Exercise vs Lethargy

I admire folks who exercise.  But I'm not talking about fanatics with bulging muscles and thighs the size of tree trunks.  Yes, they exercise, but I sometimes wonder if they aren't addicted to it.

No, I am writing of those who exercise despite hating it.  Those who run on treadmills three times a week or take spinning classes twice a week or who jog outside for 10 miles a week.  These are people who know they have to do it, and do it.  I've never been that kind of person.  For me, exercise is an enemy who I fight against and frequently conquer from the comfort of my couch.  The gym is akin to having a prostate exam by a nearsighted doctor.

My wife is one of those folks I admire.  She generally goes to the gym three times a week; running, working her abs, doing squats, and generally sweating through the pain.  She is amazing.  She has run 5k races, 10k races, and has done it despite claiming that she doesn't like it.  She looks good.  She looks over a decade younger than her chronological age, and she is as healthy as can be.  I wish I could be more like her, but I'm not.  I run ... if chased.  I plank ... when playing pirate games.  I have a tee shirt that shows the silhouette of a T-Rex chasing a guy with the saying, "Exercise - Some motivation required."  That's only because they didn't have one that said, "Exercise - Not even if being chased by a dinosaur."

How do people do it?  They run on treadmills with their earbuds plugged in and seem to have boundless energy.  They pump iron and jump rope and crunch and generally keep at it until they can't do it anymore!

I especially admire those overweight folks who have made the decision to lose the pounds and go to the gym despite the musclebound behemoths eyeing them as strangers invading their territory.  No, Goliath, they deserve praise for their determination.

So I ask myself: "Self?  What can you do to get motivated?"  Fear of an early grave doesn't seem to work.  I just think of going to the gym and my brain gives me a million excuses why I can't.  I think and I ponder and I try to figure out an exercise that I will enjoy and will keep doing.  I tried tennis and enjoyed it until I had a motorcycle accident and dislocated my foot.  Now I've been away from it so long that I have no desire to grab a racket.  Jogging outside doesn't appeal to me, because any change of weather that moves the temperature above or below 65 degrees will give me an excuse not to go.  Weights?  No thanks.  Classes?  Absolutely not.  Those women are crazy!

I'll keep thinking, and I'll keep trying to find my exercise niche.  For some reason, my wife and son don't believe that playing baseball and soccer on my Playstation counts as exercise.