Exercising as a Life Style – My Personal Lessons

Several years ago I committed to 5 life goals. One of these goals is “to be fit and healthy”. I therefore watch what I eat, I exercise regularly, drink lots of water and do my annual medical check-ups. It has not been a journey without ups and downs – there have been periods when I was consistent with my exercise routine and some days when I didn’t live up to my promises. 

From May 2016 to June 2017 I committed to exercising 5 days a week without failure – and achieved 13 months of consistent exercising. I also surprised myself by learning how to skip – now I skip up to 1,000 times (100 at one go). My typical exercise routine generally consists of walking for a kilometer, skipping 500 times, running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, lifting light weights for my arms and doing 30 sit-ups.  On a Saturday I also add other machine exercises and 50 squats.

These are some of the lessons that I have learned:

1. I bought basic equipment – a skipping rope and light weights – so that if I could not make it to a gym I would maintain my exercise routine.
2. My job involves a significant amount of traveling. If I happened to travel I would ensure that I stayed in a hotel that had a gym. If the hotel had no gym I used my skipping rope and also walked.
3. I live near the gym that I subscribed to – the proximity of the gym is convenient for me to go early morning or evenings
4. Motivation – the gym community has been an important motivating factor.
5. Gym Instructor – high quality gym instructors have also came in handy
6. Lunch box – I find that cooking my food at home and carrying it to the office helps me to control what I eat
7. I have learned that indeed “Fitness is not a destination but a lifestyle”. When we lag behind it is important to start again as soon as possible
8. Mental and emotional fitness is as important as physical fitness. Or else you cannot cope with the fitness schedule and commitment

I am keen to know about other people’s experiences with their fitness journeys. What has worked for you? Thank you