Taking an exercise inventory

Part of the focus of the second week’s tasks in The Beck Diet Solution (which I’ve been writing about here, if you’d like to catch up) is to begin tackling the dreaded E word:

Exercise.

I’ve never been athletic (I mean, not at ALL), and I’m not interested in sports (unless watching hockey counts, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t!), so joining a league or team holds zero appeal to me. And while I’ve tried several different types of exercise on my own, I’ve never been particularly good at sticking to any kind of consistent program for any significant length of time. (Perhaps you can relate?)

But apparently this all has to change if I want to lose weight and keep it off. And, since I very much DO want to lose weight and keep it off, I guess it’s time for me to address my lack of enthusiasm for and commitment to the whole exercise thing.

So here I go, getting started.

Step One is Response Cards (one of my own and one from my workbook) which I read each day as a reminder of what I need to do.

Step Two is to get up earlier during the week so that I can begin each day with some time on the stationary bike. (I’m so out of shape right now that 5 minutes is about all I can manage, but as it says on the Response Card, 5 minutes is better than 0 minutes! And I know that if I keep doing it every day, I will only improve as I get fitter and stronger.)

Step Three isn’t from the book… rather, it’s something I came up with on my own because I think it will be helpful: taking an inventory of all the exercise-related stuff that’s currently just gathering dust around the house. Part of the reason for the inventory is to remind myself that I already have, without spending another penny, plenty of resources to get me started on the road to fitness. The other reason is so that I can come back to this post in the future, whenever I don’t feel like doing a particular type of exercise, and be inspired to try something else.

Here’s my exercise inventory.

Books

Tone Your Body in No Time (Fast, Easy Exercises to Melt Fat Fast) – booklet

Equipment

• Stationary exercise bike
• Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board
• Yoga Mat, along with a great tote bag that has plenty of room for the mat and my accessories
• Yoga Blocks (I have two of them)
• Yoga Strap
• Balance Ball Kit – balance ball, pump, and exercise CD
• Dumbbell Set – two each of two, three, and five pound weights
• Barbell set, weightlifting belt, and bench (probably not something I’d ever use, but it was bequeathed to us by the previous homeowners and I suppose you never know!)

DVDs

Wii Games

• Zumba Fitness
• Wii Sports Resort

Now that I’ve done this exercise inventory, I highly recommend giving it a try yourself – it’s really enlightening! I’d forgotten I owned half of this stuff, and never fully realized what a great bunch of resources I have right at my fingertips, just waiting to be put to work.

Step Four? Putting these resources into use… because I have no more excuses.

How do you get – and stay – fit?
Please share!