link between exercise and mood

I often joke with my hubby when he's really cranky that he needs to go for a run. I say it jokingly, but I mean it and he knows it. Sometimes he takes me up on the suggestion and is out the door 10 minutes later!

Lately I've been feeling down, overwhelmed, stuck and fat (ohhhh did I just write that out loud?) It just dawned on me that my foul mood and low self-esteem is because I haven't had a GREAT workout in weeks, maybe even months. (see Jan 5th post for why)

Have you ever noticed how much better you feel after a really good, heart-pumping workout?  Even if you're feeling ill or cranky or just plain stressed - taking time out of your day for vigorous exercise will make you feel less of what was ailing you and closer to fantastic. Some people even need to exercise to be more creative - like writing or painting or designing, etc. That explains why I haven't written many posts recently. (This post was drafted as an idea I had on Jan. 13th - and that's the date it'll be published as - but I'm actually 'writing' this on Jan. 27th - more than 2 weeks later!  Bet you can guess why it's getting done now...  YEP, I exercised!)

It's a bit scary how quickly lack of energy due to lack of exercise can lead to low moods and self-image, which then leads to even less motivation to do anything...  and it just snowballs!  At least in my case, I know that once my 'injury' is healed, I'll be back doing whatever I can to get my butt moving - maybe even with more vigor to make up for what I missed out on! (and to shed those extra pounds more quickly)

Even if you don't feel like it, get out and do SOMETHING - you'll be amazed at how easily it changes your mood and perspective on things. That's what I'm doing now (2 weeks later) and it's making all the difference for me!

I've got a long way to go...

... to get back to my speedy swim times from June! Last night was my second swim lesson and we did time trials - these are supposed to be benchmarks to see how much we improve over the 12 weeks. Unfortunately for me, my times were at least as bad as when I started last September, or at least that's how it felt. Definitely worse than at the end of June. I'm almost too embarrassed to post the new times...

Almost... We did a different trial this time 'round. Instead of 50m, 100m, 200m - we started with 3 separate 100m, followed by 3 x 50m - with a 1min+ rest in between each. I don't remember all the times, so here is what I do remember:

1st 100m - 1:53; 2nd 100m - 1:57; 3rd 100m - 2:03 (just kept getting worse, ugh!)

1st 50m - 0:53 - I think, and I honestly don't remember the last 2. I think I ended up over a minute on the last one...

The 50m were hardest because my thoughts were along the lines of "oh, it's such a short distance, I can just give my all - I survived hard labour, med-free, for 3hrs; I can do ANYTHING for 1 minute!" Yeah, well, even contractions don't last that long before getting a break (except when you don't get the break)... For all three 50m trials, the first 25m up felt amazing, then about 1/2 way back my arms felt like dead-weights and I could barely swing them around for the next stroke. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling. Almost as though my arms had popped out of the socket! Thinking about it now, I can still sense the feeling. Reminds me that I've got a long way to go to get back to my previous, speedy form! Problem is, this time I'm only going once a week. I'll post my end-trial results in about 10 weeks!

Changing priorities

I've played team sports my entire life - volleyball and soccer in grade school, volleyball and softball during high school and volleyball, soccer and softball post-college to present-day. In fact the only time I didn't play sports was during college, other than the odd intramural.

There are a few things I love about team sports:

• the games are scheduled - I have always been the type that schedules my life around my games - they are priority #1 (not all team players can say this and I've experienced the frustration of having more than one on many teams...)
• the competition is invigorating - although I don't like to lose, I'm usually happy just to get out and play and do my best
• doing my best is usually pretty good - I'm not an Olympian by any stretch, and there are always one or two teammates more skilled than me, but I'm usually one of the better players on the team.
• my self-confidence is strong - My friends would see a very different side of me if they played on a team with me. Honestly, I only truly feel like 'myself' when I'm participating in a sports team. That's not an easy thing to admit - motherhood has taken it's toll on my confidence in general (as it does for a lot of mothers!) and playing sports is my release from the doubts and guilt - when I'm on the field I know exactly what I should or shouldn't be doing. Even when I screw up, I'm able to shrug it off and try harder next time.
• of course, the EXERCISE! - almost as a side-affect, the cardio benefit from soccer has been, until recently, the only thing that has kept my weight in-check.

If you've been following my blog, you'll know I recently added swimming and running to the mix - they aren't team sports - and lately I've been finding it harder to make them a priority. I haven't gone swimming since my classes ended and I haven't gone running in weeks... I've *thought* about doing both almost daily though!

A couple weeks ago I finally found my way to the YMCA to meet with a personal trainer (as part of my Y-Champion commitment, I was allowed 2 sessions). I haven't worked out in a gym since before having children - 5+ years now! It was great to use free-weights again, not so great to be doing so in front of strangers and all those mirrors... Alison, my trainer and fellow Y-Champion who ran the 1/2 marathon in the Blue Nose, put me through my paces and developed a simple free-weight routine I can do in 1/2hr at home. "Perfect", I thought. "I'll just schedule it into my days, twice a week." Well that was over two weeks ago and I've done the workout once!

Holding myself accountable has never been my strength. I can create the perfect schedules for all kinds of things like housework, workouts, meal-planning, etc. but when it comes time to follow-through, I tend to fall off the wagon within days or weeks, sometimes even within hours of creating another one of my TimePoster masterpieces!

I guess that's my biggest attraction to team sports, it takes the accountability bit out of my hands. Funny how I will attend every single game - unless I'm deathly ill or out of town - but try to 'attend' a 1/2hr workout in my basement is nearly impossible! And there's even less to be concerned with - I don't need to arrange for child care!

I'm going to need some help with this - help to make my OWN schedule a priority. Do you have any tips, suggestions, clues that will help? How do you fit the 'unnecessary' necessaries into your daily life - like working out, housework, life-planning, etc...??