FITNESS MOTIVATION • I FEEL EMPOWERED
Sports have always been a source of contention for me. I've been truly athletic at times and completely immobile at others. There have been moments when I have enjoyed physical activity and times when I have had to force myself to simply take a stroll. There have been periods when I was enthralled by team sports and times when I preferred to train alone. But, whether as a friend or foe, exercise has always been a part of my life.
After tearing my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in 2017, my fitness drive plummeted. I gained a lot of weight and got out of shape to a level I had never experienced previously in just a few months. And, despite the fact that I had finally begun to appreciate and love my body, I was far from fit.
HOW I STAYED MOTIVATED
In January 2018, I resumed running after a six-month hiatus from all forms of exercise. I was able to complete around two to three kilometers at an 8:00 min/km pace before I had to stop.
I set out to complete three exercise activities on a weekly basis, therefore I began the body transformation plan on our adidas Training app. I was probably training at the bare minimum, and I was happy if I could complete two workouts per week. To put it another way, it took me around 20 weeks to complete a 12-week training program.
I am my own toughest critic, which is why I used social media to increase my self-esteem. Every time I shared a run or a workout on Facebook, I got great feedback; every time I hit a low, someone would take the time to urge me to keep going. The high fives at the end of every group workout or run made me feel proud of not giving up and enhanced my fitness motivation.
“I am the hardest critic of myself.”
RECLAIMING MY BODY
My life was thrown upside down eight months into my new workout routine when my husband and I decided to divorce. My work-life balance was skewed for six months, and I seldom slept. Instead, I went out to party, and my diet was non-existent. As a result, I shed weight quickly (though not sustainably), and my running speed was insane (for my standards). But I was exhausted, weak, and not as sensuous as I had been in my curvier days.
As a result, I recovered my fitness motivation and resumed working out, noticing how my arms became firmer, my butt fuller, my thighs stronger, and my waist slimmer almost instantly. I boosted my workouts to three to four times a week, and on occasion, I even ran and strength trained on the same day. This was (and still is) a tremendous deal for me. Seeing the results of my efforts was quite satisfying.
I LOVE HOW I FEEL
I felt like a huge bombshell, even though I gained weight in the months following (as I began to eat again, or rather indulge in too many sweets). And I continue to do so. My scale and I have agreed to maintain a pleasant but distant relationship, and I do not obsess about tiny weight fluctuations. When I look in the mirror or at photographs of myself, I usually enjoy what I see.
Despite the fact that I am not normally lazy, I am easily enticed to skip a few days of workouts. The longer the break, the more difficult it becomes to get back into shape and maintain my fitness motivation. When I run slower than the week before or can't do as many push-ups as I thought I could, I get frustrated.
“It's disheartening to lose muscle at a faster rate than I gain it; but, this is what motivates me.”
Finally, I've reached a point where my body can restore muscle mass much more quickly after a hiatus, and I miss doing out after a day or two. I enjoy inhaling fresh air while running by the lake, and I enjoy being drenched in sweat after a round of burpees (much more than I love burpees, I might add). I enjoy being able to comfortably lift my children and walking for long periods of time without becoming exhausted. I adore how empowered, healthy, and content I am in my own skin.