It’s not that serious.
The last couple of weeks have admittedly been a struggle for me in the gym. I was forcing myself to exercise and follow my “program”. Pledging allegiance to an exercise program and whole heatedly believing that doing anything that wasn’t included In it is going to deter my progress – has simply made the process suck. Not too long before writing this I reminded myself that exercise is just movement.
It’s not that serious.
This is a reminder to myself and to you: Enjoy the process.
I am in an industry that preaches the necessity to be 100% compliant to an exercise program, and categorizes exercises based on objective assessments instead of exercise adherence. I now look back to pictures of myself a few years ago and can’t help but remember how stressed I was when I couldn’t find a gym to work out in.
How was I going to get stronger and gain muscle if I couldn’t perform these “must do” movements like the deadlift and squat?
Following an exercise program is important, but the truth is, no one wants to do the same exercises when they go in the gym and definitely don’t want to spend hours doing them. We shouldn’t be confined to specific movement patterns nor should we be married to the idea that you must spend a specific amount of time in the gym to see results. This very ideology is a gateway for anxiety, stress and lack of movement. This is especially true if you’re just starting out or struggle to find time to fit exercise in daily routine.
There are a ton of ways to reach your goals. Yes, some may be better for you than other. Yes you still need to put forth effort, but I encourage you to include more play and less “work” in your routine.
Don’t have an hour to go to the gym?
Try waking up 5 minutes earlier and doing 20 squats every minute on the minute. While this isn’t going to get you a 6 pack – it’s a lot better than doing nothing. And guess what? Those squats add up.
Move more and have some fun doing it.
Movement is a privilege.