Just do it

I just got off the treadmill (1.1 miles in 22 minutes).

To be completely honest, 95 percent of the battle for me when it comes to working out is just getting out of bed.

So far, every day I’ve stayed under the covers and had a conversation in my head. (FYI, the lady in my head is bitchy.)

But it usually goes something like this:

“Get up."

"No."

"Just get up."

"No."

"Just get up and get moving.”

"No."

“OK, fine then. Stay fat.”

And then I get out of bed.

But once I’m dressed, stretched and actually on the treadmill, I feel better and pretty quickly get energized.

The biggest help for me is my iPod. Last week, I put out a call to my Facebook friends for songs that help get them moving. The response was awesome. I’ll post a full list of their suggestions when I have a little more time to write.

Sunday night, I took my new iPod and two $10 iTunes gift cards, and I had a lot of fun picking the 16 songs that money would buy. I’ll add more later, but trust me, I’m not even getting through half of that on my walks right now.

I’ve chosen to do my workouts in the morning mainly out of necessity. By the time I get home from work and picking up Evan at daycare, it’s 6 p.m. There’s dinner, family time, organizing for the next day, etc. After all that’s done, I have no desire to work out.

Plus, I remember how great I used to feel when in high school we’d have morning basketball practice before school some days. It sucked getting out of bed that early, but I always felt great the rest of the day, both physically and mentally, knowing my workout was finished for the day.

So far, it’s working out well. I’m not saying it’s easy, much less pleasurable.

But it’s doable.

Here’s what’s on my iPod so far. What gets you moving?

Black Betty, Ram Jam


I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas


Tubthumping, Chumbawamba


SexyBack, Justin Timberlake


Love Stoned, Justin Timberlake


Are You Gonna Go My Way, Lenny Kravitz


Groove Is in the Heart, Deee-Lite


Say Hey (I Love You), Michael Franti


The Devil Went Down to Georgia, The Charlie Daniels Band


Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia), US3


Car Wash, Rose Royce


Should I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash


Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes


Are You Gonna Be My Girl, JET


It’s the End of the World as We Know It, R.E.M.


Walk Like an Egyptian, The Bangles