I love to train. I really do. I love how it makes me feel when I am doing it. I love the sore muscles afterwards. I love the extra energy it gives me. At the same time, I was just like every other “normal” person out there and completely fell off the training bandwagon.
I trained every single day for 2 years straight. I saw some amazing results. I had things showing up on my body that I hadn't seen since I was a teenager. Then life happened. My marriage broke up and I had to deal with the emotions of that issue. At times I felt like doing nothing at all and that's what I did–nothing at all. It was a tough habit to break after some time. Instead of having a gym habit I had a “don't go to the gym” habit.
As I started to think through these things I got upset with myself. However, it wasn't until a very important friend of mine told me that she couldn't picture me as ever being an athlete that I realized things needed to change. She was not being mean, she was being honest–in my current state she could not see how I could ever run fast or move well. She was absolutely right. Had I been in this shape when I was competing actively in sports I would have had a very short career. Well, her words inspired me to start the Fast Fat Loss Challenge. That has completely renewed my love and dedication to training and eating right.
There is a definite lesson to be learned from all of this. It is something I am going to carry forward with me from now on. No matter what I am feeling at the time I am going to hit the gym. Why? Because no matter what, the gym makes me feel good. It helps me mentally as well as physically. It is something that I need and therefore I will not bypass it ever again.
If you are struggling with getting into the gym just follow these simple steps and you will conquer the issue:
- Take an honest assessment of your physical shape
- Take your measurements (body fat, scale weight, circumference measurements)
- Set a long term goal and lead yourself to it via some small baby step goals
- Vow to do some form exercise every single day so that you never have a chance to quit
This has been working for me and I know it will work for you as well. Give it a try and let me know what happens.
