sabbatical goal update--exercise progress

 CW: exercise talk. I do not subscribe to punishing myself through exercise or exercising as a way to change or control my body. However, if reading about someone's exercise is triggering to you (and it is for so many people), please stop reading and take care of yourself!

One of my sabbatical goals was to exercise more consistently--I tend to let exercise go when I'm crunched for time, and I usually pay the price in extreme grumps and an achy back. Exercise is critical to me feeling like I'm living optimally because I enjoy physical activity, I like how I feel when I'm exercising regularly, and it gives me space to think. When I don't exercise, I am cranky, and my body starts protesting (and then it's hard to move well). As I get older, the cycle of activity and inactivity also is harder on me physically and more likely to lead to injury or at least aggravated this and that.

So when I had the chance to sign up for a personal trainer through a kinesiology class for the fall semester, I thought, hey, here's a chance to learn some new exercise things AND work with someone who has a lot of knowledge! A chance to work on this goal with some accountability! I did make sure to lay down boundaries though: I have specific goals (namely, increasing upper body strength and improving my run speed), but I have zero interest in changing the size of my body. And the trainer I was assigned has been very respectful about this boundary, and instead, we've been talking a lot about proper form and learning new exercises and discussing what works and what is less helpful, with no body-size talk. It's been great.

We couldn't meet yesterday, so I did the workout today that he assigned me: running intervals. I ran 5, 6, and 7 minutes (increasing pace) with 5 minute walks, then a 1 mile all-out. And my mile time was 8:30! I was definitely pushing the pace (giving probably 90% or so), and it felt great and strong.

Anyway, I've been enjoying being a learner and also getting to talk to a current undergraduate in a relationship that is professional but isn't professor/student, which has been a bonus to my participation. And hopefully by Thanksgiving, I'll have developed a new skillset and a clearer understanding of my abilities and capacity--and be encouraged to continue learning new things and growing. And taking care of myself by having a sustainable approach to exercise that will serve me for decades to come.