I've always had a solid body image--even when I was a little thicker, I felt like I had that stereotypical man's perscpective--that I felt like I looked just fine no matter what my body looked like. Not in the huge ego sense, but in that I could be happy with "decent". I've never really been one of those "if I could just lose 5-10 pounds..." or "I wish my (insert body part here) were skinnier" types of people, so I didn't really feel like I needed to work out. Then again, I've never really felt like I was in shape. Until now (ish).
I've been working out (regularly) for a little over six months now, and am in love with being active. I feel like my personal fitness is important to me, and I'm grateful that my body allows me to do so much. I'm still not in the best shape I believe I can be, but I feel like I'm in better shape than I've ever been. I have muscles in places I don't think have ever had muscle before. I know what ab muscles feel like (granted, they're still kind of hiding, but at least now I know they're there!)
There are two things that sparked my craving for fitness:
1. My friends who have more "life experience" under their belts have shared with me the importance of being active at every age. I had a friend tell me about his parents--his father, while a little on the hefty side, had better health results than his petite mother, partially because he gets regular exercise. I don't remember if it was cholestrol, blood pressure, or what, but that put it into perspective anyway. Just because I was blessed with a small Asian frame doesn't mean I'll be healthy for the rest of my life without effort. Damn.
2. My sister, who is about the same height as me (she's about an inch taller and four years...wiser), was at the height of her pregnancy, and weighed a mere five pounds more than me. Weight isn't everything, but damn. I was five pounds to a full pregnancy. Not okay. Then a couple months later, I was on the phone with my dad, and somehow it came up that he weighed 10 pounds less than me. Seriously, Dad? You're going to 1-up me? I don't believe that any daughter should weigh more than her father unless she's got Benjamin Button for a dad. My competitive spirit is determined to change this.
Random, I know, but it's interesting to learn how and why people start their fitness routine. Those were the two main reasons when I'd started--they're still kind of there as motivation, but I like the idea that I am competing against my body in the long run. As my body decides to lose muscle with age, I'm determined to work against it. It's nice to feel strong--especially when you have short-person-syndrome. I've noticed my body slowly changing. When I went trampolining a couple weeks ago, there was much less jiggling than I'm used to. I saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit and didn't have the urge to freak out. I went from thinking there was no way I'd ever be able to touch my toes (read: not flexible at all...couldn't bend over and touch my toes until college) to almost being able to plant my hands on the floor. I believe that today is a great day to start your fitness routine, no matter what age, size, shape, etc. you are. It's never too late.
There are so many ways you can add fitness to your life--hiking, swimming, yoga, Turbo Kick, weight training, dancing, etc. Figure out what works for you and do it--you'll fall in love with it. Stop making excuses--don't wait until your butt gets saggy from sitting at a desk all day, prevent it from happening! In addition to my regular fitness routine, I've decided to add the element of gymnastics to it. After trampolining and realizing that the idea of doing flips was so uncomfortable to me because I'd never really done much trampolining, flipping, or tumbling (and defnintely not simultaneously), I thought to myself, "Self--CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." So I'm working my way towards doing a handstand.
I'm pretty excited about it, and I feel stronger every time I try to do it. You can do a lot of things you never thought were possible. Whether it's touching your toes, running a mile (or 26), doing a cartwheel (I did my first one last week!), a handstand, whatever. Set a couple goals for yourself--and make them fun. Share them with other people to help motivate them to set goals, and to motivate you to stay on track. Hell, share them with me. In exchange, I'll keep you posted on my handstand progress.
What motivates you to work out, and what types of fitness activities do you do?
I've been working out (regularly) for a little over six months now, and am in love with being active. I feel like my personal fitness is important to me, and I'm grateful that my body allows me to do so much. I'm still not in the best shape I believe I can be, but I feel like I'm in better shape than I've ever been. I have muscles in places I don't think have ever had muscle before. I know what ab muscles feel like (granted, they're still kind of hiding, but at least now I know they're there!)
There are two things that sparked my craving for fitness:
1. My friends who have more "life experience" under their belts have shared with me the importance of being active at every age. I had a friend tell me about his parents--his father, while a little on the hefty side, had better health results than his petite mother, partially because he gets regular exercise. I don't remember if it was cholestrol, blood pressure, or what, but that put it into perspective anyway. Just because I was blessed with a small Asian frame doesn't mean I'll be healthy for the rest of my life without effort. Damn.
2. My sister, who is about the same height as me (she's about an inch taller and four years...wiser), was at the height of her pregnancy, and weighed a mere five pounds more than me. Weight isn't everything, but damn. I was five pounds to a full pregnancy. Not okay. Then a couple months later, I was on the phone with my dad, and somehow it came up that he weighed 10 pounds less than me. Seriously, Dad? You're going to 1-up me? I don't believe that any daughter should weigh more than her father unless she's got Benjamin Button for a dad. My competitive spirit is determined to change this.
Random, I know, but it's interesting to learn how and why people start their fitness routine. Those were the two main reasons when I'd started--they're still kind of there as motivation, but I like the idea that I am competing against my body in the long run. As my body decides to lose muscle with age, I'm determined to work against it. It's nice to feel strong--especially when you have short-person-syndrome. I've noticed my body slowly changing. When I went trampolining a couple weeks ago, there was much less jiggling than I'm used to. I saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit and didn't have the urge to freak out. I went from thinking there was no way I'd ever be able to touch my toes (read: not flexible at all...couldn't bend over and touch my toes until college) to almost being able to plant my hands on the floor. I believe that today is a great day to start your fitness routine, no matter what age, size, shape, etc. you are. It's never too late.
There are so many ways you can add fitness to your life--hiking, swimming, yoga, Turbo Kick, weight training, dancing, etc. Figure out what works for you and do it--you'll fall in love with it. Stop making excuses--don't wait until your butt gets saggy from sitting at a desk all day, prevent it from happening! In addition to my regular fitness routine, I've decided to add the element of gymnastics to it. After trampolining and realizing that the idea of doing flips was so uncomfortable to me because I'd never really done much trampolining, flipping, or tumbling (and defnintely not simultaneously), I thought to myself, "Self--CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." So I'm working my way towards doing a handstand.
I'm pretty excited about it, and I feel stronger every time I try to do it. You can do a lot of things you never thought were possible. Whether it's touching your toes, running a mile (or 26), doing a cartwheel (I did my first one last week!), a handstand, whatever. Set a couple goals for yourself--and make them fun. Share them with other people to help motivate them to set goals, and to motivate you to stay on track. Hell, share them with me. In exchange, I'll keep you posted on my handstand progress.
What motivates you to work out, and what types of fitness activities do you do?