BEFORE YOU HIT THE GYM

How are y’all doing?

I celebrate you, my lady, for how far you have come on your journey . This whole month is for us. Let’s keep breaking the biases and you know we can only do that by being intentional.

If you’re new here, welcome to the table of intentional ladies. So glad to have you here.

Shout out to my returning readers, thanks for always coming back. Let’s create this community together.

Did you miss last week’s post? Find it here https://theintentionallady.wordpress.com/2022/03/02/63/. And oh! at the bottom of every post, before the comments section, you will find arrows to the left and the right and they are pointing you to the previous and next post respectively. You’ll see the title of such posts, just click on it to enjoy your read. 

This is the month we choose to be intentional about FITNESS. And today we are looking  at the essentials  as you travel the fitness journey.

Disclaimer: I’m neither a health professional nor a fitness coach (I didn’t like science lolx). This blog is about my personal experiences and that of people I interviewed.

Now, let’s get into it.

What exactly is fitness?

I studied a couple of ladies in my school on their fitness journey. From the study, I realized fitness means different things to different people. 

One participant said she noticed she was dozing off in class and so she had to do something about it. She started taking fitness seriously by hitting the gym. In that period, being fit meant  she could sit through all her classes without dozing off, she could stay alert and focus on her academics as that was why she was in school in the first place. Another said, she didn’t feel fit because she had put on too much weight.

Further research also made me understand that what the concept means to a person does evolve over time. 

During my days as a sports girl, fitness meant being able to run my races and win as well as playing full time in soccer and other sports. To do this, I had to do vigorous exercises daily.  Now that I’m not into active sports, fitness means something different.

I chanced upon this definition as I researched on the topic online.

Fitness means the condition of being physically and mentally fit with good health. It is the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to enjoy life.

I would like you to take a minute to reflect on what fitness means to you. How you define it will help you to be intentional about it.

Some ladies look down on themselves because they criticize their own appearance, through a judgment or comparison to another person or they accept the body shaming comments from others.  There is no “ideal” body shape. Define fitness for yourself, and feel free to adjust as the concept evolves in your own life. As long as you are healthy, you’re good.

Now, before you hit the gym with the intention of losing all that weight in a day, consider the following.

The first thing you should know is that fitness ought to be a LIFESTYLE. It requires consistency. If you do it just once in a while, you won’t get the results you seek. So check your schedule and know how you can fix fitness in your overall routine. It could be 15 – 20 minutes for a couple of days a week if daily won’t work for you.

You also need to think about your FITNESS GOALS. What do you want to achieve in your fitness journey? Maybe you want to lose some weight or you have a body shape in mind you want to achieve.

 I have realized that when I don’t workout for a longer period, I am not able to go through my day without taking a nap and sometimes the planned 30 mins nap becomes 2 hours. I’m a full time student with other obligations and this mostly messes up my daily routine. I work out in the morning so that my day is  productive. Set your fitness goals and stick to them. 

If you are now starting out on this journey, START EASY.

Something happened during the Covid-19 lockdown. I had done my research on how to gain weight in the right places.

You know what I mean, flat tummy, broad hips, big butts lolx. I started with 50 squats, because that is what I saw online. My goodness! The next morning, I couldn’t walk, haha. I was even struggling to get out of my bed. I learnt my lesson, the hard way. 

Whether it’s about the exercises you want to do or the diet you want to check, please start easy then with time, you can increase your pace.

Get a TRIBE if possible

A tribe is a couple of friends or people with a shared vision. This is necessary for accountability. One of the participants of my study spoke about how her friends helped her in her fitness journey. They share youtube workout videos, pictures and videos of themselves working out, they inspire each other on the journey and she also has a workout partner.

You may be the first person in your group of friends to start this journey and it may be challenging for you but whether they buy into the idea or not, go ahead if this step is important to you. Your spouse or partner can keep you accountable, if you don’t get anyone, I’m here. So far as you give me a few dollars. Lolx  

Track your PROGRESS

Yes, there’s a place for “how I started” versus “how it’s going”. If there is a goal, then there should be a means to evaluate it. On days when you feel like giving up, the pictures you took when starting out on the journey can be a source of motivation. Whatever means you use, track your progress. 

There are days, I’m not able to do my usual 30 mins workout in the morning because I didn’t wake up early but I try to do at least 15 mins. And sometimes, I do another thing as I workout when I’m pressed for time. I either pray, listen to an audio Bible or a podcast as I workout and it works for me especially because I work out in my room. 

I know there are a couple of ladies out there, who have different types of slim tea and workout gear in their homes and they are not being used. May that not be your story sis. Make sure to sit yourself down and analyze what we have talked about today, seek extra help if you need to, you can do it, I’m cheering you on.

I hope you got value. If you have any questions, kindly drop it as a comment and it will be answered. We have a guest coming up next week and you can’t miss it. If you are yet to start your fitness journey, drop I’M STARTING but if you are on already, drop WE MOVE in the comments.

Until next week, stay FIT!