ease of use

[ironymaiden]

i have a very difficult time with exercise. if it doesn't move my body or some stuff from one place to another, i don't want to do it. i realize that fitting into my favorite concert pants and my long-term health are reasons to engage in activity that makes me sweat, but the intellectual and the practice don't seem to work together well. i've talked about this issue with multiple people this week - the commitment to exercise is delicate, and must not be disturbed in any way or it evaporates.

last year i started taking yoga classes. then i waited on renewing my membership until i was home from a conference. then when i went in to the studio the receptionist blew me off because of computer trouble and i never again felt like going back when the studio was open. oh, and they conflict with chorus. i loved those classes when i was there, and i always felt great afterward.

i'm back on the wagon again, due to the institution of online signup, allowing me to complete a transaction and schedule classes before the impulse passes. i've figured out a workaround for missing Tuesdays, which i could have done all year. i should have been practicing all year. let's see if i keep going next month.

but that's the thing, i think. practice. anything that is an intellectual activity comes to me pretty easily. perhaps not at first, but then i'm skipping steps. anything that calls for muscle memory over mental activity is destined to fail, because i learned young that i didn't need to repeat things like other people, and i loathe it. i know it's why i stopped playing piano; too much repetition required. when i acted, i almost never studied my lines outside rehearsal. i don't spend any more time practicing my music for chorus outside rehearsal than listening to recordings occasionally.

i can do things like baton or flag twirling and yo-yo tricks (and a little diabolo) because they're a sort of applied physics - every move is a series of steps that i can learn and my body can do on command. i know the steps to get into dancer pose, but i can't command my quadriceps to stretch a little more and get my foot into my hand behind my back.

i don't really know how to practice. (i don't even know how to maintain a daily routine.) i don't know how to study on purpose. i've always just learned things without being particularly aware of the process. yoga works reasonably well since it requires mental engagement and isn't endless repetition (like every gym exercise ever) but my patience with my recalcitrant limbs is lacking.

Comments

[pixxelpuss.livejournal.com]

You have my sympathy and cheerleading if you want them. I tend to get frustrated if I'm not good at things right away (yes, I Am a toddler, why do you ask?). I had to do craploads of yoga in theatre school, and I used to be pretty good. So I find yoga frustrating now because I used to be able to just do this stuff, and now it's work and practice and trying really hard and still looking like I've never done it before. Grr.

[varina8.livejournal.com]

I need goals to keep me working out (pretty much the same as when I'm writing) and the goals have to have real weight for me, even an element of risk. Anything else and I'll start blowing things off. This year the goal is to climb Mount St. Helens.

[ironymaiden]

i'm trying to do that. what i want to do is become proficient enough to start going to the "level 2" classes before work in the morning. i'm starting to understand that it's going to take me more than four weeks to get there.

[buhrger]

i have a very difficult time with exercise. if it doesn't move my body or some stuff from one place to another, i don't want to do it.
that's me, right there, in ♠

i'm apparently much better than you at setting up routines, but to date the motivation to set up daily exercise routines hasn't been sufficient to the task. by now i realize that i'm going to have to do something about this at some point, but still haven't recognized which point...

[joyful-storm.livejournal.com]

i don't really know how to practice. (i don't even know how to maintain a daily routine.) i don't know how to study on purpose. i've always just learned things without being particularly aware of the process.

I'm with you there. Trying to learn that whole patient-diligent-repetitive-discipline thing, though. I've found that things coming to one easily in the short run doesn't mean that you'll be better off in the long run, sadly.