If you’ve just taken a gym membership or registered for a marathon, congratulate yourself on taking a small step towards better health. But the hard part comes a little later and that’s where most people decide to quit the race. Here is a ready reckoner of the 5 things you’re going to go through as you beat your body into shape.
1. There Will Be A Lot More Laundry To Do
The one big addition to your life once you start working out is more laundry. If you have collected a whole wardrobe of workout clothes, you might be able to afford more time between laundry days but the volume of clothes you need to launder is definitely going to go up. A run/workout/hot yoga session/cross training session every day is going to leave you with a lot of sweaty clothes. The best way to sort it out is to find a place in your house to designate as your sweaty clothes drying area and create a separate space in your closet only for workout clothes. This makes it easy to keep your workout clothes separate from your other clothes and also gives you a fair idea when it’s time to launder the lot. So, once a week, you can get them all done in one go. Fortunately, most workout wear is quick-dry.
2. It’s Going To Hurt
When you start engaging in any form of physical activity, be ready for chaffing and scrapes and bruises. Working out comes with its share of pain and suffering. Whether you work out at the gym, go running, or to a boot camp, there is no escaping the pain. Sometimes, is not even when it’s happening or a day later, your body is going to show signs of pain days later. Sore muscles from weight training, tired legs after a Zumba session, or chafed underarms after a 10-mile run, it’s all part of the package. What you also get is mental toughness and grit to keep on going despite the pain. That quality makes all of it worth the effort.
3. Some Days Are Going To Be Hard
You may have run and won several marathons or even a triathlon, however, in spite of all those achievements, some days are going to be hard even for the most seasoned athletes. There will be days when you just don’t want to hit the road with your sneakers or going to the gym seems like a drudgery, no matter how regular you’ve been. That’s when you remind yourself of the quote “It doesn’t get easier, you just get better.” Eventually, you just get better at kicking yourself out of bed and telling yourself that you need to power on despite how you feel.
4. You Can’t Eat Whatever You Want
If you’re thinking that exercising will give you the liberty to eat whatever you feel like, that’s just not how your body works. Exercise does make you lose more calories but if your goal is to lose weight, you need to be burning more calories than you’re eating. That’s the only way to keep yourself calorie deficient. And if you aren’t trying to lose weight, you still need to replace those calories with healthy foods that are packed with the right nutrients and calorie values. Muscles are made in the kitchen and your body is a product of what you put into it. So, take it easy on those take outs and read up on what’s good for your body.
5. Fitness Could Become An Addiction
Remember that friend who always had to leave the party early because he had to hit the gym? You could become like him before you know it. Once you begin to see the results of your work out routine, getting up at 5 am to go for a run or going straight to the gym after work will be things you look forward to and not try to escape from. Even when you’re planning a vacation, you’ll start looking for hotels with gyms. Working out will give you a high that you just don’t want to miss.
