Working out for recovery
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 9
Working out for recovery
Hello all.
I used to be an athlete (before I became a drunk), and am now on day 6 of sobriety. I have ALWAYS hated working out, but am disgusted with my body right now. Has anyone who previously hated working out done so at the gym to help them in recovery? If so, what kept you motivated? Did you have any mantras that you repeated, any state of mind that could keep me motivated? Someone once told me that they didn't drink because their body is the temple of their soul, and they did not want to poison it. That helps a little for me, but I need something to get my butt out of bed in the morning. I always said that I would go if I found a women's gym. Now that I have, I should have no excuse!
I used to be an athlete (before I became a drunk), and am now on day 6 of sobriety. I have ALWAYS hated working out, but am disgusted with my body right now. Has anyone who previously hated working out done so at the gym to help them in recovery? If so, what kept you motivated? Did you have any mantras that you repeated, any state of mind that could keep me motivated? Someone once told me that they didn't drink because their body is the temple of their soul, and they did not want to poison it. That helps a little for me, but I need something to get my butt out of bed in the morning. I always said that I would go if I found a women's gym. Now that I have, I should have no excuse!
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,942
I'm a workout fanatic.
I think I transferred my obsession to drink/use over to an obsession for fitness & exercise.
I honestly do believe that drugs and alcohol are bad for my health, and I don't want to do anything bad for my health now. Sort of like "Someone once told me that they didn't drink because their body is the temple of their soul, and they did not want to poison it. ", that's a good phrase, thanks, I like it.
Drugs & alcohol are not only physically poisonous, they are spiritually poisonous as well.
I think I transferred my obsession to drink/use over to an obsession for fitness & exercise.
I honestly do believe that drugs and alcohol are bad for my health, and I don't want to do anything bad for my health now. Sort of like "Someone once told me that they didn't drink because their body is the temple of their soul, and they did not want to poison it. ", that's a good phrase, thanks, I like it.
Drugs & alcohol are not only physically poisonous, they are spiritually poisonous as well.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Not me....I hate to sweat!
However...
I do need to work out daily for my recovery
and I do that by following my AA program.
Good to see you sharing...Well done on your sober days!
However...
I do need to work out daily for my recovery
and I do that by following my AA program.
Good to see you sharing...Well done on your sober days!
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Littleton, Co.
Posts: 3,317
For the 7 years I was sober, I worked out atleast 5 days a week, it became my alternate addiction. I loved the way I looked and felt, I even ate all organic foods. No refined sugar in my house.
I have been sober now for a little over 4 months and I am doing things a little more slowly. First I stopped drinking, than I stopped smoking, which I was doing alot of while drinking. Next I began exercising and next I will get back to a healthier diet.
Try not to think of too many things at once, exercise is a great thing, but try not to complicate things. If you are not ready to hit the womens gym yet, start out with walking and and floor exercises, yoga tapes etc... Eventually these thing may lead you to the gym.
Congrats on 6 days!
I have been sober now for a little over 4 months and I am doing things a little more slowly. First I stopped drinking, than I stopped smoking, which I was doing alot of while drinking. Next I began exercising and next I will get back to a healthier diet.
Try not to think of too many things at once, exercise is a great thing, but try not to complicate things. If you are not ready to hit the womens gym yet, start out with walking and and floor exercises, yoga tapes etc... Eventually these thing may lead you to the gym.
Congrats on 6 days!
To Thine Own Self Be True
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: So Cal
Posts: 1,946
Oooohhh, I am so annoyed! I just spent 10 minutes on a post and lost it.
Okay. First I have never been an athlete. In fact I have struggled with my weight my whole life. When I was drinking I started to drink as soon as I got off of work until I went to bed. So I knew when I got sober, I had to find something else to do during that time. At first I went to a meeting every night. Then I decided I needed some balance in my life.
So I signed my whole family up for the YMCA. Now I work out Tues, Thurs, Sat morn & sometimes Sunday and I cut my meetings down to Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat night.
This is the first time in my whole life that I look forward to working out! Every time before that I started an exercise routine I dreaded it and it was a chore, but this time it is different. I look forward to it! What is different? Hmmm, couple things:
#1 I joined a gym where I NEVER think about what I am wearing or how I look, it is totally family oriented
#2 I take my 8 yr old daughter because they have a kid gym that is staff with "little" equipment and a trainer for 7-12 yr olds. It is a positive healthy bonding time for us and I am teaching her great things. She looks forward to it so that helps motivate me
#3 I immediately started bugging the trainers walking around, asking them how to use the machines, what I should do, etc. So now they recognize me, would wonder where I was if I did not show up on the days I told them I was committed to & the help motivate me.
#4 I compete with myself and set little goals. I write down in a little notebook what I am doing. So for instance, I have never run before, I just do not do it. But I do walk on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes a day. So I decided that every 10 minutes I would try to run for a bit. The first time I could only run for 1 minute 20 secs. So I made a deal with myself that every other time I go to the gym I try to add 5 secs to the running. So now I am up to 1 minute 45 secs! Woohoo!
#5 I pray for motivation an hour before I am scheduled to go.
#6 I feel better, I walk taller, I am proud to be doing something good for me
#7 I take it easy on myself. I have committed to going those days each week. And I go. But if I am feeling tired, etc, I give myself permission to take it easy. Ya know what? I always do more than I think I am going to.
#8 I am already seeing changes, slowly but surely. This is SO cool, but I do not expect to be in shape or healthy over night. It is just like sobriety. I did not get this way over night and I am not going to change over night. It is a process and one day at a time.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Okay. First I have never been an athlete. In fact I have struggled with my weight my whole life. When I was drinking I started to drink as soon as I got off of work until I went to bed. So I knew when I got sober, I had to find something else to do during that time. At first I went to a meeting every night. Then I decided I needed some balance in my life.
So I signed my whole family up for the YMCA. Now I work out Tues, Thurs, Sat morn & sometimes Sunday and I cut my meetings down to Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat night.
This is the first time in my whole life that I look forward to working out! Every time before that I started an exercise routine I dreaded it and it was a chore, but this time it is different. I look forward to it! What is different? Hmmm, couple things:
#1 I joined a gym where I NEVER think about what I am wearing or how I look, it is totally family oriented
#2 I take my 8 yr old daughter because they have a kid gym that is staff with "little" equipment and a trainer for 7-12 yr olds. It is a positive healthy bonding time for us and I am teaching her great things. She looks forward to it so that helps motivate me
#3 I immediately started bugging the trainers walking around, asking them how to use the machines, what I should do, etc. So now they recognize me, would wonder where I was if I did not show up on the days I told them I was committed to & the help motivate me.
#4 I compete with myself and set little goals. I write down in a little notebook what I am doing. So for instance, I have never run before, I just do not do it. But I do walk on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes a day. So I decided that every 10 minutes I would try to run for a bit. The first time I could only run for 1 minute 20 secs. So I made a deal with myself that every other time I go to the gym I try to add 5 secs to the running. So now I am up to 1 minute 45 secs! Woohoo!
#5 I pray for motivation an hour before I am scheduled to go.
#6 I feel better, I walk taller, I am proud to be doing something good for me
#7 I take it easy on myself. I have committed to going those days each week. And I go. But if I am feeling tired, etc, I give myself permission to take it easy. Ya know what? I always do more than I think I am going to.
#8 I am already seeing changes, slowly but surely. This is SO cool, but I do not expect to be in shape or healthy over night. It is just like sobriety. I did not get this way over night and I am not going to change over night. It is a process and one day at a time.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Birmingham, England
Posts: 666
When I was younger (nearly 37 now) I was what me call in the UK football mad (Soccer to you over the pond). This is when I started drinking for the first time heavily. But I was so fit that it did not matter. That along with running, swimming, cricket I was a good athlete. The alcohol put a stop to most of that and I have not kicked a ball in 12 years. My aim is to get back playing for a veterans side as soon as I get over the worst of the recovery.
Spen
Spen
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,942
"#4 I compete with myself and set little goals. I write down in a little notebook what I am doing. So for instance, I have never run before, I just do not do it. But I do walk on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes a day. So I decided that every 10 minutes I would try to run for a bit. The first time I could only run for 1 minute 20 secs. So I made a deal with myself that every other time I go to the gym I try to add 5 secs to the running. So now I am up to 1 minute 45 secs! Woohoo!"
Great idea, good job. I like it.
Great idea, good job. I like it.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 353
YES YES YES!
I have been riding my bicycle to work everyday I can. I've been watching the Tour De France to keep motivated. I have also been kayaking and trying new outdoor things.. Being from Minnesota, we don't have a very long summer. i am on a ski team in the winter, but that usually revolves around who can get the the chalet the fastest to order the beer and bloody mary's..
Needless to say, Feeling good enough to ride my bike in the morning, the feeling I get after a ride, and the way the scale is going down is my best motivation
Heavy
I have been riding my bicycle to work everyday I can. I've been watching the Tour De France to keep motivated. I have also been kayaking and trying new outdoor things.. Being from Minnesota, we don't have a very long summer. i am on a ski team in the winter, but that usually revolves around who can get the the chalet the fastest to order the beer and bloody mary's..
Needless to say, Feeling good enough to ride my bike in the morning, the feeling I get after a ride, and the way the scale is going down is my best motivation
Heavy
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,942
"i am on a ski team in the winter, but that usually revolves around who can get the the chalet the fastest to order the beer and bloody mary's.."
Uh... that should be in the past tense, right?
That's what you used to do on the ski team...?
New winter coming up one day at a time, a time for change.
Uh... that should be in the past tense, right?
That's what you used to do on the ski team...?
New winter coming up one day at a time, a time for change.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: TX
Posts: 542
Congrats on you sobriety. Whether is going to the gym or karate there are times that I do not feel motivated to go. Once I get there and get busy I start to enjoy myself. So that is what I tell myself when I do not feel like going, that once I get there I will be glad I went. I think working out helps with recovery. I do not spend the time drinking so it helps fill the void. Exercise alone does not keep me sober. Drinking created another void that needed to be filled spiritually, I found the solution to that in AA.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 9
Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions! I feel motivated to go on a bike ride now! It is beautiful here, and I got out of work early. If that were to happen when I was still drinking, I would have been 1/2 in the bag already. It's nice to actually enjoy a beautiful day.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 2,391
Exercise gives me a healthy,natural, legal "high". I remember that every time I waffle on doing it. I sleep like a baby, I am much more mellow, I do it with my kids and it has helped me in the relationship with them. I also am beginning to look better. My muscles are getting toned, my clothes are getting looser and I just feel better. It is part of taking care of me.
Keep on keeping on. ODAAT
Keep on keeping on. ODAAT
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 159
Hey Polkadot girl!
I have found working out in my recovery as well. I'm only on day 6 but I make a commitment everyday to do something active. Currently I'm doing the P90X program which I saw on an infomercial one night and wow it is an amazing workout! Already through 6 days I've dropped 5 pounds and have found that all this working out makes me want to eat healthier as well. You can do it in the comfort of your home without the embarrassment of going to the gym and pretending like you know what your doing. They lay it out for you and show you step by step how to do each move. It's great variety and all you need is a few weights and an exercise band. Ohh..and of course motivation to kick your ass!! I combine it with running and riding a bike a few days a week when its nice out to get outside of the house.
It's been a winning combination for me so far. I'm gonna get back to where I was 5 years ago, kicking all my friends butt when we go out and do physical activities!!
Say hello to my NEW addiction
Best of luck!
Bruce
I have found working out in my recovery as well. I'm only on day 6 but I make a commitment everyday to do something active. Currently I'm doing the P90X program which I saw on an infomercial one night and wow it is an amazing workout! Already through 6 days I've dropped 5 pounds and have found that all this working out makes me want to eat healthier as well. You can do it in the comfort of your home without the embarrassment of going to the gym and pretending like you know what your doing. They lay it out for you and show you step by step how to do each move. It's great variety and all you need is a few weights and an exercise band. Ohh..and of course motivation to kick your ass!! I combine it with running and riding a bike a few days a week when its nice out to get outside of the house.
It's been a winning combination for me so far. I'm gonna get back to where I was 5 years ago, kicking all my friends butt when we go out and do physical activities!!
Say hello to my NEW addiction
Best of luck!
Bruce
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