Having spent my entire high school life as a competitive soccer player, working out or going to the gym was something that was not even in my vocabulary – why join a gym if I got more than enough exercise training with my team 4 times a week? Following this mentality, when I began my first year of university, I had to stop playing soccer altogether. I did end up feeling guilty for never getting enough exercise, so I ended up joining a gym for the sake of losing my ‘freshman 15’. This, of course, never happened because the gym was an awful place in my eyes and it was only meant for losing weight – not for enjoyment.
As I’m sure you could have guessed, this resulted in the loss of all of my motivation and ultimately, not going to the gym ever. Following this, I had my first anxiety attack in the second half of my first year – something that I believe to have been a result of my sudden halt of exercise and change from my former healthy lifestyle. The rest of my first year and the start of my second year, although I did try to go to the gym sometimes, I was usually too anxious to even go; the anxiety was debilitating.
The summer going into my third year, I came to a point where I was so unhappy with my body and how I was constantly feeling lethargic, that I decided to make some major changes to my life. First of all, I found out that I have a gluten intolerance – cutting out this awful wheat product was the best decision I have ever made. Once I began a diet free of gluten, I began to feel so much better and more energized – something that made me rediscover my motivation for working out. This time though, I wasn’t forcing my sluggish and foggy-headed body to go to the gym to attempt to burn off the wheat calories that my poor body was trying so hard to digest – I was going because I had the energy and once I got there, it made me feel amazing. Little by little, in taking my stress and anxious thoughts out at the gym, the anxiety left me altogether.
Although, obviously in my situation, the realization of my allergy was the major turning point in my head à propos the gym, it takes the proper mindset in order to enjoy yourself. Once you decide to work out for the sake of achieving that high and release of endorphins (or in other words, pure happiness and energy) then you will be able to stick to it with no problem at all. I have found that through setting my alarm to a reasonable time to get up and go work out, it has entirely regulated not only my sleeping routine, but my daily schedule as well. Having an allotted time slot in the morning to go to the gym – even if just for half an hour if you’re feeling particularly tired that day – is the perfect way to start your day. It gets your blood circulating and ultimately makes you feel rejuvenated and happy. Not only that, you will feel yourself being more productive with the rest of your day following a great workout.
The gym is supposed to be a positive place. It should not be that dreaded hour of your day where you know you have to work hard and not enjoy yourself with the aim of losing weight in a short amount of time. If you follow that mentality, your dedication will never last. Working out was a complete cure for my anxiety, which for me, is invaluable. I no longer feel groggy and sluggish from sleeping in late. I am up and moving at a reasonable time in the morning and therefore end up using the rest of my day productively. Remember – the gym is a place that should make you feel good about yourself and relieve stress; any lost weight is just a collateral benefit!