Work It, Girl!

Starting at age 8, I danced ballet. After a few years, I was taking classes or rehearsing 5 days a week, sometimes two classes in one day. That was my only exercise for 10 years. My senior year of high school, my knees starting killing me, and after going to a doctor, I discovered I had developed a lovely thing called Ilio-tibial Band Syndrome, meaning the band that runs from under my knee up to my hip started tightening up too much. In the following physical therapy, I learned that I am physiologically a bit twisted, literally. The bone in the top of my leg doesn't line up straight with the bones in the bottom of my leg, making my knee twist every time I take a step, etc. All of this to say, I stopped dancing (except for a few low-key classes occasionally), and therefore, I stopped working out.

I proceeded to go to college, where I lost weight from walking to classes. Then, I proceeded to move home to get married, where I gained weight from eating more and walking less. I'm back to a little over my high school weight, which isn't a crisis, but I started feeling a little blah, you know? So last week, I made a decision. After almost two years of laziness, broken up by occasional walks, I have decided to get healthy. It is not primarily to get in shape, although that is definitely a contributing factor. Rather, I have decided that I want to be healthy. If I lose a couple of pounds, great, but mainly, I just want to feel like I am taking care of my body. After all, I want to be a doctor...keeping people healthy will one day be my job, so a few bike rides can only increase my integrity in my future profession!

So to get over my fear/hatred of working out, I've decided to change my perspective. Working out is no longer to get in shape (ie to look good)...it is to be healthy. Cardio is good for your heart and the rest of your body. I ride the stationary bike 10.5 miles 3 days a week, and I'm taking yoga at school three other days during the week. Both of these activities are good for my body, my mind, and they're easy on my knees. Plus, working out is a much more productive and positive way to spend my free time. Instead of watching a tv show, I can go to the gym for 30 minutes. And at the end of the day, that feels like a much better way to do things!