I'm have never been a gym girl, but throughout the last year, I think I am starting to become one.
After many false starts over the years trying to exercise regularly, I have found a system that works for me, and finally overcame my fear of resistance training. This is a collection of notes discussing my motivation, the strategies I have used to make going to the gym a habit, and finally a review of the results, and a look into the future.
The problem
The root of the problem is that my work life is very inactive. I spend most of my day sitting hunched over computers, or reading books which is not great for either health or posture. I have improved baseline activity through bike commuting, but it is not quite enough to compensate for the muscle loss that comes with age. Taking performance dehancing drugs hasn't exactly improved my physical fitness either.
The physical inactivity was starting to lead to problems difficult walking long distances with a backpack which is incongruent with wanting an active lifestyle and being able to keep an active lifestyle as I age. I love walking around and exploring cities. When traveling I routinely walk 20 km / day, but it's getting more difficult to keep up for multiple days in a row.
So something needed to be done. I already enjoyed running, and have been running on and off all my life. I knew I also needed to incorporate strength training to really solve the problem. But I have been scared of strength training all my life. Not only was I scared of doing the exercises wrong and getting hurt, but I was also scared of doing it right and gaining too much muscle however unfounded that fear was.
However, now with the aforementioned performance dehancing drugs, the latter is less of a worry, and with a physiotherapist to help me get started, and assuring me that I am doing the exercises correctly, I was ready to try resistance training.
Consistency
As the story that gets republished every year around mid January shows, starting a new habit and keeping a new habit are two very different problems. So I needed some strategies for keeping the habit.
Anything is better than nothing
First of all, I have noticed in other areas that expectations can kill habits as soon as I don't reach my expectations, I fail completely at the habit. So to try to prevent that, I lowered my expectations to something that couldn't fail. I only needed to go once per week, and when I'm there I have no requirements for what I should do for it to be a successful workout, even just a 30 minute run is fine - the week is still a success.
Moreover, I would specifically go slow especially in the beginning, focusing more on exercising the habit of going than the actual exercise.
Enjoying the process
It was really important that I would enjoy the process of going to the gym, and make it something that I look forward to. If I would dread going every time, the chances of me sticking to the habit.
Since I already enjoy running, I would make sure to start each session with a run, and listen to podcasts I like when there. I would also listen to myself, and not push myself too hard when I was too tired, or needed some rest.
Finally, I would make a point of noticing how I feel on days I have been to the gym and comparing it with days when I haven't been. Usually, I would feel fresh and energized after going to the gym, and in general feel better throughout the day.
Sticking to it
We have already discussed some strategies for making going to the gym easier, but to make it a regular habit, I need to have a plan for exactly when and how I should go to the gym.
I had already gotten into the habit of waking up 6:30 every day to improve my sleep with a consistent sleep schedule, and to make sure to have some time in the morning before my official schedule starts. It was therefore natural to incorporate working out into the morning routine which has the added benefit of the gym being more empty.
While my expectation is just going once per week, I try to go most days, even recovery days doing active recovery (for example a light jog) to have a stronger reinforcement of the habit and make going to the gym feel like a norm and not going to the gym an anomaly.
Finally, when I slip and don't go to the gym for 3 or more days, I get a notification that gently nudges me to go to the gym in the morning telling me how long it has been since I went last time. It's been very useful in making sure that not going for a couple of days doesn't turn into a couple of months.
Results
This week marks the 1 year streak for going to the gym every week. The last 12 months I went to the gym an average of 2.8 times per week, and during the last 6 months an average of 3.5 times per week which I'm quite happy with. There has been a small increase in how often I go during the later half of the year. I think because the habit has become more ingrained now.
If you look at the individual weeks, there is variance where some weeks I only manage 1 or 2 times due to a busy schedule where other weeks I have been able to go 4-5 times per week. This is exactly the flexibility I hoped the low expectations would allow for.
Moreover, I now feel like I'm missing something if I haven't gone to the gym for a couple of days, and start to feel the need to do more exercise.
I feel much better physically, and I think I sleep better at least I feel more tired in the evenings, but I also feel more alert when I am awake. Getting in some physical activity in the morning is a great way for me to wake up and feel ready for the day.
Since I didn't focus on pushing myself, my physical fitness has improved only somewhat modestly, and is still a far shot from my peak fitness, but I think that's okay, and I did see improvements in the metrics that I cared about the most.
The back and shoulder pain when carrying bags has been significantly reduced through improving the back strength which has also helped with my posture. Bad posture it turns out is usually caused by lack of back strength and will automatically improve when improving back strength.
Looking forward
Besides keeping the habit, I think it's time to push myself a little more at the gym, and focus more on improving my physical fitness. But still gently.
I would also like to explore more variety becoming more comfortable with different exercises, and incorporate more flexibility exercises into my routine.
Finally, I would like to do more active things outside the gym as well. Play more sports, go on more hikes and longer bike rides. In general trying to add more physical activities in my life.