“If you give a mouse a cookie” as related to exercise

Expectation for waking up: cheerfully stretch and waltz out of bed while woodland creatures pull up the sheets and fluff the pillows while humming Grieg’s Peer Gynt, after which you go for a lovely, cool run.

Reality: you feel like a thousand pound woman who needs the aid of a crane to get out of bed and it’s already 85 degrees outside.  And your eyebrow is throbbing because you were probably bit by a pernicious Texas bug.  That was me this morning.

For mornings such as thus, I use my cookie theory.  If you give a runner (me) her clothes and shoes, she usually put them on.  If a runner is dressed, she will usually walk out the door.  If a runner is already outside, she will either head to the gym or go for a run.  If a runner is already moving then she might as well finish the blasted exercise that she planned on doing in the first place.

So when you wake up and the thought of finishing an entire workout seems impossible, just start out by getting dressed.  You don’t even have to have a good attitude about it; it's ok, you have my permission.  It’s all about outsmarting those negative thoughts so you can move past them.

Sometimes it’s better to take a rest day and you should listen to your body, but most of the time we just make dumb excuses for not being active.  If you wait until the weather is perfect, your body is fully awake and rested, and the stars are in alignment, then you will never exercise.