Right now I'm finishing up the second draft of A KILLER WORKOUT, working on the part of the book that’s always toughest for me—the diet and exercise tips that go in the front of each chapter.
The tips are challenging because I am not an exercise enthusiast, but I have to get inside the head of someone who is.
To accomplish that, I’ve been doing a lot of research about fitness, and I've learned a few new things along the way. I’ve learned enough, in fact, to make me renew my commitment to getting regular exercise in 2008.
Among my discoveries:
Women who exercise more than two hours per week can drastically reduce their risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Yoga massages your inner organs, and lubricates your joints. It can even reduce chronic pain.
Smoking makes your skin wrinkle prematurely.
The tiny acai berry from the Amazon rainforest may be nature’s most perfect food.
Women who exercise regularly have much more sex than women who don’t. (Women who don't exercise think about sex more, but don't get as much.)
People rate you as more attractive when they think that you exercise.
You can build stronger muscles by simply visualizing yourself doing exercise.
I'm hoping that I'll start acting on all this new information, by starting the day with an acai-berry shake, taking up yoga, and making sure I get aerobic exercise several times a week. If nothing else, I should be able to visualize myself a set of six-pack abs while lying on the couch.
I do get feedback from some readers that the tips in DYING TO BE THIN helped them in some small way, by providing information and framing the message of getting and staying fit.
So that makes it all worthwhile. Who knows, I might even brush the cobwebs off my gym card and venture inside for a Spinning class.
But first, I think I need to attend a few meetings of Couch Potatoes Anonymous, just to recover from my very inactive holiday season...anyone got their number?
8 comments:
I like the visualizing exercise! I just ordered "Light on Yoga" and am committed to learning it.
My sister is a big yoga aficianado (spelling?), and she tells me that she likes yoga because it makes her feel massaged on the inside. I was interested to read research that indicates that yoga does, indeed, massage on'e internal organs. No wonder people get into it!
I love the visualization idea. Does it work for other things as well?
Hey, I've been to the gym this year! Once. Maybe I should visualize going to the gym.
Kathryn,
What do you think about the acai berries?
A friend who swears by them is sending me a sample--says they taste fine in a shake. I saw that Oprah has been touting them, too...
I have a bottle of Mona Vie, which is basically acai berry extract, but I'm a bit chicken about opening it. I plan to "dive in" next week.
I took a class once ... can't remember the name of it, but we worked on one side of the body, say isometrics with left arm and leg, then visualized the same workout on the right.
Maybe you know the name of the program? As I recalled (I was much younger!) it did work as far as "feeling" like I'd worked out the other side.
I wish I knew where I could take that class, Camille! That sounds amazing!
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