Embarking on any kind of journey is a big decision – whether it’s to travel overseas or going on a personal fitness journey. I recently embarked on the latter and committed to becoming fitter and healthier physically and emotionally over a set period of six months. Wow! The lessons I’ve learned thus far! While I have been posting with the hashtag #mombodtohotbod, the reasons for embarking on this journey run far deeper than just getting toned.
Read more about the reasons why I decided to commit to a six-month fitness journey, partnering with Ignite Fitness.
Four months in, some things have changed, while others feel like they stayed the same. Here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way of my fitness journey, two months in.
First lessons first: It takes courage
As I said, embarking on any kind of journey is a big decision, which means it takes courage to commit. Indeed, a fitness journey is no different. Especially when you want to see results and show those results to others to prove that your journey wasn’t for nothing and that you actually achieved something. Plus, as a mom and a wife and someone with a job that often requires a lot of travelling, the planned routine exercises do not often go as planned.
It’s got its ups and downs
Like anything in life, even in the past three months my journey was filled with ups and downs. I’ve had weeks where I really just didn’t feel I had the energy to exercise. I’ve been working tirelessly to help make a business work, I am a mother of two, a wife and someone who likes it when her home is tidy and clean. So, without boasting or feeling sorry for myself, I am a busy mom who sometimes just gets tired.
With that also comes limits to the time I have available to exercise, and I really need to make time for it. As my Ignite Fitness instructor, Reuben once said: Exercise has become a luxury. I therefore really need to focus on fitting it into my schedule and sometimes I can really only fit in one or two sessions at the gym per week, which becomes a little demotivating for someone who wants to see results.
Life (and lessons) happen
Some weeks there will be more time for exercising than others. At one point, our nanny did not pitch and I had to prioritise accordingly. Another time, my fitness instructor went overseas to visit his family and I had to improvise. That’s life and you just need to adapt.
There is no easy fix
That said, those fast results won’t necessarily come as fast as one would wish. Becoming fit fast means you need to do it on a daily basis and it should almost be your day job if you want to really see results within the first few weeks. For me, there is no easy fix and I will need to be patient and just keep going at it.
Some things change sooner than others
I have noticed, though that some things do change faster than others. While I might not be able to see much change physically yet, I do feel a lot stronger physically, and also emotionally. I have way more patience than before, I have more energy to spend quality time with my family, I am much more positive about life and work, I can do way more push ups, sit ups and planks than when I first started and I feel amped to exercise, where I previously would have rather stayed at home.
Identify your method of fitness
I now know that I am someone who needs to be pushed, motivated and guided when it comes to exercise – especially if I have a specific end result in mind. Ignite Fitness at Menlyn has been by my side every step of the way thus far and I am excited to see where the journey will take me next.
Finally, I have found that a fitness journey is so much more than just exercising to get fit and toned. It’s also about finding balance. In order to find the time to exercise, you need to create a balanced lifestyle for yourself. Between your day-to-day hustling, you might become off balance. It is then when you need to take a step back, regroup and find your balance again. If that doesn’t work, it’s always helpful to have a fitness instructor like Reuben who keeps you accountable and on your toes – something that I’ve found to be very valuable over the past three months.
Stay tuned for more about my fitness journey by following me on Instagram and Facebook, subscribing to my newsletter via the homepage and keeping your eyes on my blog.
Go now, and find your balance!
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