TO CURVE OR NOT TO CURVE?

Earlier this year I joined Curves. I like the fact that I can be in and out of there in a little over 30 minutes with just about every muscle in my body being affected. Three days a week is what will show results. That's not bad. Three days. So why in the world is it so difficult for me to get there? Lots of excuses...I mean reasons.

* My plan was to go after dropping the kids at school. Get in...get out...get home and shower and then move on with my day. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Well guess who exercises at that time of the day. I hate to say it this way, but no sense beating around the bush. The little old ladies exercise at that time of the day. Yep...little old ladies...pretty much ranging from 70s to 80s. They prefer to chit-chat more than anything. They forget to get off one machine and move to the next because they're so busy visiting. They come in wearing their little orthopedic shoes, slacks, jewelry. I even saw one wearing a little plaid blazer. It makes me giggle. But it's not very motivating to exercise. So...8 AM to about 11 AM...not so good.

* I've tried 11 AM. This is better, but still not the most motivating group of people.

* My best option is between Noon and 3 PM. These are unstaffed hours so I use my key-code to get in. If I go anytime during these hours I usually find myself there by myself...or maybe one other person coming or going at some point. I like this better. I can focus on the task at hand without having to worry about chit-chat or gossip and I can be in...out...done in about 40 minutes. But sometimes it's a little lonely. I wish I had a friend that could join me and motivate me...someone to be accountable to during these exercising sessions. But my friends are all members elsewhere. Guess I should have thought of that, huh?

* I realized I was setting myself up for failure when I told myself I would go EVERY day. That way if I missed a day I would have it in my head that I would be going the next day, anyway so no biggie. Bet you can guess where that got me. I didn't go the next day. I was stressing myself out over going every.single.day. Then when I didn't go every.single.day I would beat myself up over it and it all just fell apart on me.

* I've decided that I will go back to my original plan of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I will have to just suck-it-up and know that to go in the mornings I will be there with the little old ladies or if I go early-to-mid afternoon I will be there by myself. Early-to-mid afternoon, it is, then.

* The other days of the week I will do my own thing. Like today, for instance, I am going to go for a walk. I'll put on my pedometer and go. It's a beautiful day and I'm looking forward to spending some time walking with God and enjoying His creation. At some point I will also need to break out my roller blades (YES...roller blades) and see how far I can make it down the sidewalk this year. I only learned last summer how to do this and I'm not very good at it yet. Let's just say my little 7-year old daughter is quite the little roller blade pro and makes her mom look ridiculous. Especially when I wildly flap my arms in an attempt to regain my balance and keep myself from falling. Yep...it's an America's Funniest Home Video in the making.

So today there will be no visit to Curves. It's Tuesday. Tuesdays will be for walking or roller blades or whatever else I can come up with to get my body moving (but don't ask me to run...that's a whole different story). Tomorrow, however...Wednesday...I will force myself to go to Curves and giggle about the fact that in thirty years I could be opening up someone's blog to find that they have written a post about exercising with little old ladies, only to find that one of those little old ladies is me.

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
Jeanine