It really pisses me off how good exercise is for you. There is no other mental health improvement technique that gets shoved down your throat I like less than exercise but there's few (non-medication related) ones that work better.
What the hell, man.
I'm mostly talking about conscious, regular exercise here, not the times when you do random fun things that just so happen to require physical activity, like going on a chill hike or bike ride. Nothing makes me more feel more like a petulant teenager than someone telling me exercising would help me tremendously; even though I logically know they are 100% correct, emotionally I want to yell "NO!" and go sulk somewhere, maybe even listen to My Chemical Romance (do the youth still do this? I hope so).
I've been making a concerted effort to move passed that lately because not only would it help with my near constant feelings of tiredness/sluggishness and apathy, but I turned 30 recently and find my body reminding me that it's all downhill from here pretty frequently (I have to wear compression knee braces when I do anything too strenuous for my sad weak old lady knees now for chrissakes). Not only do I NOT want to spend the rest of my life feeling depressed, I don't want to start taking all sorts of high blood pressure and high cholesterol meds either (and that's best-case scenario).
Of course though, there's the issue of motivation. Funnily enough, having a good quality of life overall isn't enough to get me off my ass so whenever I do, I'm inordinately proud of myself. Yesterday after work, I decided to walk to a nearby coffee shop for, unsurprisingly, some coffee. I had intended to come back afterward making it about a 20 minute walk max, but instead I stayed out for about an hour.
Look at me go! I even provided photographic evidence!
An obligatory shot of me holding my coffee cup in front of a scenic backdrop.
It's not super unusual for me to take a good long walk once I get started, even if that's not what I specifically set out to do. It's the whole getting started thing that really trips me up. Good coffee (or any coffee, who am I kidding) is a solid motivator to get out the door, but as far as staying out goes, it being fall in New England doesn't hurt...
Picturesque as hell, amiright? We have tons of rail trails around us which, according to Wikipedia, are defined as: the conversion of a disused railway track into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding and snowmobiling. The characteristics of abandoned railways—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various developments. We do a lot of biking on these but it's a good place to put on some music and just lose track of time while you're walking.
Speaking of music, I have a couple songs from my playlist for you so you have something else to look at besides my shitty cell phone pictures. The first one, Achey Bones by The Happy Fits, is a good one for when you're just starting out and you're feeling good about walking but want something to really motivate you and get you going. The urge do dance to this is pretty overwhelming so feel free to be that person when you're out on the trail. I wouldn't judge.
This second one, Call Me (On the Phone) by Dante Elephante, is good for near the end of your walk when you're cooling down a bit but still want something with a good walking beat to get you through to the finish line.
I took so long that I had to hurry home at the end- I didn't want to be stuck on the trail in the dark because that's how you get MURDERED and I watch too much Forensic Files (ps- my dream has come true. It's coming back!) so I definitely got the hell outta there. I tried to keep up a brisk pace throughout anyway, to make it more of a workout. I'm in no kinda shape to run (plus, I had a beverage man!), so that was as good as it was gonna get.
Afterward, my fiancé and I got burgers and beer for dinner to celebrate it being Friday so overall, my body still hates me but I'm feeling pretty good about things in general.
So there's that.
[In case you were curious, my post title comes from the song Take a Walk by Passion Pit]
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