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Exercise shouldn't necessarily feel like work

By: Krystle Wagner Posted: 07/27/09 5:05pm Comments: 6

Without fail, there’s one boy who can always make my day better — my 21-month-old cousin.

Lately, I’ve found very little time to exercise and, as a result, I’ve been feeling like a failure. But while I was home during the weekend, I was fortunate enough to play outdoors with my favorite little kid. His favorite thing to do is to play outside and be pushed around in his cozy coupe (one of those little kid cars) when he isn’t making himself dizzy by spinning in circles or running around.

As I pushed him around the backyard in his cozy coupe, I began to realize that, in a sense, I was getting exercise. It had never really occurred to me before that running around with my cousin could be considered low-level exercise. It’s too much of a stretch to consider it a substitute for working out; that’s why I consider its difficulty level low.

My cousin is active and he’s always on the go. We sat down only a few times during my afternoon with him. I didn’t just jog or walk as I pushed the cozy coupe, I ran and made abrupt turns, at which he laughed. Every time I stopped, he would look up at me with those big brown eyes and say “again.” When I sat down later that evening, I could feel the day’s activities in the backs of my legs. It didn’t compare to running, but I could tell that I had spent the afternoon running around.

I had another great time with my cousin realized afterward that I’d had a great day of exercise. Yet again, he was able to brighten my day.

MORE FROM SUMMER OF FITNESS:

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Summer of Fitness

State News features writer Krystle Wagner gives you the skinny on her journey through a summer of fitness. Read as she examines all aspects of her strides to become a fitness fanatic.

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