Workout Money

There are now less than twelve weeks until my wedding and my plans to work out three times a week have basically failed due to lack of motivation. It's just really hard to get my butt out of my warm bed in the morning and go running in below-freezing temperatures. In those moments, it's easier to just resign to being fat.

Not that I consider myself fat. I just would like to trim up a little before the big day(/night). I was talking to Lexi about it at length, about my frustration with being unmotivated. She made all kinds of suggestions about what I could do to motivate myself, but the only thing that I know has consistently worked for me historically has been having someone to work out with.

The problem is no one, including my fiancé and roommates, have a similar enough schedule to me that they could work out with me. I'm in this alone.

(By the way, I'm focusing more on working out than changing my diet since I think that's where I'm lacking more at the moment. Also there's a much smaller chance of me even being able to pull off drastically changing my diet right now considering the absurdity of my schedule. The only diet plan I have is a vague goal to drink more water.)

Then Lexi made a brilliant suggestion, and I think it just might work. She said I should "pay" myself every time I work out and then spend the money on something special for my honeymoon.

I was instantly excited about working out again. Here's the specific plan I came up with:

Earn $10/hour for heavier workouts (such as running, doing Jazzercise, or lifting weights)
Earn $5/hour for lighter workouts (such as hiking)

My goal is to earn $15/week total, whether by doing three 30-minute heavy workouts, three hours of hiking, or anything in between. At that rate, in twelve weeks I should be able to earn $180 to spend on something fun on my honeymoon. I think it should be something rewarding that we can both enjoy, and Evan thinks it should be something that would encourage me to stay active. Hopefully we can think of something that meets both our criteria. He suggested a pretty dress that might normally run small on me (so I'd be motivated to continue to fit into it).

 I think it's important to be strict on what I'm earning money for. Whatever I choose to buy, if I don't work for the money, I don't get the thing. I simply won't have the money in the funds for it, even if I technically have money in the bank. If I don't follow this rule, I won't work as hard.

This has been the first week of my "working" for myself and it has gone very well. I've already earned $25, mostly from hiking. I think so far I'm pushing myself to get out and moving more than I normally would.

Of course, my goal is still to earn $15 a week, so even though I earned $25 this week doesn't mean I get a pass next week and only have to do one 30-minute workout for $5 the whole week. My numbers drop back to zero each Sunday, so I will have to keep pushing myself.

The reasons I'm telling everyone this are 1) so that I can be held accountable to more people, 2) because I'm excited about this, and 3) because I think it's a brilliant idea (thanks, Lexi) and hope maybe someone else can find motivation the same or similar way.


God bless.