Find What Motivates You

I've never been the one to go to the gym. Working out was never a term I used growing up because I always had soccer as my exercise. Playing soccer kept me fit with all of the practices and games we had. Once I quit soccer my junior year of high school, I lost 10 pounds within the next year because I lost my muscle mass. Going into college, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the gym on campus, but that lasted about a week. I just couldn't push myself to go to the gym even if it was for a couple days a week. Being indoors on a stationary object was pure torture for me. If I'm remembering correctly, the only time I went to the gym freshmen year was the first two weeks of the school year. Going into my sophomore year, I wanted to make it my mission to go to the gym a couple times a week; I chose days/times of the week that worked out wonderfully with my schedule and started taking spin class. If there is one thing I can sort of stand at the gym, it's spin class. Fall semester 2012 was great because I was able to keep up with going to the gym for quite a while. Then midterms and papers rolled around and the gym got pushed down on my to-do list. I was back to my old days of not going to the gym. I started going to the gym Spring semester 2013, but because the spin class took place during a time I had class, that was a no-go and it became even harder for me to go the gym. I managed to go a few days a week being on the spin bike for about 50-60 minutes then doing abdominal workouts. Once again, when midterms and papers came around, the motivation to go to the gym went out the window. As for this past semester, I didn't work out at all as I was in London and I didn't bring any workout clothes since I knew it would be a waste of space/weight considering I can't even make myself workout at home.

I am currently taking a Personal Health course that counts as my required science core. Earlier this semester, we had a small project in which we had to come up with a health related hypothesis that we would work on over the course of a few weeks and see if our hypothesis was true or not. I used this opportunity to do abdominal workouts within the project period to see if my abdominals would tighten. My plan included several abdominal workouts in which I would do three sets of each. The greatest thing that came out of the project was the satisfaction I got every night and the desire to continue the workouts. I never skipped a workout because I wanted to get a good grade and I wanted to see results. The last thing I expected was to continue with my nightly routine after I finished the project. I made it a routine to workout every night before I took a shower, and the routine still holds, over a month after my project was turned in. There have been a couple of days where I skipped the workouts, but each time I have felt guilt afterwards and it has only made me want to continue the workouts every day. Change does not come over night and I am starting to see the progress I have made, and it only motivates to keep going.

The great things about my nightly abdominal workouts are that 1) it doesn't require any extra materials other than workout clothes, 2) it can be done anywhere in your house, and 3) it doesn't take longer than 30 minutes.

The important things are setting achievable goals. As part of my project, we had to use S.M.A.R.T goals, which stand for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Using the S.M.A.R.T goals is really useful because it allows you to break down your goals and workouts, building up to your ultimate goal. If your goal is to run 5 miles under a certain time, that is not going to happen the first time if you haven't ran in a long time. By using the S.M.A.R.T goals, you break your goal down by starting off with running a certain amount a few days a week, allowing yourself to stop every once in a while; you build up by not stopping at all, then increase the distance amount, and so on. It will surprise you how having a specific, measurable, achievable goal can keep you motivated.

I never thought that I would find a workout that I would find satisfying because I never had to think about working out when I was growing up. And now four years after I have quit soccer, I finally found something that keeps me motivated and wanting to workout every night. Working out doesn't have to have a grand goal of being able to run a 10K or being able to lift a certain weight. Ultimately, it is about staying fit and healthy and making sure that you are burning energy off. Plus, if you are doing some workouts everyday, it gives you a bit of an excuse to eat some junk food. Because lets face it, I could never give up junk food but knowing I will be raising my heart beat and working up a sweat each night makes divulging a little easier.

Below is the workout I do every night (3 sets of each):

• 30 Sit-Ups (I originally started with 20 for my project but increased to feel more burn recently)
• 25 Leg Lifts (Originally started with 15 for my project)
• 25 Russian Twists
• 1 Minute Planks (Regular and on my side-- originally started with 30 seconds, increasing by 10 seconds every 4 days during my project)
• Since I have stayed on 1 minute planks for quite a while now, I have made it harder by lifting my legs 20 times during each plank
• 25 Squats (Originally did wall sits for my project; increased squats from 20 to 25 recently)

I would say all together, this takes about 30 minutes. 30 minutes of your day really isn't a lot, and now that I am in the routine of doing it every night before I shower, I never forget.

I encourage everyone to find something you enjoy doing and create a routine for yourself so that it becomes second nature for you to workout on those certain days. If you enjoy it enough and have a set goal, working out isn't so bad.

Cheers,
Aya