Let's get physical

I have a confession to make. I don't exercise.

I used to. Not so long ago I was at the gym every day, sweating it up with the best of them. But then my love of the gym was overtaken by my love of writing, and as my word count went up the daily visits with the treadmill fell by the wayside.

For a while I didn't really think about it. I'd traded one obsession for another, and I figured as long as I still ate healthy food then my lack of exercise wouldn't be a problem. But I just got a big wake-up call.

Last week I woke up with what doctor's call a 'tension headache.' It's the same as a migraine but without the pain of a headache. My head felt like it was in a vice and I could feel numbness spreading across my nose and cheeks. It felt like someone had rested a hand on my head. Oh my God, I thought, I'm having a stroke!

So I went to the doctor and he introduced me to this term called 'tension headache' which is apparently something people get when they are really stressed, have bad posture and don't exercise. When the doctor asked me if anything could be causing me stress I laughed in his face. "Oh please, I'm a writer!" I cackled, "What do YOU think??"

So he sent me off to a physiotherapist and now I have to go three times a week to fix my neck, which is the source of the tension headache. If I got my ass off the couch every once in a while this probably wouldn't have happened. I keep making excuses for my lack of exercise, like I'm too busy with my writing, but then I remember reading an interview with Augusten Burroughs, and HE exercises every day and is really buff, and still manages to churn out the odd book or two. But still I can't seem to find the time, and I'm paying the price for it.

So tell me, do YOU find time to exercise around writing, and if so, please tell me how!!!