Nike's Right

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get into an exercise routine or get back into one?

Tuesday night after a meeting, a friend of mine and I were talking about health. Last year she lost probably 50 or 60 pounds with the help of a nutritionist and working out. She looks fabulous, and I was asking how she jump started her program. I explained that sometimes it's just so hard to motivate myself to get to the gym, especially when it's cold.

Her response was simple: Just do it.

She explained that even when you think the gym is the last place you want to be, you should still drag yourself and at least get on the treadmill or bike for 10 minutes. If you really want to get healthy, you have to do it.

It all seems so simple, doesn't it?

So Wednesday morning my roommate came into my room and said, "Who's ready to go to the gym?!" Obviously this was met with a snarl and a, "Do we have to?" But, we sucked it up and did it.

The first five minutes on the treadmill went surprisingly fast. I felt good that I was finally working out again. But then I took notice of the time... and soon it was all I could focus on. "My gosh, I've only been going 8 minutes?? Now 8 minutes and 23 seconds??"

I'm hoping that by getting into a pattern it won't seem like that much of a struggle to get me there and to stay focused on the workout itself. I did feel great afterwards, so in the end it paid off. Like my friend said, all you have to do is just do it.