9/19/2013

Workercise.

Mama’s Losin’ It

Your favorite kind of exercise.


If you've ever read my blog before today you might have picked up on the fact that I'm a runner.

I'm not a particularly good or fast one, but I'm a committed one, where by committed I mean I might need to be committed.  

I've basically been running long enough now that it has become just something I do, like brushing my teeth.  I get up, I run, it's good.

And I enjoy it.

But this isn't a post about running.  Even though I really, really, really love to run, I still feel kind of... selfish when I run.  It's just for me.  It's my time.  It lets me put my responsibilities, my kids, my laundry, my dirty dishes away for a while.  And from where I'm at that seems self-centered, which I'm not entirely comfortable with.  It doesn't mean I'm going to stop.  But it adds a second layer of... something to it that makes it not perfect.

What I really love, though, really, truly love, is the exercise that is part of a hard job well done.  Yard work?  Yeah, I love it.  Gardening?  Sure, sign me up.  Moving rocks, painting the deck, pressure washing the house, whatever thing that I can do outside and call "work" and that makes my heart rate go up and my muscles sore makes me ridiculously, totally, completely content.

I could spend days on end digging in the dirt, planting flowers and vegetables and herbs.  I look forward to the day each week that I get to mow my grass.  When a big outdoor project comes along I'm all in.  

For me, it's the combination of moving my body plus having a real, tangible sense of accomplishment about what I'm doing that draws me to things like this.  When I can step back, feel muscles ache that normally don't  and really see a difference being made, it's my happy place.

This kind of "workercise" will never, ever, give me rock hard abs or a tight little behind, but it does give me a feeling of accomplishment and peace that nothing else in the world does.

And that's impossible to beat.


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20 comments:

  1. What an awesome post! You know, I've never thought much about 'workercise' but you bring up some great points about it. I may have to look at that 'work' in a different light now. Thanks for sharing! PS I also love to run. I'm in a mom's running club and I love having an activity 'just for me.'

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    1. I've always thought that if it makes me sweat, it should count as exercise. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. You have just made house cleaning seem a noble effort. I am going to be noted appreciative when I next find myself gathering Lego pieces off the floor.

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    1. Exactly! All that bending... it's like doing toe touches.

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  3. You have a wonderful attitude about work! I agree, the outside work seems less of a chore, and more of an accomplishment. Housework is still only a chore for me - it doesn't hold the same sense of accomplishment that yard work does...maybe because Mother Nature takes longer than my family to make it look like I didn't do any work at all! :)

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    1. That's so true about housework. Mother Nature, fickle though she is, doesn't hold a candle to a couple kids going 90 miles an hour.

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  4. MJ, I've had that same feeling about running: feeling slightly selfish.

    One of my friends is intensely dedicated to working out, and leaves her kids at home with her husband, or in the care of the teenager, to work out for 1-2 hours every day. Whereas me, I always try to squeeze in my runs when the kids aren't home so it doesn't count as "taking time away from them."

    But one time I saw a list my friend's first grader had made of 10 awesome things about her Mom on Mother's Day, and one of those 10 things was how her mom exercises every day. And I realized what a great example my friend was setting for her children.

    Also, my feelings of guilt were alleviated somewhat when my daughter, who is 19, started running very regularly this summer. I'm not sure if it would have happened if she hadn't seen my commitment to running over the years.

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    1. Thank you so much! I really needed to hear this. I KNOW my kids are better off seeing me exercise, and there have been times I've said to them "Mama needs to go run so she won't be grumpy," but mostly I squeeze in a short run here or there as I can, too. I think it's awesome your daughter has started running! I've dragged my 7 year old along on a couple 5ks with me, and I'm hopeful that as my kids get older we can make it a family thing. Right now when they're little it's so easy for me to let the mom guilt get to me about it, so thanks for the pep talk!

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  5. I'm glad you found an exercise that you love--that is what is important!

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    1. Just being in movement of some sort usually makes me happy - calling it exercise make it seem worthwhile :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I envy your workercise... My brown thumb kills everything it touches. It would be best to keep me indoors, away from all plant life. LOL!

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    1. Well, I didn't say I was particularly GOOD at it - just that I like it :) I have killed more than my fair share of plants, for sure.

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  7. I tip my hat to you for your love of running. Even as an energetic kid I was the worst at running. But yard work...I am with you there. My favorite...raking leaves (and then jumping in them!).

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    1. Yard work just has a calming effect, doesn't it? Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Us mothers are forever feeling guilty! I push those feelings aside and am more prone now to Shana's way of thinking: we are setting an example that is very valuable. Because, more often than not, our kids watch what we do more than listen to what we say!
    So keep running! I have seen moms running in the park along side their little ones riding a bike....might be a possibility?
    Stopping by from Mama Kat!

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    1. It's kinda like the minute I had kids, my guilt switch kicked into overdrive. But yes, you are so right! It's important for them to see me doing things that are a) good for me and b) make me happy. It's just finding that ever-elusive balance that's so hard. Thanks for dropping in!

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  9. You have lost your mind. I'm sure of it. If I could get just an OUNCE of that I'd be a thousand times healthier.

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  10. I love this! There is something great about the feeling you get when you accomplish something that makes you work hard. Last year I painted four rooms in our house and even though my body ached the whole time, I felt like I had done wondrous things.

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    1. Exactly! There's so much satisfaction from stepping back and looking at something and saying "I did that, and it's good."

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