My exercise routine and my forms of exercise!

It is no secret if you read my blog, that I lost 50 pounds about 10 years ago. I am a total foodie so to keep the weight off, I must exercise. At first, I dreaded waking up and going to the gym. Truth be told, for the most part, I still hate going to the gym, although I do it several times a month. I knew though if I wanted to keep the weight off, I needed to find some form of exercise that I would like.

I decided that I was going to start on my path of playing tennis again. I played tennis for 15 years in my youth and then got completely burned out from it. I was playing competitively and I think that is the part, that I despised after so many years. Although I loved tennis, competition was getting the best of me at the time, so I quit and quit cold turkey!

Fast forward to 2 years before Hayley was born and my girlfriend asked if I wanted to play tennis. Since I did not play for close to 15 years, I laughed at her but figured why not give it a try. I picked up the tennis racquet and I started playing. It was like I was a riding a bike- everything came back to me so quickly. When I got home that day, I felt completely invigorated!

It has now been 7 years since I started back playing tennis and I love every single moment of it. I don’t play competitively anymore, but I do play in leagues 2-3 times a week, both double and singles. I have managed to get back to the root of the sport that I loved so much. I also met some of my greatest friends playing tennis. Through playing tennis, I have been able to continue feeling good about myself and kept off the 50 pounds.

When I played tennis growing up, I had to run track to keep up with the stamina of tennis. I absolutely hated running. Yes, hate is a strong word but that is the exact word I would use to describe running. I never did it unless I was required to. This all changed though when another girlfriend suggested I do a 5K with her. I looked at her, like she had 10 heads. 5K- 3.1 miles=NO WAY!

When I went to sleep the night my friend suggested I give it a try, I thought why not- what do I have to lose! I dreamt that night of me crossing the finishing line of running a race and knew right there and then, I needed to run. I signed up for my first 5K! That first day I went out to train, I ran exactly .5 miles before I felt faintish. Yes, it is O’kay if you want to make fun of me- I am big girl, I can take it! I continued on adding .5 miles each day, until I reached my goal of running a 5K.

Now, I dare say that I love running! Just two weeks ago, my husband and I ran the Glo Race to benefit brain cancer. It was quite awesome and I got really in character for it!

I love to exercise and try to do some form of it each and every day! Try to exercise- believe me when I say it can change your life!