Friday 40 for 40s - #12: exercise

Items #12 and 36 that I'm learning I can't change are:

Exercise will never be something I jump out of bed wanting to do

but

I am significantly sharper and more motivated when I work out at least 3 times per week

Sport and exercise have always been a big part of my life.  At different times in my life, I've been heavily involved in basketball and tennis and I had a gym membership for many years.  In 2013 my gym shut down and I decided to buy some equipment for a home gym with the money I would have spent on a membership that year.

My biggest issue with regular exercise, especially since I stopped playing basketball regularly, has been that I'm not a morning person (at all...) and I've secretly hoped that as I got older I'd magically feel more motivated to get up and exercise.  As I passed 40, I realized that's probably not going to change at any point going forward and it's something that I simply need to make a priority or it won't happen.

Having equipment downstairs in our basement meant that over the last couple of years I was able to get into a fairly decent routine of exercising 3 times each week - it's amazing how much easier it is to get up and exercise in the winter knowing that I didn't have to scrape the ice or snow off the car, put on a coat, trackpants, gloves, etc, etc just to get to the gym.

Getting into that routine has made me aware how much sharper and clearer I am when I make it a priority.  I can now tell when I've skipped a few days in a row - initially I can't work out why I'm not as productive or effective, but then I think about when I worked out last and it all makes sense.  One workout and boom... back to being focused again.

The change that has been the most helpful for me has been to look at my schedule at the start of each week on a Sunday night or Monday morning and decide, on the basis of when I have early starts or late nights, when I'm most likely to be able to get up an extra 45-60 mins earlier to be able to workout.  It's made a huge difference and has also meant that I've been able to often find "bonus" days to squeeze in an extra one.

While I wish that I had the ability to flick a switch and suddenly become a morning person, I'm grateful that I've been able to navigate through what works best so that I can make exercise a priority, knowing how much of a difference it makes - in the present and for the future.