“Sotie I’m going jogging , will you go? , NOPE! Please lock the door on your way out. I’ll tell Ellie my roommate during undergrad and snuggle under the sheets and catch some extra minutes of sleep before my usual 7 am lectures.This went on for 3 years, not once did I fancy jogging, exercising or going to the gym.
Having a fitness freak as roommate didn’t motivate me either so I just used to tell myself, exercising isn’t for me. Afterall, I had tried exercising a few times within those 3 years and I didn’t like it.
The summer of 2018, I decided to take exercising a bit more seriously because I had started Weight Goals and I cannot practice what I don’t preach right? So, I signed up for planet fitness with my cousin Hilda, since I was at her end for the summer. For 3 days I couldn’t walk. This life isn’t for me, I couldn’t stop lamenting. The good and bad news is I spent only 3 weeks in Chicago. After I left Chicago, I would occasionally jog here or there or use the complex gym where I visited my cousin Phebe but frankly speaking it was just “vibes”.
When I finally came back home my excuse was, I really wasn’t feeling the Ghanaian gyms. You can’t do anything to someone who doesn’t want to make a move.( that saying is so true!!)
Fast forward to 2020, COVID hit, and fellow Ghanaians, we were on lockdown, so I decided to take exercising a bit more seriously.I was telling all my clients and followers to do it so the least I could do was do it with them. This time with a different mindset and game plan.
I started off gradually and I think that’s important if you’re thinking of exercising and making it a lifestyle.
What I realized from 2018- 2021 is that I was never consistent. I start for a week, or two, maximum for a month then I stop. When the “vim” comes again I have to start all over from the basics, and it makes it even more difficult when I have to go in again.
Today I can confidently say I can lift some pretty heavy weights and run longer, and it’s all been about telling myself exercise is for me.
These are some of things I’ve done; Consistency and discipline on days I don’t even feel like it. I’ve created a realistic routine, depending on my goal and schedule. I don’t necessarily workout everyday neither do I spend hours in the gym.
I take one day at a time. I’m doing what works for me, no Instagram model is my goals. I’m my own goals and I work at it everyday starting with my mind, if you can do the mental work first, I’m sure, exercising will work for you!
