Establish an Exercise Routine {Green in 365: Outdoors}

 

This is Day 153 of the Green in 365 series!

This past weekend I ran my first half-marathon, 13.1 miles, with my sister, and it was an amazing experience. I’ve been training since January, and although the training didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped and planned, it was a great feeling to finally accomplish my goal of finishing the race, especially when there were moments during the race that I didn’t think I could run another step.

One year ago, I was very, very pregnant with my third baby, who will be one this Saturday (where does the time go?) and it has been a long road of losing the baby weight and getting back into shape over the past year. Even though I’m still not quite at my goal weight (did anyone else have a really hard time shedding those last few baby weight pounds after their third baby?!), I’ve developed a habit of exercise over the past several months that I think has been really, really good for me.

Now, I get to the point where I crave going running. If I haven’t been running for a few days I just feel like I really need it, and I know I need to figure out a way to get out and run, even if it’s just for a quick 20-30 minutes. And, on other days I can go out and run for an hour, about 6 miles, like it’s almost no big deal. But that is a big deal for me – I could barely run 2 miles when I started back in January.

Now is a great time of year to begin to establish a habit of exercising on a regular basis. The weather is beautiful and we’re all trying to look nice in our summer clothing. I really believe that regular exercise is an important part of living a healthy and natural lifestyle, and I want to encourage you, if you aren’t already in the routine of exercising, to go ahead and get started now!

Choose an activity that you love to do, or even one that you don’t love, and do it consistently. I didn’t used to like running at all, but the year after I graduated from college I started running on a regular basis to train for a 10 mile race, and ever since then I have actually really enjoyed running. That doesn’t always mean that I like to go out for a run – especially when I’m so out of shape after being pregnant  and caring for a newborn, but going out and running on a regular basis grows on you, and eventually you come to the point where you love it, and even need that time pounding out the miles on the pavement.

Being consistent doesn’t mean that you have to stick to a super strict plan of running every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday or else you’ve failed. I did not always do a good job of running as much as I needed, or wanted to, some weeks. But, I have been running on a somewhat regular basis for the last 6 months, and that’s what allowed me to build up to running a 13.1 mile race.

So, do what you can, as often as you can, and make a commitment to being consistent about it for a long stretch of time. That’s when you will really reap the benefits of exercise, and your body will begin to crave that exercise as a part of your regular routine! Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it! So, what are you waiting for, go out and start exercising today!

Do you have a regular exercise routine? If not, what are some of the things that are holding you back? 

Find all the Green in 365 posts.

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