Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Yesterday, I was SICK. Explosive diarrhea, vomiting, constant nausea, joint pain and exhaustion. I was so bad, we cancelled our plans with friends today because even if I felt better, I might be contagious and they have a new baby.

This morning, I felt weak, but a little better. The “explosions” were gone. I was able to keep down my morning cup of coffee. My boy wanted to do our exercise together (he rides the exercise bike and I run on the treadmill). I agreed to join him just so we could be consistent. I thought I’d take it easy and just walk on the treadmill if I started to feel sick again. I remembered the thought, “You can’t get much done if you only workout on days you feel good.“

I started out walking, but then habit kicked in. When the warmup was over, I punched it up to running speed (for me, it’s only 4.0 mph right now, but it’s really hard for me). I did my normal interval and then went back to walking speed. I did my entire interval workout that was planned for today.

Don’t get me wrong. It was hard. Each run felt much harder than they did yesterday, but I was wearing my heart rate monitor and it said I was working at the same level as I did yesterday. It just FELT harder, but I didn’t let it get in my way.

When I was done, I sat on the floor to do my after-run stretches. When I did Roll Like A Ball, I saw it. Each time I rolled up, I saw the motivational card that my WW teacher had given me a couple of weeks ago. I had put it up by the exercise bike because when I’m hurt, I exercise there instead of the treadmill. Roll up, I saw it. Roll back, and I thought about it.

I AM stronger than any excuse!

Before, I would have used yesterday’s illness as an excuse to skip my workout. This time, I did my workout anyway. Now, part of the credit has to go to my kid, who held me accountable to our daily routine. I KNOW that’s the reason I got my butt off the chair and headed upstairs to the family gym. Knowing that I can’t do this all on my own and that I have someone to hold me accountable actually helped me today.

Just in case your WW teacher didn’t give you a little motivational card, here are some from around the web to inspire you.

Here are a couple I found on Healthier, Fitter, Stronger by Christy Marhin.

It reads:

Make yourself stronger than your excuses

It reads:

Excuses are for people who don’t want it bad enough

This one from Vuible is pretty good:

It reads:

Be stronger than your excuses

Here’s a pretty good one from StyleCraze:

It reads:

Be Stronger Than Your Excuses

CutAndJacked.com has one for weight training men:

It reads:

Stronger than excuses

The next time you consider skipping your workout, just TRY it. Get on the treadmill and walk slowly. If you are feeling too ill to do a workout, your body will tell you. You will probably learn that you are stronger than you thought!