Get used to it...

I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of trying something and… hating it.  It’s hard.  We don’t feel competent.  Our feet (or arms or legs or whatever) hurt.  We are out of breath, and we want a snack, and now would be a really good time for a nap.

 

Sometimes that first impression is right and we are going to hate that thing forever.  But sometimes, we just need to give ourselves a chance to get used to whatever it is we are trying.

 

I’m a practical person, so I want to know how much of a chance is needed.  For a person starting from the couch, it will take about a month to work up to the recommended 5 days a week for 30 minutes of cardio exercise, or possibly longer.  That said, a month in it should feel a lot more manageable.  With weight training, it depends on how many times a week a person is lifting and what kind of weight training they’re doing—a simple endurance routine twice a week will probably be all right before a month is out.  A person doing max strength work may take a little longer because the challenge placed on the body is more.

 

No one likes a good dramatic stomping-off more than I do, but let’s make sure we really want to do it before we go.  (It’s really embarrassing to come crawling back afterwards…)  Let’s give our workouts a chance to work before we give up.

 

Please note:  this does NOT mean that we should not stop immediately if something is actually painful, not just unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  We do NOT want to be injured, nor do we want to get used to working impaired.  That is not fun.

 

We can do this.