The next challenge in the list from your suggestions. What was it like during the first days of fitness? As a total amateur in this field, it was quite tough for me to start and even harder to not give up on a fitness routine. However, with the support of some of my closest friends, determination, which I have no idea I possessed and quite the struggle I made it to an almost full month of fitness. And I have to admit starting this was a hard but quite interesting and somehow pleasant challenge.

The bike almost kills me every time I swear…

Why did I start?

I’ve been talking about getting out of my comfort zone and setting new challenges for myself quite a lot in the past month or so and this is not an exception.

Starting this came as a random suggestion from a very close person to me, when we were speaking about our comfort zones and doing things that frighten us. Those who know me well are aware that, for me being in a place where a lot of people watch what I am doing (especially when I have no idea what I am doing) is one of the scariest things ever. And fitness precisely has always been a thing I never thought I would voluntarily commit to – people watching me all the time, physical work, requires patience and effort – all things I am not a huge fan of.

However, I had already decided that I will stop living in my bubble and expose myself to challenges and uncomfortable situations without hesitation. I do want to develop as an individual and living in the closed circle of my comfort zone won’t help me achieve that. So, with the support and encouragement of the above-mentioned person (huge thank you for still supporting me in this scary endeavor) I went to the only fitness in town and with all my might I signed up for a monthly membership.

The struggle of the first days

Needless to say, for a complete amateur like me the first days of fitness were as tough as it gets. I actually thought I will just run away on the first day since there were a lot of people, all looking like they know what they are doing. I had no idea how to start and what to do at first and the pressure of the unknown and the possible judgment of others scared me to a certain degree.

• The fear of judgment
  

This was and still is the biggest struggle for me. I constantly fear that people who are more advanced in this will laugh at me or look at me funny (and this sometimes happens, I tell you that!). But if I stop myself everytime someone devalues my effort in one way or another I will get nowhere. I know this because I have let people’s opinion stop me and divert me from what I am doing before. And I beg you to never allow the fear of judgment stop you from what you are doing and believing in, people will talk and think whatever bulls*it they want to, but this is not a reason to stop yourself from being who you are.

• The physical effort

The other big struggle I had to face was the physical work. I do not consider myself as a person with a really active lifestyle and naturally, it was hard for me to suddenly start straining my body. After the first few days, I felt a lot of pain in my muscles, but I did my research and I even talked to some of the friendly looking people in the gym for advice on how to structure my training schedule. However, I discovered that I feel proud when I manage to push my limits and finish the exercises I decided to do.

• The persistence and patience

Obviously creating and following any fitness schedule requires a lot of patience and persistence to not give up even when it feels extremely hard and intensive. I am not a very patient person and I was happy to find that I was actually able to force myself to stick to my schedule and do my exercises correctly. The same goes for the persistence – as I mentioned I would usually give up on something that I find hard, uncomfortable and which requires my dedication. I am happy to say my persistence and dedication have also improved and I find myself pushing my limits more often. Progress in the gym is quite hard and takes a lot of time. A lot. Having the motivation to keep going with small steps ahead is a must.

All of those aspects combined made it really tough for me to keep going, but I got myself together and here I am on the end of my third week of fitness. Yes, I know this is not a lot, but considering all the above and several other difficulties I had to overcome I see this as a formidable achievement. And I plan to keep going.

Since I started following a training schedule I have almost tripled the number of push-ups I am able to do in one round

How do I feel?

Surprisingly, despite all the struggle and the effort I have to put in every day, I feel great. Doing the exercises is physically troublesome and not breaking the schedule is also quite the challenge. But the feeling you get after you push yourself and overcome all the difficulties is worth it. My body feels better and even tho there are hardly any visible results I have the motivation to keep going and achieve more. My lifestyle is now way more dynamic and this makes me feel better since I don’t feel like I am losing my time with pointless activities (not as much as before at least). I am actually doing something good for my body and mind. And yes, sometimes I feel like I really can’t do it, I don’t want to strain my body for a consecutive day, but I remind myself why I am doing this and that it shapes my personality in a better way. And I keep going.

Advice?

On a final note, I would appreciate any advice regarding this challenge, any routine recommendations are welcome, suggestions for food before and after work and so on.

And my advice to anyone who is yet to start, as funny as it sounds coming from a complete newbie – start with small steps, don’t overdo it. Never compare yourself to other people in the gym – set your own pace and follow it slowly but steadily and results will eventually appear, you will improve and gradually increase the amount of exercise you can handle. And most importantly – don’t give up, even when it seems too hard, keep pushing yourself and create a schedule which you will commit to. And always remind yourself why you started when it gets too hard. If I managed to get this far anyone can do it.

This is my experience with the gym so far. I plan to keep going and I will update you how my progress is going for sure. Thanks for reading, I hope you found this post interesting, don’t forget to hit me up with advice regarding fitness, more challenges for the blog and any comments you have on your mind.

Instagram     LinkedIn     Portfolio