Exercise is a word that I hated for the first 20 years of my life. Hence, I am not surprised when most folks express the same sentiment about it - some say they don't have time, some say they don't have motivation and some say it outright that they don't like it. Politically incorrect thing to say in this fitness focused age but at least they are being honest!
The day I realised that my lack of fitness is in fact stopping me from enjoying my life, I decided to do something about it. I started with activity that I really enjoy and one that is easier on joints and muscles - swimming. It was definitely hard to look at myself in swimsuit - so out of shape I was but I stuck with it. A few days later I added walking to my routine, a few weeks later I also started playing squash...and the best part of it all? Nothing felt like exercise...I enjoyed every bit of these activities and slowly pounds started to come off and my fitness levels improved dramatically. And today, I am known as endorphin junkie - I am total b***h till I have had my endorphin fix of the day, i.e., my workout!
So how did someone who hated exercise and would cringe at the very mention of the word, fell in love with it? Simple...I don't do anything that I don't like. For instance, I hate gyms - they feel claustrophobic, people don't clean up machines after them and running on treadmill is boring! So what do I do? I run outside, I swim, I hike....I also get bored of doing the same thing everyday, so I shake things up - I do HIIT some days and weights some other days and of late I have adding boxing and sports conditioning to it.
Now let's say that there is absolutely no physical activity that you like to do or say that you have absolutely no time to work out/ exercise. Does it mean that you can't be fit? No...there still are ways to get fitter without devoting time to a physical activity. How? Simple...stop taking elevator, start parking the car farther, don't take the car out if your destination is within 2-3 km radius, have fun with your kids in the swimming pool, run/jog with them when they are cycling...the list is endless
Yes, first time you climb 4 floors or even 2, you will wonder why you are doing it but slowly it will get easier and one thing no one know.....getting fitter is like getting a high...the fitter you get, the fitter you want to be and your fitness goal becomes a moving target.
So...take the first step today, leave that smart phone behind or take it with you if you are so addicted to it but instead of sitting and talking, start walking and talking - watch the kids playing, watch the antics of the dogs being walked, see how the senior citizens are gathered and having fun, see how that toddler is enjoying the swing...trust me you will start liking to walk very soon :)
It's important to recognise this feeling that you don't like or don't want to work out. To be honest who wants to do anything that feels like work? And there lies the source of all problems - we (read adults) have a way of taking fun out of everything including simple pleasures of life like walking or running by calling it work!
Remember how much we used to run as kids in flip flops? I can recall leaving home at 8 am and not coming back till 8 pm during the summer vacations. All caked in mud and dirt - so much so that my father used to hose me down in the garden before letting me inside the house! This is how much I used to love being outside - cycling, climbing trees, playing games that required lot of sprinting and crouching in weird positions for hours during hide & seek. Never thinking of it as work but getting workout just the same!!!
But as I grew older and started gaining weight, it wasn't just because of my eating habits, it was also because I wasn't spending as much time outdoors. I would study/ work whole day and then watch TV to relax. Walking, however, was a big part of my life as I mostly used public transport to go to school/ college/ work. And then I bought a car and there went my last bit of chance to get some kind of physical activity. Within a few years, my fitness levels were so low that I couldn't walk 500 meters without complaining and even one flight of stairs used to feel like climbing up a hill. All this when I was just 25 years old!!!
The day I realised that my lack of fitness is in fact stopping me from enjoying my life, I decided to do something about it. I started with activity that I really enjoy and one that is easier on joints and muscles - swimming. It was definitely hard to look at myself in swimsuit - so out of shape I was but I stuck with it. A few days later I added walking to my routine, a few weeks later I also started playing squash...and the best part of it all? Nothing felt like exercise...I enjoyed every bit of these activities and slowly pounds started to come off and my fitness levels improved dramatically. And today, I am known as endorphin junkie - I am total b***h till I have had my endorphin fix of the day, i.e., my workout!
So how did someone who hated exercise and would cringe at the very mention of the word, fell in love with it? Simple...I don't do anything that I don't like. For instance, I hate gyms - they feel claustrophobic, people don't clean up machines after them and running on treadmill is boring! So what do I do? I run outside, I swim, I hike....I also get bored of doing the same thing everyday, so I shake things up - I do HIIT some days and weights some other days and of late I have adding boxing and sports conditioning to it.
Now let's say that there is absolutely no physical activity that you like to do or say that you have absolutely no time to work out/ exercise. Does it mean that you can't be fit? No...there still are ways to get fitter without devoting time to a physical activity. How? Simple...stop taking elevator, start parking the car farther, don't take the car out if your destination is within 2-3 km radius, have fun with your kids in the swimming pool, run/jog with them when they are cycling...the list is endless
Yes, first time you climb 4 floors or even 2, you will wonder why you are doing it but slowly it will get easier and one thing no one know.....getting fitter is like getting a high...the fitter you get, the fitter you want to be and your fitness goal becomes a moving target.
So...take the first step today, leave that smart phone behind or take it with you if you are so addicted to it but instead of sitting and talking, start walking and talking - watch the kids playing, watch the antics of the dogs being walked, see how the senior citizens are gathered and having fun, see how that toddler is enjoying the swing...trust me you will start liking to walk very soon :)
