Is exercise negotiable in your life? Part One

I was answering a question posed by Beyond Willpower - How are you with exercise?  She is doing some amazing work in her weightloss journey - having already lost 56 pounds, which is just brilliant.

And of course, in answering her question, I wrote far more than necessary for a comment.  So, I thought it better to turn it into a blog post.

So, what is it with me and exercise? I'd like to think it was a love-hate relationship, but truthfully? It is mainly a hate relationship.


For, me, exercise comes down to motivation - is there a convincing reason that gets you to exercise each day. When the reason is non-negotiable, then exercise will be part of your life.

Part One: Non negotiable exercise in my life

Non-negotioable exercice #1
A decade ago, I was a commuter cyclist, riding an average of 15km each day to get to work and back home. From 1998 to 2005 I cycled every work day. I had three different jobs and five different homes over those years, so the daily cycling over those eight years was anywhere from 12km a day to 35km a day.

And this was non-negotiable. I had no car.  It was either my extremely convenient bike or two buses each way.  To me, cycling was the only option. So, exercise was part of my life.


To get to work, I needed to cycle.


Non-negotiable exercise #2
I have a dog. For me, it is non-negotiable that I walk twice a day with Dusty the dog - usually a longer session in the morning (minimum 20mins), a stroll in the afternoon (minimum 10mins).

She is extremely active, and I am at work during the day, so it is important to me that she gets in some good exercise to keep her healthy - mentally and physically. Dusty is my responsibility.  So walking her is an everyday is part of my life.

Not everybody would see that dog ownership means daily (or twice daily) dog walking.  But I do.


Conclusion
So, for me exercise must be non-negotiable. The reason must be so convincing to me that the exercise is just a part of the day.