Go on…. Kick off your Fitness Routine
“I will start working out from next Monday.” – We have all made this promise to ourselves, only to break it as soon as the alarm rings on the said ‘next Monday’. And once we miss this Monday, we wait for the next one, and the cycle goes on – we never end up actually working out at all.
Jokes aside, the main reason why we cannot seem to get ourselves to the gym or to the pool or to the yoga class to get started on our fitness regime is not only because we are lazy, but because we consider fitness to be a chore. To work out means a whole new task added to our already packed everyday schedule, and who in their sane mind would want yet another point to tick off on their daily calendar?
So, what do we do? Do we keep stalling exercising forever till we get diagnosed with some disease and then regret never working out? That is definitely not the answer. The only way to break out of this circle of planning and cancelling exercise sessions is to start loving it as an activity instead of treating it as a chore.
Once you grow a love for fitness, you will want to do it by yourself and will not need to be pushed by a gym-fanatic friend or a social media influencer to get started. But how do you make it happen? Let’s find out.
- Consider it a form of self-care
In this day and time of packed routines, we do not get to spare much time for self-care, and yet, it is the thing we should be doing the most. Psychiatrists have been warning us for quite some time that an entire generation will keep sinking into stress and mental health issues if we cannot find enough time for self-care. Therefore, it is high time you started as well.
You can treat fitness activities as a form of self-care, which in all sense it is. Do not make the mistake of thinking that only those who are overweight or underweight require a daily fitness regime. Everyone needs some form of physical activity in their lives to keep them fit and healthy. Moreover, intense physical activity helps release endorphins, which in turn works as a stress-buster and helps improve the mood as well.
- Take up a fitness activity you like
Not everyone has to go to the gym and lift iron. Fitness can come via different paths – to each their own. If you do not like lifting weights or running on a treadmill, you can pick up something else like swimming, yoga, pilates, or aerobics. Taking up a sport like tennis or badminton can work wonders as well. Alternatively, if you are a music enthusiast, you can try taking up a form of dancing too.
Fitness will feel nothing but a taxing chore if it is something you do not enjoy. Therefore, to start loving your fitness regime, it should be something you are excited about and have an interest in.
- Give yourself breaks
Nothing can be enjoyable if you do not get a break from it. Whatever fitness regime you are following, you deserve timely off-days from it just like you get offs from your job. Moreover, adequate rest is also required for any fitness activity to have its effect on the body.
Without proper recovery, your body will only undergo further stress and might even give away under the pressure, leaving you to deal with physical ailments instead of good health and a fit body.
- Set the tone right
Some people do not need any motivation to engage in fitness activities. But if you are reading this article, you are not one of those people. You probably have a harder time sticking to your fitness regime.
One of the secret sauces in the recipe of being consistent with working out is to make sure the peripheral factors are all set in the right tone. That includes getting into the right gear, having a competent trainer, getting a hygienic and upbeat workout environment – these things are very important if you really want to start loving fitness.
- Go easy on yourself
The last bit of advice I have to offer is to go easy and be kind to yourself. If this is your first time starting any sort of fitness regime, you will definitely not adapt to it overnight. It takes months and even years to learn, and then some more to master it completely.
Take baby steps. Start slow and pick up the pace as days pass. And always remember to reward yourself whenever you reach a mark or cross a milestone.
If you love your body, you got to start loving fitness as well!
Go on… Start today itself.
Written By Mohit Gupta
Week 8, February 2021
