My Fitness Journey {Part 1}

Fitness has become a big part of my life this past year. Instead of writing one huge blog post about fitness, I’m going to split it up into three posts over the next few weeks. The first one will be about how I first started getting into working out and being fit, the second one will be ways to work out whether you are at your home or a gym, and the third one is staying fit and not giving up.

So, let’s start at the beginning. Why did I get into fitness and working out?

We all have varied reasons for wanting to work out. Some work out to lose weight, others do it to get ready for summer.

I started working out last October, because I was bored, believe it or not! College is a lot of fun between activities, classes, and sleeping, but during my first semester I found myself with a lot of free time that needed filled, (there is only so much work you can do to get ahead in classes and only so much Netflix to watch). I started going to work out three times a week. I went once during the week between classes and then on Saturday and Sunday. I went by myself a lot, but eventually encouraged other friends to tag along (one of my favorite days was when my roommate decided to join me! I was on cloud 9!!!). My one close friend and I went a lot together during the fall, we had a similar schedule and would work out between classes. The gym was a wonderful way for us to hang out and get fit at the same time. She was my first gym buddy!

Every semester brings changes, from friends, to schedules, and classes. During my second semester, I had A LOT of free time. I had some days when my classes didn’t start until 12:30! Now, I am an early riser, I feel most productive in the mornings. I decided to change my fitness regime to working out first thing in the morning, that’s right at 7 AM! I went three mornings a week before classes and then still on the weekends. Working out five days a week was a great stress reliever for me, when my schedule got so crazy, or I couldn’t focus anymore, the gym was a place where I could forget all my troubles and just focus on burning calories!

One of the biggest things I learned during my fitness journey is to have someone to motivate you! I found that during my spring semester. I started going every morning with someone who became one of my closest friends. I met Shayln in one of my classes and I found out we both loved to work out. Every morning no matter, rain, shine, snow, or even skunk (yes, we have encountered a few!) we met up at 7:10 to go work out, then we would come back and finish homework, study, watch Netflix, or even nap until we met up for lunch and then classes. Even though we were half asleep most mornings while working out and sometimes couldn’t even hold a conversation, we felt so much better after getting up and doing something productive. By having a routine, you meet people, when you see the same people every morning, sleep deprived and still running on the treadmill, you will become friends.  One of the things I miss the most about school in the summer is waking up every morning and hitting the gym with Shay!

Next up…part 2, what’s my work out routine and how do I keep up at home?!