We have a weed problem. Not the kind you can cover up with eye drops. No, our weed problem is far more obvious.
They’ve taken over our flower beds (are they still flower beds if they contain no flowers?) and are infiltrating our lawn. David seems to think the solution is just to spray them. I prefer removal from the root, up. However, I prefer someone else to do this, so, in short, in never gets done.
Yesterday I took advantage of the beautiful, warm weather and headed out for a wog. Everywhere, neighbors were out working on their beautiful yards. Grass was trimmed, flower beds free of weeds, and bright flowers demanded my attention.
Simply gorgeous.
The wog was very enjoyable. It was just a short 2.5 miles with the stroller and Koda, but it felt… well, enjoyable.
When I returned home, I couldn’t help but to notice our yard in comparison to the rest I’d seen. No bright flowers; tons of weeds. Finally, I reached my tipping point. I set up my audience.
I enlisted Koda’s help in trimming back the intruders.
And, I got to weeding.
1 hour and 1 supersized trash bag later, I had almost finished 1 flower bed. That was it.
I couldn’t help but think about the similarities between weeding and wogging. Before I started wogging, jogging for 1 minute straight sounded impossible. When I first began wogging, it was. But now it’s part of my routine. Fitness is something I keep up with and it’s not only manageable now, it’s actually enjoyable.
Not that I’ll ever find weeding enjoyable, but if I maintained it consistently, I wouldn’t be stuck doing this major overhaul. The same is similar with fitness. Ever notice how difficult it is to get back to the gym after a week or two off? It’s like you’re allowing all those weeds to come back and starting from scratch, which can seem daunting.
So even though days may be stressful and allergies are out in full-blown madness, I encourage you (and myself) to not let the weeds grow back. Staying on top of our fitness (and our yards) is actually the easier way to go over having to continuously start from scratch.
And now, this concludes deep thoughts from the yard. 
What are you doing to keep the fitness weeds away today?
Ill be doing Workout C from Best Body Bootcamp (a full body circuit), plus 20 minutes steady state cardio. Oh Tina, you are one serious drill sergeant!
Heather @ girlyeverafter says
We live in a loft so we don’t have the oppurtunity to have a yard to play in, but not weeding is a definite pro. I agree that weeding is a workout in and of itself. Not fun but you’re always glad after your done.
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
My husband historically has done all the yard work … fingers crossed it’s the same way when we move into our new house haha! 😉
Stefanie says
I’m queen of the yard at my house! My husband’s only jobs are to mow the lawn occationally and help me dig holes when I have a ton of new flowers to plant. Other than that it’s all me and I LOVE it (even the weeding part). And most of the time I have a beautiful yard to greet me when I get home from work.
I consider it part of my weekend exercise cause I go hardcore and all the digging and dragging bags of soil and plants around counts right? 🙂
Brittany says
Oh, it TOTALLY counts. And the best think about yard work as exercise is that you can see the results immediately. I really need to stay on top of our yard. It needs some serious TLC right now. Want to come visit?! 😉
Paulina says
My yard is one of the messiest on the block too! Our grass is patchy and after two years, I think we’re calling in the pros (i.e. my father in law) to help. I was lucky enough to move into a house with beautiful landscaped gardens already, so I mostly have to keep them clean and trimmed up, but the lawn is a different story!
Brittany says
I officially felt like a grown up when I started comparing our lawn to the neighbor’s- haha! 🙂 It’s nice to have an expert in the family for help, though!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
It’s amazing to me how much time and effort garden beds require. The front of our house has beds the entire length of it and on the other side of the walkway leading to the stairs (which in comparison to neighbors is not that much) and it literally requires attention each and every week of the growing season. I guess that should be one reason to be happy I live in the north where it’s a slightly shorter timeframe than you guys! I pull weeds almost every day in the summer…ugh.
Brittany says
The front of your house sounds a lot like mine, with the walkway. I started looking at every bed that needed to be weeded and freaked out. I need to focus on only one spot at a time for my sanity.
Tiff says
I know what you mean about taking time off then getting back in the swing of things. As for yard work, I can’t believe I actually thought I might enjoy yard maintenance when I bought the house. What was I thinking? After spreading mulch all day Sunday, I can assure you – I do NOT find it enjoyable.
Brittany says
It’s the IDEA of having a pretty yard, because I felt the same way, that I might like it. I certainly to not enjoy the maintenance either.
Jen says
Great comparison! I don’t have the patience for yard work, luckily Jeff does 😉
I thought this post was going to be about weeding being a great workout, b/c it is! I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve written over the year about yard work being good exercise haha.
Brittany says
It totally is a workout! I could feel it in my arms and back (oops, guess I need to remember to squat and not bend over).
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss says
UUGGGG STOP making me miss the salty caper so much! it kills me how close we used to live to one another. gah!
Jen@FoodFamilyFitness says
I was just noticing how overgrown our flower beds are with weeds, it’s really starting to get noticeable too, so time to do something. It’s still pretty chilly outside (36 today), so I’m hoping we have some nicer weather next week so I can get outside and start weeding. Not looking forward to it at all…
Thinking I’ll start with your approach, one bag and one hour :0
Sarah says
YES! For some reason, the biggest/weirdest hurdle after I’ve taken time off is simply packing my gym bag. If it’s been a while, it takes me for-e-ver to pack and I’m just sure I’ve forgotten something. If it was used only a couple days ago, then I know it’s all still in there!
Michelle Fritzler says
I love yard work! I have a 17 month old little girl so last summer it was so easy to set her up in the Go Pod (best thing ever) and I could weed, mow, sweep for hours before she would even make a peep. This year has been a little different since she is too big for the Go Pod now and wants to be running around everywhere. I mowed the grass all through my pregnancy and I used to get the weirdest looks, and my poor husband would get the dirty looks if he was out in the front while his prego wife was pushing the lawn mower. Thing is I love to mow the grass and take pride in my yard. The one thing I will not do is use the weedeater, that thing scares me!
Love how you related your post today! 🙂
Michelle Fritzler says
Oh and also to add that weeding and yard work is a great workout specially for the hammies. After spending hours on end getting those dang dandelion weeds out of our yard because the neighbors didn’t keep up with their yard my hamstrings hurt sooooooooo bad!
Kristy Burgess says
Brittany- I love your take on fitness! I just had my second baby about 9 weeks ago and I also have a 2 year old son as well as a very needy labradoodle named Dexter…..I use to be an extremely hard core runner…..but never had much fun doing it. Now, we all go out for walks and jogs together and I enjoy it so much more. I may not be as fast, but I am much happier. I love your outlook on life! You inspire me in so many ways…..keep it up!