How do you all motivate yourselves to exercise and be so active??? Motivation is a huge obstacle for me. I have not been to my gym since January....My body feels so stiff and arthritic. My knees crack loudly whenever I bend down...and I'm just about to turn 35. I most often convince myself not to even begin trying to address these issues, because the obstacle seems insurmountable. I suppose it is depression / lack of self confidence that also holds me back....
All this being said, I am not a TOTAL couch potato. I ride my bike to and from work everyday. It's not long, approximately 30 minutes each way with some short bridge climbs (for NYC standards). I try to play leisure pick-up soccer or street hockey once a week, and I have just signed up for summer ice hockey 2 times a week...It seems that the only things that can motivate me are those activities that involve chasing a ball or some clear objective like scoring a point...While these activities will keep me off the couch, I am highly aware that my base level of fitness: flexibility, cardio endurance, strength is what I REALLY need to work on. I am even thinking of getting a personal trainer bc it seems like I will only commit to something if I know I've paid money for classes/training...If you've ever been stuck in a rut, in terms of taking steps towards individual fitness, how did you get over them?
To sum up, this is my big challenge this summer: achieving true fitness to the point where my body does not feel stiff, tense, sore, all the time. To feel comfortable with my body...Of course, I am also pretty sure that much of this stiffness/tension is due to the accumulated stresses of work and the rat-race pace of the city....which leads to another goal: getting out of this god forsaken city and into mother nature!!!...Trying to plan a short backpacking trip in the Catskills for July. Anyone know of any good un-crowded swimming holes in that area?