Monday, March 14, 2011

Working It Out

As I posted last week, I've been sick. Two weeks of recuperating from a cold and bronchitis meant no working out. I was pretty good at not beating myself up because of it. So, let's call that a success in treating myself well and having perspective, don't you think?

Well, it did give me a chance to pay attention to how I feel when I work out and how different I feel when I don't work out. Here's what I noticed:
  • I sleep remarkably better when I work out.
  • I need more sleep. Shockingly, about 2.5 hours more.
  • I worry much less about what I eat when I work out. Duh, right? But I crave about 500-800 calories more and I still don't worry.
  • I do not have any aches or pains when I work out. Whether I'm sitting in my chair at work, the couch at night, or in my bed, I get no back pain or hip pain or that weird foot cramp I kept getting when I didn't work out.
  • My mornings feel more rushed when I don't work out, which seems odd since I do it in the morning. Must be the planning that goes into it or the endorphins.
  • My days, even though they have been equally as busy and planned, feel much less overwhelming when I work out.
I can hear the cynical ones now: this is comparing your sick self to your well self. Could be. My question is: what if all of the above, all of the things that make me physically and mentally better, are because of working out? What if they are the cause? I'd bet they are. At least a high percentage of of the cause. But I figure I enjoy my daily routine of aerobic and anaerobic exercise so much, it doesn't matter why I feel better. I just do.

And the side effects are not the heinous things you hear recited at the end of pharmaceutical commercials. They are things like, weight maintenance, muscle tone, better lung capacity, cholesterol control, heart health. Look good and feel good? I'll take it...

...QueenB Says

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