This is what happens when you tell me you “have to go number 2” 10 minutes after we passed the last gas station for 100 miles. by Charlotte Andersen
I learned a lot of things on my summer vacation:
1. Not only do my kids not like audio books, it turns out my husband and I do not like them either. Narrators are boring compared to the voices in my head! They all talk funny. And slow.
2. There are 17 different Jen/Jennie/Jennifers in my cell phone but not a single Jenny – a strange factoid I discovered when we went 4 hours straight without a cell phone signal. Apparently I still feel the need to fondle the little gadget even if I can’t use it. But hey, I have the neatest contacts list in the Midwest ever. And you should see my wallpaper!
3. I cannot tell the difference between Iowa and Ohio. My apologies to any of you who may live in those states. If it makes you feel any better, before I moved here Minnesota and Michigan were all part of the same cheese curd to me.
Oh, and I learned I can go nine straight days without formal exercise! As a compulsive exerciser, this is a big deal. A really big deal. A deal of Mount Rushmore-ian (we passed South Dakota, hey-o!) proportions.
The day before we embarked on our 7-states-in-two-weeks Trip O’ Fun & Family (& Gas Station Bathrooms), I was chatting on the phone with my sister.
“So are you going to get up early and run every day like you normally do?” she asked more by way of conversation than curiosity. My dedication to my fanatical exercise is legendary in my family. I assuage my guilt for eating my brother’s deliciously sinful chocolate zucchini cake and they get ample time to talk about me. Plus nothing beats watching the sun rise over the Rocky Mountains. Win-win!
This year was going to be different though. “Nope,” I said trying to sound calm.
“Oh yeah, it hurts to run now, I remember. So you’re going to kickbox? Power walk? Find a local park and Monkey Bar Gym all over it?”
“Nope.”
“Nothing?” she sounded rightfully incredulous.
“Nothing organized. Not even yoga,” I said firmly.
This year – without announcing it here first because I wasn’t sure if I could stick to it and I’m wussy like that – I decided I was going to make my annual vacation an exercise vacation as well. All the experts agree that taking regular breaks from exercise is good for you. Elite athletes do it but you don’t have to be Michael Phelps to benefit from a long(ish) period of active rest and relaxation.
Smart people build these breaks guilt-free into their workout schedule but in the past five years the only time I’ve ever taken a break was under doctor’s orders. You remember what happened last year. And even then it was never longer than a week. True story: after my last baby was born, I was so anxious to get back into shape that I packed the little sucker into a carrier at two days old and headed for the treadmill at my gym. They kicked me out. Turns out there are rules against walking on treadmills with fragile infants strapped to your chest. Who knew?
One of the hallmarks of compulsive over exercising is the inability to take breaks. As opposed to exercise for the sake of joy and health, the routine becomes fear-based and unhealthy. I’d like to say that pregnancy cured me of my compulsion. While it nipped the two-a-day workouts in the bud midway through the first trimester and has caused me to modify my workouts, I still felt bound to my every day exercise routine even when my body was exhausted (growing a placenta is remarkably hard work!) and really wasn’t up for it. I couldn’t take a break.
And then came my vacation. I was Burned Out. In every aspect of my life. So I decided to make it a total vacation: no blogging, Internet surfing or reading about fitness and… no exercise. At least, no planned exercise. I packed my cross trainers – we were headed to the mountains after all – but I left all my other exercise stuff at home (even my sports bra!) to remove the temptation. It worked! Sure, I played a couple of heart-pumping games of frisbee and did some day hiking and swimming but I was so busy enjoying being with my family and friends (and trying to contain three little boys bent on throwing themselves off the nearest waterfall) that I was able to squelch that little knot of anxiety that formed in my stomach a couple of times a day, particularly at meal times.
I didn’t work out and I didn’t restrict my food. In case you missed the memo: The world did not end.
It felt good. Still, I was nervous coming home. Even though we got in at 2:30 in the morning after driving for 16 straight hours, I still went to the gym that same day for an hour of Body Pump (remarkably versatile class when you’re pregnant!). Perhaps that wasn’t smart. Or maybe it was okay. I’m not sure. I’m still thinking about my relationship to exercise. But at least now I know that I can (not) do it.
Oh, and I learned one more thing: Despite being gone nearly two weeks, my gym has not got one single new magazine. Do they not realize I have gone for two whole weeks without knowing who Jon Gosselin is dating?!? Priorities, people.
That’s what I learned on my summer vacation – it’s all about your priorities.
What do you do? Do you regularly schedule rests into your workout schedule? Do you just let life tell you when to rest? Anyone else unable to take a workout break? Or are you a recovered exercise addict? All suggestions welcome!
And to thank you all for waiting for me I have an exciting Week of Giveaways lined up! Next week, every day, I’ll be giving stuff away. Good stuff too! Monday kicks off with a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods so be sure to check back in.
Now I want to hear all about your summer vacations! Off to catch up on your blogs.
Yeah, we wear dresses and ties when we camp – don’t you??
Wow! Good for you for taking a vacation from everything! Sometimes you need to do that.
I love the family picture! And, oh, yeah, we wear dresses and ties when we camp, too….. sure. 🙂
I have been coming to terms with my addiction to exercise and trying to deal with it. I am on day 3/7 of not working out and I just hope it gets easier. Thanks for this post!
I'm happy you enjoyed your break from regular life! I'm quite sure all your regular readers missed you, but it's good practice for us when you have your daughter- we need to learn how to survive without GFE!
Also, I always hated those narrated books when I was a kid, luckily, I learned to read really early, and reading in the car didn't make me carsick, so it was ok. Those narrators never did the good voices like my parents, or my imagination. That's a niche market right there- making narrated books with good voices and entertaining sound effects. Hmm….
Welcome back!!!!!! SO GLAD to hear about your vacation from everything!!!! (We went on vacation last week, but my daughter barely slept the entire time. Now I need another vacation, lol!)
I also hate audio books. And I have a hard time skipping workouts. But I'm trying to, especially as all the new research comes out saying that too much vigorous exercise can actually cause weight GAIN. Maybe THAT'S what's happened to me over the past 4 years! (That's my story, anyway, and I'm stickin' to it.)
LOVE the pics!!!!!!
I am about to go on a 3 week medical leave from working out. This will be hard because I work out 6 days a week for the last 4 years. I feel your pain!
You were incredible at the reunion and I just thought that I should tell you that! No one would have thought you had to hold back… And I'm not counting the incredible back-walk over trick you do into your 9th month of pregnancy! That's just cool.
You deserved a break and I'm glad you took it!! Glad you got home safely! Even though everyone else is so excited to get you back, we're really gonna miss you!
ps: TJ's Chocolate Zucchini Cake?!!? Where's the love?!! 🙂
Glad you had a good vacation with the family.
And boo to your gym for not having new magazines. I usually end up buying my own and leaving them there for the other users.
I can kind of understand the addiction thing. I got sidelined from kickboxing class due to a knee injury and now I am at the gym doing my pt staring longingly at the kickboxing class until I am ready to cry.
Welcome back! I really missed you AND I am so happy you had a great vacation.
It sounded like you needed a break, and I'm glad you got one.
Welcome back! Glad to hear you enjoyed your break. Our summer vacations have made me miserable as I started getting motion sickness in May (really weird I am not pregnant or anything).
During our trip to Yellowstone Park we were in a stop-and-go traffic jam for 45 minutes as a huge herd of buffalo was taking its time crossing the road. People had their windows rolled down taking pictures. I was trying so hard not to puke as I didn't want to wind up in someone's picture as the "crazy lady by the side of the road puking"
YAY – you're back!!! I'm so proud of/for you about your exercise vacation, and I'm so glad you felt good doing it (or not doing it)!
Every once in a while I have to give myself a break and I have mini-panic attacks about it, but then I figure "what's the big deal?" If I die tomorrow is someone going to say, "gosh, it's too bad she didn't get her exercise in yesterday." I know that's a morbid way to look at it, but I'm a worse-case scenario kind of person…and after my break I'm always rewarded with an invigorating workout and a renewed sense of balance (for a while anyway).
Missed you sooooo much!
No summer vacation for me (studying all summer)..I'm living vicariously through you 🙂
Glad you had a good time and got some much needed rest.
I am a recovering exercise addict. During the height of my eating disorder, I was binging/purging and work out 2-4 times every single day. Now, I look at exercise as something I like to do – not something I have do do. Add to that the fact that my 1st trimester of pregnancy is kicking my butt, I work out just a few times a week. It is enough to be good for me, without overwhelming me.
Hooray, you're back!!!!!!
I'm so glad that the break experiment went so well. Sounds like a very healthy shift in your relationship with exercise!
I'm too lazy to overdo it much–I naturally get breaks when motivation fails or life gets busy.
I'm glad you ahd a true vacation from everything!
I take one day off each week, and usually take a week away from strength and hard cardio every six or nine weeks, and just do stretch/yoga/walking stuff. But I have no problem taking time off. I may feel guilty, but it gives me more sleep! And I feel refreshed and motivated afterward.
I think you may have learned something else: change up your environment and you change up some of your exercise "triggers". Get back home, and the trigger is off again.
This year, I've learned that when my body/mind say "don't want to go to gym" there is a reason. And I heed it. A variety of minor health issues have kept me home way more than I've anticipated.
Yet, as soon as I'm healthy, the first thing that returns to normal is the desire to work out. And sometimes the desire to blog.
I love this post! I think I used to be kind of a compulsive exerciser but I'm defintely not anymore…I exercise because it makes me feel good, but this morning I slept in instead of working out…and that felt good too!
I'm glad you had a real and true holiday 🙂
Sometimes a step back from it all helps you hop right back into things…I'm finding it hard to get back to workouts after my holidays, but my knee has been giving me issues.
I did still manage to go on hikes and dance like a monkey on my camping holidays, so I feel as though I'm sort of keeping up with it all. there is something about choosing to fit things into your day that make them more enjoyable on holidays I think…
Glad you're back! Glad you had fun! Glad you learned something about yourself!
Me, I'm lazy, so I have to actually schedule in all the exercise around the breaks.
Did you read the Time article about exercising not influencing weight loss?!? That seems right up your alley. I exercise pretty regularly, but most weeks don't exercise super hard every day, and sometimes even take a day completely off. I doubt I've gone a full week with no exercise whatsoever in a long, long time. Hmmm….
As I told you the night you took BodyPump, not realizing that you had just arrived that early morning, WELCOME HOME!!! It's just not the same YMCA without you!
My "vacation" with Jennie, Kristi and Summer took us to Camp Turbo. Multiple workouts each day. Even after Jennie had to leave early for family, we worked out after dropping her off at the airport, how sick is that?! It was our first day off from Camp! and we found another Campers class 25 minutes from the hotel. Then the next day, we took in 5 hours of the San Diego Zoo, like the biggest zoo ever! Then later that afternoon, we played in the ocean and battled the waves for at least an hour. So no rest on the vaca at all!
Anyway, the pix are great of you and the boys from your awesome looking vacation!!! Congrats, Char!! 🙂
Yay! Charlotte's back!
Why yes, bag lady, doesn't everyone dress formally when they go camping? 😉
p.s. I /love/ audio books, but I'm very very picky. Very few readers are really good.
Welcome back. Glad you had a much needed break. Well, as much of a break as you can get when you have 3 boys to look after! 😉
I also struggle with the "not working out on vacation" issue. Sometimes I will squeeze in a gym workout but lately I have found that I am so active with my family I haven't missed it as much…
I think it's great that you did that, Charlotte. And I don't blame you at all for not saying anything about it before you left. I'm glad the world didn't end, you made it through okay, and it sounds like you had an awesome vacation.
Now, please, don't feel the need to stress yourself out by posting every day! 🙂
You're back! YAAAAY! That picture at the end looks very familiar…like us 5 months ago…with dark hair. 🙂
"I packed the little sucker into a carrier at two days old and headed for the treadmill at my gym."
dude. I can't even believe that. I had to read that about three times over to make sure I understood it right. So glad you had a break.
Welcome back Charlotte!
I'm not exactly a compulsive exerciser, though I do find that once I get into a routine I can get a bit obsessed. I find my body usually tells me when I need a break. Or I go on vacation. When I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation. 🙂
Welcome home! Love the pic!
I am very proud of you since I am a exercise fiend too & the thought of no exercise brings "scary fat thoughts" to my brain! So, I do relate! I doubt I could do the 2 week thing like you, especially since my bod does "not work too well" when I don't exercise.. if you get my drift.. things back up & I feel like crap!
But, I do schedule off time in. Usually it is based on how I am feeling BUT sometimes, like right now, it is because I am headed somewhere for a long weekend & I make that my off days. I do usually keep busy when I am gone.
If I am on a longer vacation like you, I do figure in some easier workouts but nothing like home & not every day & not near what I do at home.
I do think breaks are important. though. Like you Charlotte, I am feeling a bit burned out so I am glad I am headed out soon for along weekend with the grandkids. More on my blog about that so I don't waste your time.
I hope you got some perspective on this trip. God only knows, I need it! 🙂
welcome baaaak.
your dreams were your ticket out…
(please tell me you know to what Im referring :))
Im so proud of you for taking a break.
from all of it.
Congrats, Charlotte!
Really, this is wonderful news–I am so glad that you were able to just enjoy this vacation!
And…I'm glad you're back. 🙂
Cute picture! I've been known to be too formal in casual occasions, so I thought nothing of it… 🙂
Also – wow, that's amazing crazy. Two whole weeks…I was thinking I needed one of those vacations soon, they are hard for me to take too. I've learned how my body starts feeling before an overuse injury is coming on and to continue is stupid.
I think maybe the week before the next half training starts might be declared no-exercise time. There, I said it, and it is so!
welcome back!
did you hit up rocky mountain national park when you were in colorado? brandon and i were there within the past week and we saw a ton of minnesota plates … maybe one was you?
also, glad you took the break! sounds like you needed it. 🙂
Oh yeah! You're back! Love the pics! So handsome all those little men (and the big one too:-) Glad you took a break. I find it too easy to do, myself… case in point: today. Wore workout clothes all day, but nada. Sigh.
Great family pic of you in your pregnancy-splendor!
I honestly wish I could be back in my "compulsive exercise" phase. (Should I be saying that?) I am finding myself to be quite the opposite these days. One of these days I will strike a balance. *sigh*
Glad you were able to take a break and enjoy your vacation!
Charlotte! welcome back- sooo happy to get to read your blog again!
I usually bring my Tiara on camping trips. It looks great with ripped jeans and a wife-beater 😀
I really, really admire that you didn't do any formal exercise. I think I qualify as an over-exerciser. The biggest pain for me is when I go on a two-week trip and I have a separate packed compartment just for training clothes-ugh! Perhaps I'll conduct an experiment of my own on our next trip, but honestly the thought scares the daylights out of me! Thanks for the post!
Good for you! Sometimes it takes a change of scenery to really get things into perspective.
Sounds like your most successful experiment so far!
Glad you're back though.
Cutest family picture ever! Glad that you're back, Charlotte, we all missed you 🙂
And that's wonderful that you were able to relax and enjoy your holiday without getting anxious about exercise/food. That's a lot of progress to be really proud of.
Yay, you're back! 🙂
I got a vacation from exercising as well! – if that's what you'd call having the stomach flu for a week. Does running back and forth to the bathroom twice an hour count as "active rest?" Today I finally got back to working out, and boy does it feel good to feel healthy again.
Your family looks so sweet! Glad you had fun and truly took a break.
Obsessive exerciser here. My most shameful story:I was on a roadtrip with my boyfriend and could not bear the thought of being sedentary for 7 hours….so, I decided to hold up an arm in front of me rounded in what would be a ballet portabras for an hour each side, switch, then repeat. It was bizzare how such an easy task could become difficult simply becaues of the time involved. After about twenty minutes, my arms would start tingling like crazy, but I refused to lower them. I was doing this while my bf was sleeping and when he woke up he (like how any normal person would react) totally freaked out. In other situations when I'm forced to sit, I'll do calf raises or suck in/push out my stomach in rapid pulses, or contract my stomach and back muscles. I kid myself that it's impercetible to onlookers, but I'm pretty sure I look like I'm experiencing mild convulsions.
Hey Charlotte! I'm so glad you're back! Your family are beautiful! So glad you had a relaxing time, lotsa love, lizzie xxxxx