LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — As chestnuts roasted over an open fire a little too early for my taste this season, I’ve found it harder to get back into the gym.  Oncoming cool temperatures may deter me from getting my “sweat on” but my willpower is much more tenacious.

I’m sure everyone has the same fruitless conversation with themselves every day after work:  Should I go to the gym — or take a nap instead?  My first attempt to discourage the overachiever in me is to peer out the window at the blustering wind nudging trees side to side as dreary grey clouds hang despairingly from above.  Second, I take a good hard look at my comfy bed fluffed up with down that’s clearly calling my name.  Lastly, I lazily log on to Facebook to waste more precious time.

By the time I’ve wasted about an hour and a half to two hours, the sun has sunk below the suburban beset white pine and Bradford pear tree line and the temperatures have grown even colder.  When those of us continue to slack at the gym, eat out for dinner and have pancakes for breakfast, it’s pretty evident that our inactivity will catch up with us all very soon.  For some of us who are more aware of our seemingly healthy diets, sooner than later.  I can always count on the minute amount of belly fat that begins to show to always expound of my embarrassing, indolent behavior.

The only solution I’ve found to this self-conflicting cycle is to muster up some self control and simply put on a jacket.  After two weeks of encouraging myself that I deserve some time off at the gym, I finally began administering the word “no” with myself.  I slipped on some spandex and ran out to my car like I was 007 on a mission before the cold began to bite at my heels.

After sweating out some calories and frustration I realized, hey, this isn’t so bad.  Working out is not the hard part of the whole endeavor — it’s getting myself to the gym.  The benefits of the gym far exceed the calorie burning we all enjoy, but it also has allowed me to let go of my daily distresses as it improves my brain activity for the next day ahead and provided a firm sense of self confidence.  

Upon my return home from the gym, it seemed that I boosted my drive to whip up a healthy dinner and still found time to cozy into bed to graze through a few chapters of a good book.  I learned that I’ve got to stop exercising my excuses for sloth and start working on administering the word “no” for my own well being.



mmccrarey@sentinel-echo.com