My Fitness Journey, Summarized
“How long have you been working out for?”
This is a hard question to answer. I have consistently been going to the gym for eight years now and have been doing some form of lifting for the majority of it. Initially, my workouts centered around cardio followed by a couple haphazard ab exercises and I was very against being any form of “bulky”, especially in my legs.
A couple years later, I discovered bodybuilding. I fell in love with the gym all over again. Suddenly, my vision of an “ideal body” changed from “skinny, but toned” to that of an NPC bikini competitor — capped delts, defined abs, and large glutes.
Fast forward a couple years, I discovered powerlifting. My fitness goal turned away from my body aesthetic and pivoted to strength. The years of lifting had given me a strong foundation, and although I wasn’t record-breakingly strong, I was pretty decent for my 5’, 100-lbs stature. Throughout both “phases”, I was incredibly passionate about the gym. I prioritized my gym time over everything and found no difficulty in staying motivated.
And then… life happened.
A year after graduating college and starting my “real-life” job as a consultant, I had a period of time where going to the gym felt like a chore. I had just moved into New York City. and I was traveling every other week. I struggled with eating out at restaurants and only having access to apartment gyms. I lost my drive and had no clear cut fitness goals.
The gym had been such a big part of my life for so long and now that it was gone, I knew something was missing. My body really hadn’t changed all that much. I definitely gained some body fat and lost some muscle, but my weight hovered around the same. I was still lean and kept some ab definition. But, I wasn’t happy.
I missed the adrenaline and endorphins I used to get from lifting. I missed looking forward to time to myself — in my zone. I missed being strong and proud of what my body could and did accomplish.
So, I did something about it.
A few things, actually.
I joined a new gym. I had been going to the gym in my apartment, which was okay, but not the environment I craved.
I tried new things. I was never someone into fitness classes, but my best friend convinced me to try a boxing class with her and I loved it. It was a different type of challenge than what I was used, and the group-setting —combined with my competitive nature — forced me to give my all.
I made plans. I started to be realistic with my day-to-day stress and exhaustion levels. I created workouts specifically for traveling, knowing I’d have basic gym equipment, limited time, and less energy. When I was home, I spent weekend mornings lifting heavy at my home gym. I was careful but not limiting with my nutrition, saving alcohol and “fun” meals for twice a week or special occasions, while cooking at home as often as I could.
It took a while to get back into the swing of things, and even if I wasn’t as fully tunnel-visioned about my fitness as I had been in the past, I adapted and built a new form of healthy-living back into my reprioritized life.