Exercising: Will to Power

[mba500]

Maybe because of inner ear imbalances since childhood, I was never a coordinated kid and thus I was shut out from sports. Other factors also drove me to become more of an intellectual person more than anything else.

Then from my 30s on up I started gaining 2-3 pounds a year leading to last year’s blood test coming back normal but high borderline

Comments

[cheerfulolygirl]

I empathize; I don't get a natural high from exercising either. For me, I've been walking almost every morning for the past month as part of my mental health routine: morning sunlight + exercise + being out of bed & dressed = less depression. I often enjoy the time to be out in nature (we have a walking trail on a former railroad bed less than a block from our apartment), and I sometimes feel virtuous for taking care of myself by walking, but it's mostly because it is becoming part of a routine, and because I am ready to move on with my life beyond depression.

I wish us both the best with making exercise part of our lives!

[mba500]

Because I am goal driven when I am on the elliptical machine I target for a minimum of 600 calories and 4 miles.

I am glad you are doing the daily walks. Will you keep up the walks as winter comes?

[cheerfulolygirl]

It is my plan to keep up the near-daily walks. I have good gear for up to moderate rain and for some snow or ice (we don't get too much of those) as well as for temperatures below freezing. The biggest challenge may be waiting until almost 8 a.m. for sunrise both now (because of daylight savings time) and again in December.

[javagoth]

I haven't experienced that on my walks or swimming yet either. It's more that I get myself going and visualize myself as being a perpetual motion machine that keeps moving until I'm done. On the other hand I *have* experienced it when dancing so maybe it's just a matter of finding the kind of exercise that you enjoy enough to zen out on... It could also be that you're pushing yourself so hard right now that your body is too busy fixing itself and otherwise coping to get to the zen state. Maybe that will come with time.

Until then, just doing it on a regular basis gets the job done and makes our bodies happier.

[mba500]

I have also experience the high during dance or sex. But not regular exercise.

Maybe the reason I am pushing the body hard is that both my heart and mind have been under a lot of pain and stress for survival and beyond.

Also meditating every day a la Zen to have the chi energy go into both inner and outer fulfillment.