There are two types of people in the world; those who like pleasant, fun and enjoyable activities like walking or running or riding a bike; and then there are those who enjoy repetitively lifting, pulling or pushing lumps of steel of various size. I am not one of the latter people and I would like to take this opportunity to publicly declare that I hate strength training (at least now that the novelty of admiring my biceps has worn off). I was going to add a third category of people who don't like exercise at all, but I figured they don't exist right!?!
Begin rant: After an hour working on the fit ball dutifully following the instructions of my paper trainer I was not only exhausted but totally frustrated. I cannot for the life of me find a more boring way to exercise than to do 15 reps x 2 on each side of exercise after exercise. It's like being the machine in Ikea that pounds the chair 5 million times to prove the durability. Up, breath in, down, breath out, up, breath in, down, breath out! It's more boring than staring at the ceiling because at least then I get to think....other than one....two....three.....snore...I mean four....and I was even listening to the radio which although interesting didn't improve the situation at all.
By the end of 500 reps of all the exercises I couldn't shake the feeling that I had just wasted a whole hour of living! And one other thing, no make that two - why does the fit ball like to over complicate simple exercises that done on the floor are doable but done on the ball crush one knee into the floor while cramping other parts of the body that aren't even a part of the exercise? Yes, I'm looking at YOU ball!!
The second thing is the 5 million various exercises that work all the little bitty bits of the body. I hate sitting on the ball reading pages and pages of instructions to end up in a tangle of arms and legs uncomfortably propped up against the ball only to find that I the leg I am supposed to awkwardly be raising at an odd angle is stuck under the other one. All I can say, is thank goodness I'm not a multi armed or legged deity!
End rant: The only good thing I could glean from it is the fact that today I am really sore. And I actually love the feeling because it means I've worked. There has got to be a better way to strength train that lifting, pushing or pulling weights and please, please oh ever knowledgeable and wise bloggers tell me that its yoga!
Which category do you fall in - do you love weights or cardio? Have you found an enjoyable way to strength train?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I fall into both of the first two categories frequently and into the third on occasion. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't enjoy weight training until I worked with personal trainers who showed me how to develop an efficient workout and how to do the exercises properly. (Or as close to proper as I'm likely to get.) I rarely, if ever, workout with weights longer than 45 minutes, and the variety of exercises I choose keeps me from getting bored. (So far it hasn't helped with getting tired, though.) I usually do 8-12 reps of 3 exercises 3 times, then switch to a different set of 3, then another, then 5-10 minutes of core. There may be more effective programs but that's the way I was taught, and it worked well for me. :)
There's a book titled "8 Minutes in the Morning" (Jorge Cruise) that you might find helpful. His approach is that you only need a short amount of time each day for weights to achieve your desired results. I have no idea if he's right, but he uses the same exercises I use, only in shorter amounts of time.
Most of the time, neither. I would pick strength training over cardio, and I never even thought of that until just now! I feel enlightened. And Cammy's right...whatever she is doing is working for her! :-)
ReplyDeleteCammy - Thanks for the recommendation. I was thinking that spreading out the routine might be a good way to go.
ReplyDeletePatty - I'm shocked; neither AND strength training!?! ;-) Seriously, that's right you gotta find what works for you.