On Being Healthy

I recently started attending an early morning boot camp class at 24 hour fitness. The class is so much fun and it has become something that I look forward to every week. The only catch is that the class is at 5:30am on a day where I have work at 8am and then school afterwards until 10pm. It is so, so, SO hard to get out of my comfy bed to throw on a t-shirt and shorts and face the cold chill of the morning. It got me thinking about why I do that to myself. Why do I "torture" myself so? Well, there are a lot of reasons.


I've always led an active lifestyle. When I was young, my mom kept me enrolled in gymnastics and dance classes. In high school, I joined the competition cheerleading squad and continued with gymnastics. In college, I continued with competition cheerleading for four years. I guess in a way I've been programmed to be active. My experiences have really molded my life and outlook on exercising. Now that my life consists of being a "wife-in-training," work, and school I have to find new motivation to stay healthy and maintain an active lifestyle. While I do believe that having an upcoming wedding is a great motivator (it is one of the most important and most photographed days of your life, after all!), it is not the only thing that keeps me going.

For me - as a human, as a woman, as a future wife and mother - I have no greater motivation than to preserve my health for my future and my family. We all know that prevention is the best medicine. So why not take an active role in preventing any of those pesky health problems that like to sneak up on us as we age and experience life? I mean even just thinking about pregnancy and how much strain it puts on your body freaks me out. You better believe that I'm going to do all that I can to prepare my body for a healthy pregancy, in case I am blessed with children in the future. Or I'm sure you've heard of osteoporosis and how it's twice as common in women as it is in men. Well why not build strong bones now while the opportunity still exists? A little bit of exercise a few times a week can go a long way. I know my examples might sound a little bit extreme or negative. But it is reality. I don't want to be the person who thinks that "it won't happen to me" because you just never know.

Aside from being healthy for myself, I want to be healthy for other people close to me. How fun would it be to be able to play tag with my kids and not have to stop and take a breather every 2 minutes?? Or what about my childrens' or grandchildrens' weddings? Not only do I hope to one day be able to enjoy such blessings in life, but you know that granny you see at parties getting down on the dance floor like she owns it? I want to be her! Ain't no broken hip gonna stop me from dancing! And my husband? I want to be there and care for him for as long as I possibly can. What if we feel like having a pillow fight at 60 years old? Who wants to worry about breaking a bone...not us!

So, while a wedding can be a great motivator for the short-term, I'm trying my hardest to focus on the long-term. When I peel the bed sheets off of me at 5am for a workout because it is the only time I will have that day, I keep these thoughts in mind. And once the class gets started, it is so much fun! It gives me a burst of energy which makes for a great start to the day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is be good to yourself. Be good to your body. Love your body. It is your vessel for life. That way, we can hope that it will one day show us the same respect that we once gave it.

And you - what's your motivation? What keeps you focused on being healthy?