Exerblogging
Can I tell you a secret? I hate exercise. I go through phases where I do it because I know it's good for me. Then I stop for a while and start up again months later. I just have a really hard time motivating myself.
You would think as a social marketer, I would have some special insight into what would make me want to exercise. What benefits do I value? What barriers need to be taken away to make it happen? But no, I'm just like every other shlub whom the physical activity social marketing programs are trying to get to budge from their desks. I'm the shoemaker who has no shoes.
This time, the thing that got me moving is what works with just about every mother at some point in her life -- worrying about what might happen to my family if, God forbid, I had a catastrophic health event because I didn't take care of myself well enough. (If all else fails, using maternal guilt for motivation is bringing out the big guns.)
So, I dug out my old Walkman and went for a walk last week for the first time in a couple of months. I always like to listen to the radio while I walk, but I had a hard time finding music with a good beat for walking. It was after trying to walk to 30 Seconds to Mars' song Bury Me and finding myself feeling like I was limping along to try to keep up with the 6/8 beat (a Souza march it wasn't) that I decided to get an iPod and some optimized exercise music. My deal with myself was that I could buy a used iPod on eBay if I promised to use it to exercise.
The iPod arrived today, so I loaded it up with my music and downloaded some exercise music podcasts. I found a couple of places where you can choose the workout music based on the number of beats per minute, so you can find exactly the pace that works for your stride and type of exercise (Podrunner is one source, and fitPod is another).
This evening I took the iPod and the selected 1-hour workout mix on their inaugural walk. And wow - what a difference it makes to have a beat that matches my stride. My feet just automatically keep pace with the music. But the downside of using these free downloads is that they are all centered around horrid techno music that sounds basically the same from song to song. One song had a breathy Scandinavian woman singing vapid lyrics like "express your emotions." Another song featured a deep voice saying the word "cee-crisp" over and over to the beat. Yeah, I was wondering what that meant too. At least it took my mind off of the exercise.
So the opening night of the iPod walking tour was a success. But I need to find some listenable music. Anyone have suggestions for rock-based workout compilations?
I'm not going to start exerblogging (a la fatblogging
), but if anyone wants to be my virtual exercise partner or share what motivates you to exercise, let me know!
Photo Credit: auntnanny