Exercise is everything

Like this this news to anyone!  I love exercise! I love what it does for me in every way!  So why don't I actually do it more often?

Today was the first day in a long time I did vigorous exercise.  Wii is fun, and the games are challenging and engaging, but I haven't seen my heart rate go above 100, even on the so-called aerobic games.  Vigorous exercise, on the NordicTrak with the heart rate above 125, really is what it takes to get the exercise high going.  I did a minimal session - only 15 minutes - but now, 45 minutes later, I'm still feeling the good effects. I followed it up floor exercises and weights. I feel good from head to toe, and I feel my abs building themselves up in strength.

Exercise does more for my immediate physical state, my immediate mental state, and my self-esteem, than anything else I can do. So why don't I do it more often? I need to capture and remember and remind myself of this euphoria. Motivation can come from the personal connection to the feelings. I have been thinking about milder forms of exercise - walking and wii and dance dance revolution -and those are good, but my current state of mind motivates me to actually get it moving more, and more often.

But motivation also demands the practical arrangements to make it possible. Yesterday, I was focused on all I had to do. I felt pretty good about what I got done and how I engaged with the kids. But how would I have managed yesterday to work in some vigorous exercise?  There is no exercise equipment at the kids house. I would have had to carve out time from my house. But I so value my time to just sit, especially on weekend morning. I love the silence. Do I love this exercise high enough to erode that time?  I don't think that late at night is OK for the NT. It works for the wii - I did it last night for a half hour around 10 pm, and I definitely turned the light off an hour or so later than I would have otherwise. The NT would have an even bigger effect on falling asleep.

I continue to figure the most likely time to find in my day is the time after I am awake in the morning but before I get up. I doze for up to an hour from when the alarm first goes off. That can't be quality sleep time, and yet I so crave sleep. I'm going to start analyzing my patterns more and look for opportunities to work this in.  This is the conumdrum of my life.