit takes a while, it’s a process, it may take a few months, or longer. You want the workouts to be something you look forward to. Improvement comes in small increments.

This is me running a 10k in Central Park, New York City, in 1980.

You may jog or use the elliptical for only five minutes or less, before you have to stop. No problem! Walk a bit and then jog a bit.  It’s the same thing with the exercises. If you set out to do 5 or 10 repetitions and can only do 1 or 2. That’s fine, you’ve done something and that means you’re not going to hurt yourself and tomorrow when you do them, you’ll do 1 or 2 again, or maybe 2 or 3. And it will be like that until you can easily do your target number.

Don't push too hard: pace yourself and be comfortable!

It takes time and it’s both a physical and mental process. If you’re uncomfortable or get hurt you may think of some reason to delay or even stop your exercise program. Listening to your body is a guide. If you’re jogging, you’ll stop when your legs and heavy breathing tell you to. Walk and run for a while. Read my story about the telephone poles that I used when I first started.

A successful workout is a personal thing for me. A workout is one of those things I just do and I take a lot of personal satisfaction in. It’s not like winning a Panda bear at the county fair and people are clapping and cheering. It’s just my own small success!

At the end of your workout, you will have done some or all of each individual exercise and you did not become uncomfortable and you didn’t get hurt. And, you have a good feeling about it. You’ve had your own success! You’ll look forward to another session tomorrow! You’re on the way to achieving your fitness goal!

Running on back roads near Orangeville Ontario in the 1970s.