A few years ago someone mentioned to me that two of our friends were incredibly disciplined about exercise. I was told that both had exact routines that they did every day without fail.
I was impressed.
But after talking to them to learn the secret of their discipline, I found out it wasn't true.
Like everyone else, they were on and off. But because they were on more than they were off, the rest of us marveled at their consistency an devotion.
The Secret: Fun
For those two, it might not be fair to call their exercise program fun. It was, however, what worked for them. They did exercises that they didn't mind doing and that made them feel good because they knew they were staying fit.
I, however, need something more.
I'm not as motivated as them, so I need real actual fun.
We're staying on some land here in California that is very rocky. You can't did anywhere because you hit rocks very quickly.
Some of those rocks are above ground, and some are pretty large. So I found one that's about 30 pounds and easy to grab. Whenever I walk by it and have time, I pick it up and go through a routine of touching it to the ground, holding it over my head or out to the side, etc. I just move it around, trying to work my whole body.
For my back, I do a lot of twists with the rock. I do them slowly and carefully. It's the sudden twists that lead to back injuries. The carefully-planned, properly-executed exercise twists are great for your back and core muscles.
I don't count or time the exercises with the rock. I do them until I feel like I've done enough, and usually I'm gasping for breath within 3 minutes.
Variety
Right now, the rock is fun.
When it's not fun, I'll find a new exercise. I have some regular exercises that I'm tolerant of to use to pass the time until I find the next fun one, but I'm always looking for the next fun one.
By the way, I also make sure to include at least some easy aerobic exercise, squeezing walking, running, or even dancing into free minutes that I have at work or home.
What do those include? Well ...
- One time, I found a log on a trail near our house. It was about a mile away. I would jog to the end of the trail, then drag the log on the way back. It was so big that I could only drag it 10 or 15 feet at first. Ants were eating it, however, so I dragged it over 100 yards the last couple days of the month it took to get it home.
- I read a web site on paleolithic diet and exercise, and I borrowed one of their exercises. I bought a 50-lb. bag of sand from Home Depot for about $3, and I would walk a mile with it, carrying it however I could, sometimes even on my head. My wife eventually made a thick case for it that looked like a pillow case. She even infused it with myrrh so it smelled nice.
- A really fun one is kick boxing the punching bag that my employees hung at work.
No exercise I've ever done has noticeably benefited me the way dragging that log did. I could see the difference in the mirror within a week.
If you've got kids, and especially a teenage daughter, then one additional benefit is the opportunity to embarrass her. Yesterday, she said, "I looked out the window, and there's dad with a big rock over his head doing squats." Then she rolled her eyes.
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