I wanted to discuss making workouts a priority, partly because I love repeating myself, but mostly because people actually ask me: do I really have to work out? Equinox said it best:
it’s not fitness, it’s life.
The only thing I’m mad about is that I wasn’t clever to think of that tag line first.
Okay, so I am generally very far behind on things I ought to do. Like work, and paying bills, saying nice things to my loved ones, and sleep, and so on. I end up managing my life by crisis, meaning I deal with whatever is on fire in front of me. And sometimes that means that I don’t have to workout because I have other important things to do.
Well, lemme tell you, I have discovered something very important. Namely: when I get enough sleep and exercise, I am more, not less, productive. I actually accomplish more in my life by getting the sweaty, sleepy bits covered. Now, you’d think that after proving this to myself 75 bajillion times I’d just have it down pat, but I have one of those brains that doesn’t retain things that are good for me. Bad things are encoded in the memory forever and ever, but details like, “You’ll feel lousy if you eat that whole bag of Cheetos” and “You’d better get a run in or you’ll wonder why you hate your life so much and why everyone is out to get you” slip through this fantastic filter and land somewhere on the floor where I can’t find them…
So I recently made this promise to myself to push the exercise up to fire status, meaning it gets done no matter what. Same with sleep, though I’m less good at doing that one still. Now here’s a shocking truth for you: I feel better and I’m more productive. Am I still way behind on everything? Oh yes. Do I feel somewhat more sane about that? Not really. But I generally feel better, and that’s important, because if I have to go through life feeling like shit every day I might as well crawl into a bag of Cheetos and cry myself silly.
Oh yeah, and sleep-exercise makes it easier to avoid foods that do me in. Easier, though I’m still largely unsuccessful. But when you love sugar like I do and you’d get down on your knees for a good piece of chocolate cake with extra frosting, everyone calls you easy anyway…