you'd be so pretty if...

Girls' Sports: Pretty or Powerful?

Today, I'm blogging about girls and image-driven sports over at Psychology Today.

I'll see you back here on Monday with a brand-new post.

The Joy of Movement...or Not

So I've just returned from a weekend in New Jersey, where my son played in a NFL flag football tournament at the N.Y. Jets training facility. It was a great time; I don't think my son has ever played so much football in his life. Even between the official games, the boys kept playing pick-up games of their own.

They just never stopped.

I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that they're pre-teen boys with boundless energy and few worries. But more than anything, it has to do with the fact that they just love to move -- and to play football.

Recently, a reader named Linda commented on a post I wrote about how exercise always makes me feel better about my body. She said: 

"...my self-talk about vigorous exercise goes more like this: 'Wow, I could not wait for that to be over. What I hear other people say is invigorating and satisfying is nothing but torture to me. It must be because I'm so irredeemably unfit. I suck.' Sure, maybe I managed to do X (but not run a mile, because I absolutely can't). But I don't get a sense of accomplishment from having done it. If anything, I get a sense of inadequacy about how hard and taxing and un-fun I found it, when I imagine that "normal" people would find it enjoyable."

Personally, I think Linda's being much too hard on herself. After all, exercise is work -- it wouldn't have the effect that it has on our bodies and our health if it wasn't taxing. But I also think there's a certain value in finding exercise that brings you a sense of joy. I'll be honest: I hate running, so training for a marathon sounds like torture to me. But I love to dance, so an hour spent in a good dance class doesn't feel so much like work. Sure, I'm sore and tired afterward, but the time usually flies.

If you're feeling like Linda is, I say keep trying until you find the activity that feels like fun, not exercise. After all, when we were kids, we weren't thinking about "exercise" or "calories" or "being fit."

We were thinking about playing. And like those boys on the football field, we'd do it for hours and hours, just because we could.

P.S. My daughter and I happened to catch the girls' championship game during the tournament. Those ladies sure can throw a football. My starry-eyed daughter turned to me and said, "I want to play on a football team."