5BX inconspicuous Exercise

Sorry for the lapse in communication, but my girlfriend and I just got back from a vacation in Tillamook, OR with a quick stop in Vancouver, WA.  Her grandparents own a house in this Oregon coastal town.  We spent a good bit of our time going to the beaches to look for rocks and fossils.

Greetings from Oceanside, OR!

During my time on vacation, I still worked on my 5BX regimen.  Eleven minutes a day is easy when one is on vacation, though having five weeks to get into the habit beforehand definitely helped.  I even pulled up Google Maps on my tablet and measured out half a mile for my run (with varying degrees of accuracy, I must add).  While Tillamook did have a high school with a track, I opted for the more local route, getting back to the house quicker.

I have to admit something: I'm self-conscious when I exercise.  I can work out in front of strangers without much of a problem (hence why I can go to the track and do my laps), but doing so in front of people I know makes me uneasy, like I'm being judged on what I can and cannot do.  I can exercise in front of my girlfriend, because she's been supporting me ever since I've started the program.  Still, I found myself feeling self-conscious when I did my exercises in front of her cousin in the living room (Vancouver) and a little bit when I worked out in Tillamook.

It got better though.  During our visit, my girlfriend's grandmother saw me doing my stretches and asked, "You're doing your exercises?" with her warm demeanor.  One day during the trip, my girlfriend's aunt and cousin (a different one from the previous paragraph) came and visited.  I went out for my run.  When I returned, the aunt was impressed that I'd went out and ran.  Knowing I had this support all along made me feel a bit silly being self-conscious around these people.

Having support is great, but I'd like to be in a place where I don't feel self-conscious in front of people.  I'd like to feel confident enough that I don't have to rely on the support (or the feeling of permission) from friends and family in order to feel secure in exercising.  Sure, I'm not the best in push-ups, but that shouldn't matter.  What SHOULD matter are the improvements and achievements I've attained since I've started and how those make me feel.  I'm more flexible, my arms and abs are tighter, and I can run half a mile in around four minutes without dying (really curious to see how the mile will look on Monday).  While it's not on par with an athlete, it's better than where I was about five and a half weeks ago...and that's not a bad thing.

Yesterday marked my first day in the A+ levels of Chart 1 and now it's a straight shot to starting Chart 2 on Monday.  If all goes well (consistently hitting my targets), July 14th, 2016 would be my first day at the C- Level on Chart 4, the level the program recommends I achieve to be considered "fit" for my age group.  Onwards and upwards!