I Can't Exercise Today, It's...

I hate to exercise. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. I know it's good for me in general and will help me shed the extra 25 pounds I'm currently carrying around. I can come up with excuses such as I can't walk today, it's raining...snowing...too hot...windy...  It doesn't seem to matter that I have a perfectly good treadmill that I can use on those "I can't walk outside" weather days. Although I haven't gotten as bad as a friend who called me up to cancel our scheduled mile walk around the neighborhood - She couldn't walk that day because she had a hangnail on her index finger and it was too painful to do anything but sit home and read. A year later and I still tease her about this "excuse." She laughs and blames the author of the book she was reading at the time. She says it was too good to put down.

My day job consists of working in office which means I'm sitting on my backside during those hours more than I'm not. I work in a small office so even if I am up and about, I don't have far to go (about 10 feet) to get to the photocopier/printer and the file cabinets.

When I get home I try to write for 2 hours which means I'm sitting once again. One of the main things experienced writers tell newbies is the best way to ensure you finish writing a book is to "put butt in chair and stay there" until you reach your work count or page count for that writing session. Since I'm working hard toward my goal of having two books completed and ready for submission by the end of the year, this is a perfect reason why I can't exercise. Right?

No, not really. I do want to lose the 25 pounds that I need to. My knee (that was rebuilt with pins, screws, cadaver bone and such because I'm "too young" for knee replacement) would definitely not bother me as much. So that being said, lately I've tried to incorporate some movement into my writing sessions. When I'm working on dialogue, I pace back and forth between my dining room and the living room, stopping every few minutes to type. When I'm editing, I clip the pages I'm working on to a clip board and prop it against the read out panel of the treadmill and walk while I'm revising. Though I do sometimes have to pause the machine if I need to write out something substantial instead just a few words.

Am I getting the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week? Probably not. But until school starts back up in the fall, I'm doing what I can. It'll also be easier to exercise when it's not 90 degrees and so humid you feel like you're breathing through a wad of cotton. Not to mention the best way to cool off on those days is to dive into a bowl of ice cream. ;o)

How do you fit exercise into your busy day?