Staying active has always been part of my life. It was ingrained into me at a very young age that staying active, in whatever way, was an essential part of staying healthy. While this was a big part of my life, once I came to college, there just seemed like a thousand excuses and no time to workout anymore. So staying active took a backseat in my list of priorities. However, I have been trying to change that aspect of my life this semester, and as expected, it has been a bit of a struggle.
Throughout school, I picked up various sports like track, swimming, badminton, and soccer. As I started high school, my motives for working out changed from exercising to maintain a healthy lifestyle to exercising so that my body would look a certain way. I would say that that change in mindset was a contributing factor as to why I stopped caring about working out once I got to college.
I started kickboxing and went to the gym at 16 to destress initially, but once I saw the difference in the way my body looked, my focus turned towards maintaining my appearance. I began to get compliments on these changes on my body, so I started to care about how the world perceived my body. I had always been called “too skinny” in middle school, and maybe it was those thoughts that fueled this sudden shift in mindset.
But by the time I got to college, I had finally gotten to a point in my life where I was truly content with my body and had stopped caring about how the world perceived my body and me. As long as I felt healthy, and my body was functioning in the way it was supposed to, I didn’t care about weighing a certain number or having curves in certain places. Combining that with the glory that came with starting college and a busy schedule, the only form of exercise I was getting was walking to classes and up Orchard Hill to go home.
Then came the unexpected pandemic that rocked all our lives, and exercise really came to a standstill since I was indoors for the majority of it. While “at home” workouts became popular, I just didn’t feel motivated to stay active during that time. With the start of this semester — where things seemed more or less normal — I was determined to get back to working out since I was left feeling tired, lazy, and in a bad headspace. I knew I wasn’t myself anymore and wanted to start pushing myself to get back in the gym.
I started with going for a fitness class every once in a while, then gradually moved on to trying to change my diet with healthier options. I then started pushing myself to hit the gym at least a couple of times a week, which seemed like a challenge. However, a friend of mine, who also wanted to get back on the gym grind, suggested that we start working out together to keep each other motivated and in check. If either of us made an excuse to not go to the gym that particular day, the other would force them to go. I know forcing someone to go workout might not seem like the best idea, but it works for us, and I always end up feeling great that I could squeeze in a workout even if I was busy.
Since going to the gym, my mood has gotten so much better, I feel motivated to do other things in my day, and I don’t feel so tired constantly. I knew I wanted to feel these things again and I’m glad that they are motivating factors now to keep this up. If you are in a similar position as me, grab a friend, find a personal reason to go, and just drag yourself to the gym — your future self will thank you.
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