From Lazy and Slow to On-The-Go
By: Trish Vo
Time Magazine’s “The Science of Exercise,” covers a range of topics about fitness from how to get into regular practice to the long term benefits of exercise. Confessions of a Couch Potato by Courtney Mifsud is written by a black-belt in taekwondo who finds that somewhere along the way, she stopped her regular exercise sessions.
In the article, Mifsud had realized that she just wasn’t the pinnacle of fitness that she was during her school days. As she got older, gained more responsibilities and lost time, she’d left behind her regular workout routine. Once she found herself pushing the task back for more seemingly important tasks, she just couldn’t fit her old taekwondo practices into her routine. The idea that Mifsud talks about is not that uncommon. Once you’re out of practice, you’ll need some real effort to go back to your regular schedule. But she didn’t let some hurdles stop her in her path. She knew that what would help was exercise.
With her goal in mind, she checked out local martial arts programs and gyms. Both aren’t free. Membership at the cheapest gym near her, she found herself stumbling on the ellipticals next to a lady who made exercise look effortless. Inadequacy can be a killer of spirits and motivation. She found herself not wanting to feel like her personal health journey was a competition, so she brought exercise into her daily life. By doing squats or jumping jacks when she was home doing chores and following online exercise videos with her boyfriend, she started the journey back to better health.
In the end, there will always be deterrents that will keep you away from your goal—time, costs, competition—but it is possible and worth the effort. Whether just starting to exercise, trying to get back into practice, or already a religious gym rat, the most important thing is scheduling and consistency. It may seem like not much harm to push exercise time back a day or two, but eventually, it’s possible that you’ll find that exercise is not even a tentative task in your schedule.
By: Trish Vo
Time Magazine’s “The Science of Exercise,” covers a range of topics about fitness from how to get into regular practice to the long term benefits of exercise. Confessions of a Couch Potato by Courtney Mifsud is written by a black-belt in taekwondo who finds that somewhere along the way, she stopped her regular exercise sessions.
In the article, Mifsud had realized that she just wasn’t the pinnacle of fitness that she was during her school days. As she got older, gained more responsibilities and lost time, she’d left behind her regular workout routine. Once she found herself pushing the task back for more seemingly important tasks, she just couldn’t fit her old taekwondo practices into her routine. The idea that Mifsud talks about is not that uncommon. Once you’re out of practice, you’ll need some real effort to go back to your regular schedule. But she didn’t let some hurdles stop her in her path. She knew that what would help was exercise.
With her goal in mind, she checked out local martial arts programs and gyms. Both aren’t free. Membership at the cheapest gym near her, she found herself stumbling on the ellipticals next to a lady who made exercise look effortless. Inadequacy can be a killer of spirits and motivation. She found herself not wanting to feel like her personal health journey was a competition, so she brought exercise into her daily life. By doing squats or jumping jacks when she was home doing chores and following online exercise videos with her boyfriend, she started the journey back to better health.
In the end, there will always be deterrents that will keep you away from your goal—time, costs, competition—but it is possible and worth the effort. Whether just starting to exercise, trying to get back into practice, or already a religious gym rat, the most important thing is scheduling and consistency. It may seem like not much harm to push exercise time back a day or two, but eventually, it’s possible that you’ll find that exercise is not even a tentative task in your schedule.