To start off I want to make two points very clear:
1. I am not a fitness junkie. I do not obsessive over the gym, I don't spend endless hours there, I NEVER take selfies (only for myself to view progressions and in the privacy of my own home), and the reason I wear active wear all around is because I walk everywhere and don't want my day wear to get dirty when I take my dog to the park.
2. I was a notorious anti-fitness gal. I mean I HATED it! You couldn't get me to briskly jog to save my life. I was always the last to pick on any team during high school gym (honestly, I usually got picked by the bench and happily stayed there all class). I couldn't stretch, bend, lift, squat...nothing. I was fully convinced my body was not meant for physical activity and leggings.
So where does that leave me? In a healthy and balanced lifestyle, that's where.
I'm not a fitness nut as I said, but I'm a completely different person I was 10 years ago when it comes to physical fitness.
I said I couldn't even lightly jog...now I can run for 20 min straight.
I barely could reach down to my knees...now I can touch my toes.
I could hardly lift 10kg without whining....now I can squat with 50kg easily flung over my shoulders.
I hate any kind of sport possible...now I love a good tennis match (even though my back-hand is a mess)
I also go to the gym at least 4 times a week...and actually enjoy it. Hell, sometimes I even MISS it!
Those who know me from way back when would never believe the person I am today, or that I even have a gym membership. It's unheard of! I swore I would never, ever go to a gym. That it was hell!
So what happened?
Well, it actually started with my grandmother. That's right, my fitness lifestyle has an origin story.
So, Abuelita Conchita (as we affectionately called her) was always on her feet. I didn't get to spend much time with her but the times I did I recall her going to the markets to so the shopping, cooking, cleaning around the house, just being active in general. And my family has great genes. My other 3 late grandparents lived well into their 90's. Two dies from accidents, and one from cancer that he battled so beautifully it would bring a tear to any generals eye. The man would actually escape the hospital because "He needed a walk"!
I never put much stock into this until he passed away and left my grandmother alone.Well, not alone, she had us, but you know what I mean. She was deeply in-love and devoted to him. And slightly co-dependent as Cancer signs are. This meant that she turned her co-dependence to her family and that started a downward spiral of "I can't get up, hep me" or "I'm too weak to eat, hold my fork"
Not to shame the woman, but we knew she was faking it. At first. Whenever we had a party she would jump up and down on one leg and hold her own cocktail glass no problem. You know when they tell you you think can't do something because 'it's all in your head'? Yeah...this was it. The problem is, you let it into your head too much, it transfers to your body.
Over time, my grandmother got her wish. He body started to weaken. She lost muscle mass, mobility, any strength, She was practically bedridden. Confined to her hospital-style bed or wheelchair and left to the nurses. It was beyond heartbreaking.
the worst part? The doctors told us she had a strong heart, that her body had the ability to live longer, I mean the woman was a PhysEd major! She was built for it! But she let go of her mental will to live, and her body followed suit.
I had to watch it hurt everyone around her, especially my mother who bathed her, feed her and cried watching her strong mother literally wither away. My grandmother was in this heartbreaking condition for years, her heart to strong to want to give up, her body already gone.
Somehow, her heart realized there was nothing left to beat for, and slowly went away, with her children surrounding her.
This awoke something in me. Fear. Fear to lose myself and my ability to be able to stand on my own two feet when I'm older. To be able to wash myself, feed myself. I didn't want to be a burden or dependent on anyone ever. I then also felt desire. Desire to be stronger, and healthier. To make sure the same thing didn't happen to me. To take care of my body. To stay alive the way I want to be.
So, I decided to start to unthinkable...exercise!
It sucked. Like REALLY SUCKED! At the time I wasn't vegan. And I was misinformed but the ever popular belief that if I was going to be working out, I had to load up on protein and calcium. So lots of meats, eggs and milk products. I devoured cheese, milk and eggs and added protein to everything. I mean, I was just doing what I was told my body would need by 'professionals' I would never be fit and healthy without it right?
*Insert buzzer sound* WRONG!
So wrong! No one even mentioned my veggies. No one said anything about my iron intake, vitamins, fibers. And of course no one told me that I could get protein and calcium and everything else from plants. Also, no one told me how all those dairy products would shoot my cholesterol levels up and all the extra protein my body didn't actually need would be turned into sugar and than stored as fat on my body. I wasn't losing weight...I was gaining it. And going to gym wasn't getting easier...it was so much worse. I gave up on it quickly.
Fast-forward to about 5 years later when I became vegan and was dealing with my depression. I decided I was going to work through my depression without meds, naturally. And aside form my aid from my vegan diet, I was going to add exercise. You can read the whole story of that transition here.
So I decided to sign up at my closest and most affordable gym that also happened to be pretty clean, well-kept and had a strict no douch-bags policy. Anyone taking selfies gets an eye-brow raise and there's even an alarm that sounds when people drop their weights. It was perfect!
Also, I'm not the type to work outdoors. First of, in Canada, that's not a year-round option no matter what those cycle-heads say.
I enjoy being indoors and knowing that I if I ever need to go to the washroom or re-fill my water bottle it's only a few places away. Spoiled luxury fitness is my kind of fitness. Also, I figured by me having a membership it would motivate me. If someone is going to be taking money out of my account on a monthly basis, I know I better damn well be getting something out of it!
So, I got myself some comfy active leggings that weren't covered in mesh or flowers, a water bottle and some wireless headphone (which I have already worn out of and have still yet to get my replacement!)
So how do I ensure that this time it won't be a failure? Well for one thing, my new vegan diet had me bursting with healthy energy I didn't have before. I also felt like my body was lighter. I was told by my family doctor that my cholesterol levels had gone way down and my heart was crazy strong. It was a good place to start.
I also decided to not push myself more than what my body asked for. I knew the worst thing to do would be to get over-excited and try to run right away and jump right into burpees (which if you've ever tried them for the first time know they only belong in the 6th circle of hell)
I worked with Pinterest a lot. I found a great pin on how to learn to run if you're not a runner. It was simple enough, starting out small, and building up. I was hesitant it would work, and also felt sort of silly going through the walk/run intervals it suggested as I looked sheepishly over to the bolt-like runners next to me going non-stop like it was nothing.
And the first couple days, it was hard. It felt tiresome and my legs were already sore. I wanted to quit, not because I felt I couldn't do it, juts out of sheer laziness. But I was being charged for it, and I forced myself to pack my gym stuff everyday and take it to work with me, making the gym part of my routine. Go to gym after work, then get groceries across the street then head home to eat. And you know what...it totally worked! It worked so well, I feel obligated to share it here for anyone who would like to put a little run into their routine.
I'm telling you...one day I was doing my training, and completely forgot to switch to my walking time and ended up doing the whole 30 min running before week 7! I would never do a marathon, but that wasn't my goal anyways. And really, you're body only needs about a good 30 min of cardio anyways.
After wards I would add in my weights, using tips from more Pinterest posts to work out whatever areas I wanted to on my body. Booty workouts were especially of interest to me. My butt had decided it didn't want to keep up with me and has started it's slow decline and I refuse to let them go anywhere than stay up where they belong!
After a few months, I was going regularly to the gym, and it felt good. So good! I slept deeper, woke with more positive energy, and just felt all-around happy! All those things people said about exercise, damn if it wasn't all totally true! I was getting healthier and happier!
That being said, I said I was not a fitness nut, and I'm not. Sometimes I can't get to the gym. Life get's busy. It happens. I don't like it, but I don't beat myself up for it. I juts try to ensure I continue doing yoga at home and move around whenever I can.
That's what being healthy means. No one expects you to be the next Ninja Warrior, and you shouldn't be! However keeping up with a continuous and steady exercise practice will do incredible wonders for you!
Some days I can run for 30 min and do another 45 of weights. Other, I only want a light 15 min job and just a few squats with a lot of good stretches. That's just what my body wants. And I know I might not be those that have a Victoria Secret perfect body, I know I have a healthy strong one. And that makes me feel happy.
Although I have to say, I do look much better in a bikini these days! Whoot whoot!