Thursday, September 02, 2010

I have a love/HATE relationship with exercise. Yes, that's love in small letters and HATE in all caps.

I love how it makes me feel about myself, especially when I am in a regular routine.

I HATE doing it . . . any of it. It's soooo boring. It isn't anything like facebook or scrapbooking or reading or, you know, fun stuff.

So I have to play games with myself. I have to make exercise a challenge, something to be conquered. The problem is, once I win the game, I'm totally done and have no desire whatsoever to continue playing. It's a sickness, I know, but it's my reality.

Couch to 5K? Check
30 Day Shred? Check
Couch to 5K and 30 Day Shred at the same time? Check

I still HATE it.

And you know what's even worse? It takes weeks to conquer the game, and no time at all to loose your skillz. I HATE games like that.

The only thing that saves me is my ipod . . . and occasionally, when the battery isn't charged on mine, Bubba's ipod. That's what I used this morning. My battery was dead, and since Bubba was at school and wasn't using it, I borrowed his. It's one of the perks of being a mom. I don't have to ask permission to borrow ipods from my kids.

I have a playlist that I listen to every time I exercise. I have it memorized. I know exactly which song is next and how many songs are left until I'm done. When I'm running the whole 30 minutes, I know which song will be playing when I hit that running wall, and which song means the run is over, go slower and cool down.

I think I need some new songs.

So . . . I'm going to tell you my playlist, and you're going to make some suggestions of new songs for me to try.

Please, help me play my game!

1. Love Song by Sara Bareilles
2. You Don't Have to Believe Me by Eric Hutchinson
3. I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas - This song keeps me going even when I think I can't go another step. Notice how it's only 3 songs in to the playlist. Yep, I'm a wimp.
4. Thank You by 33 Miles - At this point in the run, I'm trying the "be thankful you have legs that can run" approach to keep me going.
5. Get Back Up by tobyMac - This song speaks to me.
6. The Middle by Jimmy Eat World - lyrics? great message; video? not so much . . . I rock this song on Guitar Hero, though.
7. Thinking 'Bout Somethin' by Hanson - Yes, Hanson. Don't judge. You listen to it and just try to sit still. Maybe if I learned the dance in the video, exercise would be more fun.
8. Where the Boat Leaves From by Zac Brown Band - This song reminds me that I need to be swimsuit ready at all times . . . just in case Honey decides, on a whim, to whisk me off to a romantic tropical destination.
9. The Words I Would Say by Sidewalk Prophets - I love this song at the end of my playlist because I'm usually cooling down at this point and I'm not too out of breath to sing along.

Ok, now let me have your suggestions. I'm all ears :)

7 comments:

Su said...

I'm so sorry you don't love running. I wish there were a magical way to make it fantastic for you! Do you go outdoors, or just the treadmill? Going outdoors might help. And if you are outdoors, I might have other suggestions to make it fun... but I'll wait for you to answer the question first. :)

Anyway, my race playlist is kind of long since I run various distances, but this is my must-have list:

Best Friends: Salt & Light and Adonai. (Adonai is so I don't go too fast; I leave it out in short races.)

ABBA: Thank You for the Music, Super Trouper, and Waterloo

Acappella: Awesome God

Les Mis soundtrack: Do You Hear the People Sing? and One Day More

Robin Mark (Irish Christian Artist; talk to Sharlan Proper): Lost and Found and I Am Persuaded

South Plains Praise night CDs: Mighty to Save and This is How We Overcome

Trans Siberian Orchestra: Wizards in Winter and Anno Domine

Rocky soundtrack: Eye of the Tiger and Training Montage

Oasis: Wonderwall

And there's one more, called Three Lions, which is an English World Cup song and I don't know if 1) You would like it at all, or 2) You can even get your hands on it if you did like it.

Okay, that was a crazy-long comment. I hope it's of some use to you. :)

Shelly@Sweet Journey said...

Girl, I'm with you on the love/HATE thing! Travis Cottrell's Victory in Jesus will get you moving. Mom has a CD from Curves that is Christian music, and they have others too. Have you tried Pandora?

Su said...

Oh, and Scotland the Brave. But that probably won't have the same effect on you as it does on me. ;)

Kelli said...

Working out is so hard! I always wish it was more fun. I have to take classes or I won't go. It looks to me like your playlist could use some David Crowder Band, maybe Our Love is Loud, or Undignified. There is this Christian rapper called Tedashii; it'll definitely get you moving! I also enjoy some Fergie, Lady Gaga, or Britney Spears (old school Britney Spears, obviously). Oh, and Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies". It makes me feel sassy!

The Binkley Family said...

I am all about Third Day. Their music is on my ipod big time. I also love Foo Fighters "Everlong" to start my run/walk. And then I also love Coldplay. I have also resorted to putting some of the workout remixes from pop songs off of itunes, but some of those are beyond cheesy, so watch out!

I am so with you on the boredom. It's more about motivating myself to do it because I can think of a MILLION things to do other than that. Ughhhh!!!!

Kathy Lynn said...

Yes, I have a love/HATE with exercise..specifically the Couch to 5K... hmmmm the goal has yet to be reached. BUT when I run, I use a variety of music... For instance I like Symphony of Praise... sacred/classical mixed - like King of Kings with In the Hall of the Mountain King. Sometimes I just go classical - 1812 Overture - and sometimes music like Abba and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Yes, quite the range of music. I use music to fit my mood.

valerie in TX said...

Hey Jenni! I saw that you signed in over at Marla Taviano's blog - so excited you're doing the read along!! We'll have to get together and chat about the book. :)