Winter break is officially over and we are all getting back into our busy routines of going to class, studying, working, and attending club meetings all while also trying to find time for the gym. Thankfully, my new apartment complex came with an on-site gym and I actually manage to utilize it on a regular basis. In the past, this was a difficult task to accomplish. However, with my new, steady workout schedule, I have noticed a significant shift from how I used to think and feel about exercising compared to now. Before I dive in, I want to disclose that I am not an expert on health or fitness, and that this is my own personal experience and what I have learned in my exercise journey.
Just last year, I possessed a negative outlook on exercising. I would groan at the thought of getting on an elliptical whereas now I look forward to it! This change in attitude is undoubtedly a result of my change in routine and what I want out of it. In past workout sessions of mine, I solely focused on the numbers; the numbers on the scale, the distance and intensity numbers on the treadmill, the number of pushups, the number of calories I burned, and so on. I would drive myself to reach the numbers I desired and if the scale especially did not show me what I wanted to see, my mood that day would be negatively affected. If the numbers on the treadmill were too low, I would keep pressing the button to raise my workout’s intensity until my heart rate was almost through the roof. Sometimes after I got off the machine, I would feel like I was about to faint and still tell myself, “just ten more pushups”, and end up doing twenty more solely to reach a higher number before I ended my workout.
What I realized, though, is that the results I am looking for are long-term. This means that no matter how intense I work-out at the gym, my changes will not happen overnight. Once I realized this, I no longer focused on the numbers anymore; predominantly the ones on the scale. Instead, I began to concentrate on my feelings. The first step of this was paying attention to how I felt and what workouts I was doing, rather than comparing myself to others around me or on social media. Obviously, this is way easier said than done, but it is crucial to try. By not worrying about what others are doing, it allows me to go at my own, healthy pace. After all, everyone has different exercise and fitness needs. So, just because I am not running as fast as the person next to me, does not mean I am not having a successful workout; it means that I am going at the right pace for my body.
An important part of this process is recognizing when I need to stop exercising. There were times that I felt lightheaded during a workout and needed to cut it short. Similarly, because I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), (Learn more about EDS here: Ups and Downs of EDS) I also need to be more careful in the gym than most people. If my knee starts to feel unstable during squats, I learned to either move on to other areas or end my work-out for the day. At first, I would get frustrated when I needed to cut a session short but gradually understood that it is better to prioritize my health and safety to prevent from making it worse.
The main idea to take away from this perspective is to focus on what feels good for you while you are exercising. Personally, this means not worrying about what others are doing around me, choosing to go slower if I need to, and modifying my workouts if something does not feel right. The key difference in how I used to exercise versus now is focusing on how I feel. I do not need to be near passing out after a workout to think I did a good job. In fact, I now know that if I do not feel positive after, then it was not a productive experience.