Everyday Fitness: Can I Exercise Every Day for a Year?

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Two girls exercising (one doing a push-up here) and walking their dogs at Cayucos State Beach two-girls-exercising-cayucos-beach1
Image by Mike Baird via Flickr/Creative Commons
Maybe after exercising daily for a few months I'll be able to go out in public wearing a sports bra and no shirt. 


Even though I'm supposed to be training for a half-marathon, lately I have been completely unmotivated to exercise. I'm bored with routine and I'm discouraged by a lack of results. 


Recently a friend of mine told me she plans to exercise every day for a year and blog about her experience. When she told me I my first thought was, "Wow! That's so awesome. I could never do that." But why not? Why couldn't I do it?

So I started thinking I'd give it a try. I figured I'd begin on January 1. Then I remembered a recent blog post by my pal Tanya Sylvan. In her post she shared this quote:

“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” 
– Ivan Turgenev

Tanya went on to say: 
We can’t predict what our life will be like in two weeks or two years, yet we sit and wait for that “perfect moment” to make a leap into something new.
I do this all of the time. Everyone does. I hear people say, “Next year I’ll run a 5k” or “My diet will start after the weekend.” Hell, I’m guilty of waiting until Monday to start new training plans or workout routines. In our minds we rationalize it as waiting for a fresh start or blank slate. In reality, it’s just an excuse.
Guilty as charged. Why do I need to wait until Jan. 1 to start exercising daily? I should have a sense of urgency about this matter. My physical, emotional, and mental health (all of which are improved by exercise) are too important to be put on hold. 
And so here goes. Starting today I'm going to exercise daily for 30 to 60 minutes for the next 365 days. 

Though I occasionally will update you babes on my progress, I don't plan to blog about this regularly. Instead I'll be tweeting my daily workouts. So be sure to follow me @writeousbabe

Wish me luck! 

4 comments:

  1. This is an awesome idea and a timely post! I worked out daily earlier this fall for 30 days. I'm currently on day #26 of my latest 30 day challenge. For some reason, it's easier for me to workout daily then it is for me to stick to working out 3-5 times a week. It's just a non-negotiable part of my day. Most of my workouts average about 10-15 minutes. I'm big on Tabata and High Intensity Interval Training which don't take that long and give you a pretty good workout. As my challenge comes to an end, I've been thinking, "Why don't I just keep this up?" So I'm so glad that I am came across your post. It has inspired me! 339 days to go! :-)
    Good luck on your daily fitness endeavor!!!!
    PS. Tatiana in Flux linked to your post re: 31 Days to a Better Blog in her latest blog post. That's how I found your blog. Loving what I'm reading so far. I am going to add your blog to my BlogLovin' reader. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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    1. Thanks so much for checking out my blog. My experience has been the same as yours. For some reason it's easier for me to exercise every day than it was for me to try to keep up a 3-5 days per week regimen. I think for me this is working so far because I do different things and thus I don't get bored. Each day I'm excited about exercising. I wake up and think, "What workout should I do today?"

      Happy New Year to you too! And let's keep up the good work!

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