Back when I first started writing for Her Campus, last semester, I wrote an article about my work-out habits – and, specifically, about how group work-outs had changed my perspective on exercising. They did! This article is in no way a retraction of my previous statements, but there have been a lot of adjustments on my part.
Mainly, I’ve stopped working out in groups.
If we’re being honest, old insecurities die hard. One day, I took the plunge and took a kickboxing course without realizing exactly how intensive the lessons were. It was painful, awful, discouraging – I, quite literally, thought I was going into cardiac arrest. I pretended that I got a phone call and booked it out of the SRC.
After that, I kind of kept my distance from the gym.
Then, a series of events coalesced: two of my best friends started going to the gym nearly every single night, and I started my LFIT, which spiralled my body image issues to a level I haven’t experienced since middle school.
Something had to change, so I changed, yet again.
I used the 8fit app to provide me with daily abs and cardio workouts – and, better yet, the app works you up to a more difficult level as you continue, so I never feel overwhelmed. After my cooldown stretch, I would move to the treadmill and use the C25K app to help me work up my endurance, run a mile or two. I would swap the treadmill for the elliptical or the cycle, every other day.
And then COVID-19 happened, and all that was scrapped. After all, like most of us, I don’t have a home gym. I finally found something that worked for me, and then it had to go. I needed to exercise, though; back at UNC, I could walk five to seven miles a day without feeling achy at all. That certainly wasn’t something I could maintain quarantined in my house.
Cue another restructure.
I cleared the floor in my office to make space for my daily reps, and I started using my home treadmill. Yeah, I was self-conscious about working out around people I know, but I also know my family won’t judge me, and, most of all, I needed the workout. I needed to burn the calories, sure, but, in this crazy stressful time, I also needed the release of excess energy that it allows.
It’s chaotic, nowadays, and it’s certainly not a time to push yourself beyond your physical limits. But you can revise your workout routine and make it work to your new normal. Think of exercise as an expression of love for your body! Be gentle with yourself, and it will work out. Work-out. Haha, get it?