We all know that along with eating balanced meals (and the occasional chocolate-chip cookie) and getting enough sleep, exercising is essential for a healthy lifestyle. However, most of us aren’t Olympic athletes, and it would definitely be a lie to say we enjoy every single second of our adventures in cardio and strength training. In fact, there are 21 distinct stages of every workout – and most of them involve pain.
1. You feel like a fitness model in your perfectly coordinated outfit.
2. But forcing yourself to actually go work out is an enormous struggle.
3. You try to motivate yourself, but all you can think is:
4. You get to the gym, and you’re kind of intimidated by all the hardcore fitness junkies.
5. But as soon as you start, you’re like, “Why was I dreading this?”
6. “I’m a fitness rock star.”
7. Unfortunately, all of your energy evaporates after five minutes.
8. You’d like to think that you don’t look too bad…
9. …but it’s actually like Niagara Falls up in there.
10. You look at the clock and you can’t believe how much time you have left.
11. You try to distract yourself by singing along to your workout playlist.
12. You find a guilty-pleasure show on the gym TV.
13. However, each moment still feels like an eternity…
14. …and you really, really hope no one you know will see you.
15. Finally, you realize you’re almost done.
16. The last 30 seconds of your workout feel amazing…
17. …and you’re all, “That was easy.”
18. When you get home, you want to devour everything in sight.
19. An hour later, you’re exhausted.
20. At least you have that post-workout endorphin glow.
21. And then you realize you have to do it all again tomorrow…