A College Athlete’s Transition to the Real World…Where are the Mandatory Workouts?

So maybe I’m just feeling sentimental because this month marks a year since my cross country and track “career”(middle school, high school, & college racing) ended but I now give the people who consistently workout and stay fit and were never involved in athletics a lot of credit. I never stopped to think between the weightlifting, long runs, speed work and race after race on a weekly basis how different and possibly difficult it would be to stay in shape on my own. I was one of the lucky ones, I had 10 years of learning about fitness and being forced to be in shape because it was always right in my face.. different weight lifting techniques, yoga, cardio, pilates.. and the best part about it was I was always working out with my best friends. How hard is that? Practice might be tough that day buy hey, nothing making a few jokes and supporting each other couldn’t fix.

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Well after college it was reality check time, the real world usually doesn’t allow for you to do everything with your best friends all the time and in my case they don’t even live in the same state! Soo that isn’t convenient for working out together. Besides the struggle of no longer having that support system for staying fit, it also came with the fact that my main source of exercise suddenly stopped. And I don’t just mean I had no practices to go to, I had absolutely zero desire to run! It was like a switch went off and I was done with running. How does that happen? 10 years in and I suddenly have no desire to even go for a jog?! Running alone just isn’t for me(even now a year later)! This is where the process of finding new ways to stay in shape came in. I knew I couldn’t be inactive for long without regretting it(not only for the health reasons but I get so grumpy when I’m not active! Ah!). So here is what I’ve come to realize..

The most important part about exercising is that you do some thing that you enjoy.

Not that you get the hardest possible workout, the longest possible workout, that you push yourself so hard that you couldn’t do more if you tried or that you are the skinniest you’ve ever been. It’s about doing something everyday that is good for you mentally and physically. Exercise can be such a great thing! It can be part of your day that rejuvenates you and makes you feel strong and confident! You’ve just gotta find what works for you and keeps you working out. Because if you don’t love what you do, you’re not going to be doing it very long before you find reasons to quit. I’ve gotten into HIIT, yoga and cross fit at home and occasionally at the gym where I now work. It fulfills my competitiveness I don’t get to use in races anymore! I also love the group aspect! It may not be my running buddies but it sure beats working out alone! And let’s be honest, who doesn’t wanna feel like her when your go to workout?

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What type of workouts motivate you to keep going?