Does it really hurt THAT BAD?

I hate people who create situations in an effort to set themselves apart.


Yes, I used the word hate.
Yes, that's a roundabout way of getting to my point.


Like every woman I know, I've got my own series "used-to-be's" that I can claim as my own.   "I used to be a basketball star in high school." Or "I used to be funny." Add to that list - "I used to be an aerobics instructor."  Which - by the way is 100% true. 


I came into the aerobics thing the usual way and although I was very good at it I ended up going back to work full time and between the job, and my kids I didn't have a couple of hours a day to hang out at the gym.  I truly and sincerely miss it.  I mean I REALLY got into it.  I got the certifications, I ran the department, I still see women who were in my classes who wonder if I will ever teach again.  I rocked that job. 


As a certified personal trainer I met with all kinds of women who were looking to accomplish any number of things.  Of course, 90% of them were all looking for the golden nugget of exercise that would get rid of their baby pouch, or inner thighs or back arm waddle.  I did my best to explain to them that they never really would until they dropped the extra fat surrounding the muscle that they were trying to strengthen.  That being said, I still worked them through their paces and did my best to get them to feel better about themselves... all the while carrying an extra 50lbs myself and struggling to follow my own advice.


The one thing I could never understand however and still can't get a handle is weakness.  "I just can't do that because I have bad knees."  Or, my favorite - "I can't run/walk/move because I get shin splints/a sore back/pain my muscles"- AAAHHHH!!!        


SHUT-UP.


You get bad knees, shin splints, sore backs and pain precisely because you don't exercise.  Your sedentary bullshit has weakened all the muscles that help those joints move.  Granted, I concede that people may have disease or acute pain that can be accommodated for during exercise.  There are ways around virtually any exercise induced stresses - it's called changing the exercise! Not - choosing not to participate.