My 12 Favorite Things: Exercise

This idea was taken from a Magazine called Outdoor where they reviewed 51 of their favorite things about the outdoors. I'm doing a more simplified version of that and trying to gear it towards exercise. Please feel free to comment on your favorite things you may have.

1. Sleep: your body needs at least 6-9 hours of sleep every night to maintain itself. In a recent issue of National Geographic, a study was done where mice were kept awake 24/7 and they all died within days. Sleep is essential for good workouts. People who have good sleeping habits are correlated to living longer, feeling happier and healthier. Regular exercise should give you better sleep patterns and sleep/wake cycles. "Having sleep problems? Go hike 20 miles, I bet you won't have a problem sleeping after that."
2. Runners or Exercise High: don't burn a fatty - go burn some calories! There are no pain killers like natural pain killers. People who exercise often and for long periods of time can get what is known as a "runners high" or "exercise high" where your body releases natural pain killers and gives you certain feelings of euphoria. I wouldn't suggest only exercising for this reason alone; but hey, its just an added bonus.
3. Post-Workout meal: There is nothing like working your ass off at the gym, track or trail and getting some much needed calories back into your body afterwards. Omelets, pancakes and hash browns...bring it on. By all means this is not the best post-workout meal, but it's damn good. Men's health says that chocolate or regular milk is a perfect post workout meal. Peanut butter and jelly is also a good post workout meal as well. Don't forget the water!! Hey, speaking of water....
4. H2O: "Gatoraaaade!" No way Jose, water should be the only drink of choice before, during and after your workout; in fact, drink this stuff all day. I don't need to tell you how much of our body is made up of water if you made it past the 3rd grade. An easy way to know how much water to drink is your body weight in ounces divided by two - give or take. Example: weight =130lbs then 130 ounces divided by 2 = 75 ounces/day When you are really working hard outside in the heat, nothing tastes better than an ice cold glass of water.
5. I-Pod/MP3: music has come such a long way the last 10 years. Music can make someone feel stronger and more motivated. Nothing feels better than hearing your new favorite song while working up a sweat. I'm so glad we have a world of digital music now because I was so tired of hearing my portable CD player skip every time I took a running step. Plus, the batteries were so expensive.
6. Progress Progress Progress: the more you do something, the better you will get. Practice makes perfect. You may think you suck at first, you may think you suck now, even after working out for a long time. Be optimistic, look at where you started from and see how far you've come. Every workout is progress to try and make yourself better. Try writing down everything you did each time you exercise and in 2 months look at how you progress. As long as you stick with it you will see PROGRESS.
7. Sweat: sorry ladies but your wrong, sweat IS sexy! We sweat to keep our bodies cool and at a proper temperature. Sweating is part of exercising. If you're not sweating, your not exercising! Embrace the sweat, but guys, please do not embrace the B.O. Wear deodorant.
8. Body transformation: lets face it, many people diet and exercise to try and look a little better and more importantly feel better about their physical appearance. There are so many commercials out there making us feel bad about the way we look now. Exercising will give you better muscle tone and burn fat making you look more lean. Seeing your stomach get flatter, biceps get bigger or whatever your looking for is always a good feeling when you wake up and look in the mirror. Changing your physical appearance is fun but it is important not to be obsessive about it. You know those girls on the commercials? They really DON'T eat Carl's Jr. and they probably throw it up after the video shoot anyway, so don't take it seriously.
9. Ice: the most under appreciated therapy in the exercise world. Do you have an injury, aches, or pains? Ice it, with lots of ice! 15 minutes with a cloth barrier in between you and your skin every hour to two hours. It works better than any anti-inflammatory or pain killer you can take. Give it time and give it a chance. Want to be really tough? Take an ice bath, this is what those pro athletes do when they have injuries. Not to mention, ice feels great in the summertime on your face or in your water when you need a break.
10. Sore Muscles: having soreness in your muscles makes you feel accomplished that you really pushed yourself. When you exercise, your muscles tear and rebuild making you feel sore. You may even feel the peak of sore muscles 24 hours after working out. When you first start working out, the sore muscles may make you feel miserable making it hard to walk, lift your arms or even sit on the John. If you are really sore, you had a really good workout.
11. Be Fit Lifestyle: it's hard not to become addicted. Exercising daily and eating healthy will help you live longer. Remember, it's ok if you fall off the horse, the most important thing is to GET BACK ON and DONT GIVE UP. Having an active and fit lifestyle will do so many positive things for your body, mind and soul.
12. Celebration: life is too short, make sure you celebrate all of your accomplishments with friends and family. What you do IS a big deal and don't let any one else tell you otherwise. Be proud of what you do and make sure to live it up. This also gives you time to reflect on everything you have done to get to that point. Just like exercise, life is hard work. So make sure to take the time to kick back, relax and celebrate.