Confession: I Don't *Hate* Working Out Anymore
Taken Summer 2018 when I was training for a 5K. I definitely will run for coffee!
I’m going to get straight to the point here: I’m on a journey to love working out.
Not a fitness journey or a “weight loss journey” or any of those buzzwords you see in magazines.
I’m on a journey with working out. Let me explain why this is worthy of an entire blog post.
Historically, I’ve never been someone who loved, or looked forward to, exercising.
Growing up, I loved playing outside with my brothers, playing basketball, and staying active as most kids do. In high school, I would bike or run on the treadmill but there wasn’t one activity that I really enjoyed doing.
It’s no secret that to be healthy, you need to eat right and exercise. I had the eating right part down, but the working out part is something I’ve struggled with for years.
In college, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t work out consistently at all. On most days, I ate an apple, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, had some carrots as a snack, and drank a lot of coffee. I skipped a lot of meals because of stress or class schedules. I walked everywhere and would occasionally run on the weekends, but that was about it.
In post-grad life, I “woke up” so to speak regarding my health. What had “worked” before was not sustainable. The fact I didn’t like to work out was not an excuse that could be accepted any longer. It was around this time I started dating Luke, who is the complete opposite of me in this regard.
Luke and his family are fitness people. They’re all kung-fu black belts and own a martial arts school. So Luke grew up working out every day as he trained in kung-fu. When we started dating, I’m not going to lie, I became motivated to start working out because of him and his family. Taking combat fitness classes at the martial arts school opened my eyes to the idea that working out could be fun instead of something you “have to” fit in your day.
I started trying different workouts. I loved combat fitness (high-intensity interval training with punching bags) so I tried Beachbody’s INSANITY workouts. The workouts lived up to its name, let me tell you. But I loved it.
I began to understand why people “fall in love” with exercising. I started viewing it as a test to what my body was capable of instead of seeing it as a chore or something I should do. I started running more frequently and decided to train for a 5K, which isn’t much, but it made me feel like I could do anything. I had never ran that far without stopping before.
Over the years, my body has fluctuated. If I’m being completely, 100% honest with you, I’m still trying, every single day, to remember that I am not defined by the number I see on the scale. The mental health challenge is REAl, y’all. In my heart, I know it doesn’t define me but man, is it an uphill battle I face every. single. day. I say this not to receive compliments or pity. I say this to let you know, I struggle with it, too. My worth is in Christ alone and I am SO very thankful for that.
Which brings me to today. I’m still not one of those people who loves working out. I don’t think I’ll ever be that girl you see in the gym 2-3 hours a day. But you know what? I’ve started to not hate it as much. I feel stronger and more confident when I workout. I mentally feel clearer and look at myself in the mirror a bit differently, even if the number doesn’t change. I don’t workout to transform into a different size or shape; ultimately, I do it because I know it’s what my body needs.
Our bodies are made to move.
This fact might not seem all that exciting to you. But to someone who has, for years, dreaded the idea of exercising 4-5x/week, this is HUGE and blog post-worthy.
Exercising is not a chore that we “have to” do. It is a gift to be able to move and take care of the body God has given you!
The other day I was running on the treadmill. When I run, my mind wanders. I started looking around me at the other women who were also at the gym.
I found myself comparing myself to them and thinking, They’re thinner, faster, stronger than me. No matter how hard I work, I’ll never be able to look like them.
Then I stopped myself.
No.
It is not me against them.
Why is my first thought to belittle myself? To talk down on who God created me to be?
We are ALL doing our best.
In that moment, while running on the treadmill and seeing the other women around me, I shook myself out of the trance. In that moment, I was inspired to stop comparing and start CHEERING.
We are all doing the best we can. There is no need for competition. If you can run 3 miles without breaking a sweat, GREAT. But if you can’t, THAT’S OKAY.
Your wins are YOUR wins, not someone else’s wins.
So here’s why I don’t hate working out anymore. Here’s why this was worthy of an entire blog post:
The more I exercise, the more I’m reminded how strong we are. Our bodies are incredible and working out is just one way we can take care of them.
So yes, while I still procrastinate work outs on some days or dread going to the gym altogether, I keep going. Not because I’m trying to reach a certain look or number on the scale, but because being healthy is important. Our bodies were made to move.
This is the body God gave me and I’m so thankful for that. And for that, I will move with gratitude and cheer for those around me.