Of my old routine and refresher lessons on endurance
Doing plank exercise while enjoying workout at home.
What you need to know:
- Anyone who has tried working out, and is honest, will tell you that working out is not easy, it's hardly fun and requires serious dedication.
- But there is a bigger clarion call: Nothing good comes easily.
Last Friday, the occasion of Mashujaa Day encouraged me to relaunch into an old routine – home workouts. Part of the motivation was that I had a free day to myself and I wanted to do something ‘relaxing’. I have the socially acceptable addiction of working all the time because I do not exactly know how to sit still.
Covid-19 introduced me to home workouts. Remember when we were holed up at home in 2020 and most of 2021? I don’t want to lie – I enjoyed working from home, a bit too much. That was also the time I picked up home workouts, to stay fit, take care of my mental health, and expend energy.
I did this faithfully for over a year and then I stopped. I could tell that my quality of life significantly improved, with very little effort – just 25 minutes of low-impact workouts every day.
After all the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, I slowed down my workout routines, eventually did my workouts on and off, before completely stopping.
My mother was happy when I stopped working out because she was worried I was thin (petite doesn’t exist in my mother's books) already and working out should not be my priority.
My explanation about working out to stay alert or to build muscles, of course, did not make sense to her. And so I stopped sending her my post-workout pictures, and we lived happily ever after.
On Friday last week, I decided to restart this old routine – to regain my brain alertness and ensure my hormones don’t run my life. But the bigger reason is that I will be participating in a marathon on Sunday, and the workouts were helping me prepare.
I went to YouTube and looked for some of my favourite fitness channels – MrandMrsMuscle, and Heather Robertson. I settled on a 14-day programme and I was ready to move! I dusted my workout clothes from the bottom of my closet, got my pink, girly sports shoes back on after a long time, and I was ready to start – like I never stopped.
Not easy, no fun
Anyone who has tried working out, and is honest, will tell you that working out is not easy, it's hardly fun and requires serious dedication. No wonder statistics show that 67 per cent of gym memberships go unused. Many gyms are known to build their business models around the fact that many people who sign up will not eventually show up.
Well, my home workouts are not anything close to the serious stuff I see happening in movie gyms (because I have never been in a real-life gym), but the principles are the same; endurance and commitment.
After my first day's workout, my body screamed ‘No!’ I felt pain everywhere – my stomach, my liver, my fingers, legs, hands, chest, everywhere! I was convinced I would not be able to walk for the rest of my life.
I do not remember how I successfully worked through the pain during the Covid-19 period, but at this point, I had decided that my mother was right, I do not need workouts in my life.
This experience made me see the parallels between the pains of working to achieve a cherished goal and the workout routine I was just about to give up because I felt challenged the first day.
A wise man said that one must choose one of either two pains – the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The beginnings (of anything) are usually tough. I had to convince myself that I could power through the pain in my muscles, build discipline, and reap the benefits I wanted – a fit and energetic body.
Also read: 5 exercises to try at home for a toned body
That mindset is what saw me push through the second and the third… and by the time you are reading this, I will have consistently sustained my workouts for a week.
If you are looking for a sign that you should start today, here you are. If you are also looking for a sign to keep doing that painful thing towards your vision, this is it – whether that pain looks like cutting down on your free time to invest in building a skill you need, whether that pain looks like abandoning some friends because you want to focus on building your faith, or if the pain means putting in two extra hours to read each night before sleeping.
As I continue to power through my workout routine, towards that chiselled ‘Hollywood’ body, some days will be harder than others. But there is a bigger clarion call: Nothing good comes easily.
The writer is the research & impact editor, NMG ([email protected])
