My Love Letter to 9 to 5 Workers, and Students - Fitness Related

Hey there,

I understand that you have goals you want to accomplish this year. And you have visualized the processes to get there. It seemed easy at first until it got cold and you got busy. What happened to your plan to work out 5 to 6 days a week? I am sure you are thinking, some people do it, they work 9 to 5 or go to school full time, and they still have the time to work out. Others would say it is not about allocating time for working out. It is about actually commuting to the gym. It is time and energy-consuming, especially for those who do not own cars. You finally get to the gym: you can barely finish your workout plan for the day.

I am not here to judge anyone. I am an athlete, and I struggle with this as well. I tell myself: I don't have the time and energy to go to the gym. Also, is anyone talking about the gym culture? We are pressured to dress a certain way to fit in. Honestly, I could care less. Realistically, having a car would make my life much easier, and perhaps, allocating gym time would be more of an option.

And so, I beat myself up for not meeting my fitness expectation and I am sure I am not the only one. But I forget about the times that I walk to class and other times when I take the stairs instead of the elevator. I had to take a step back today to give myself grace. "I am trying my best!" I told myself. This realization helped me have compassion for myself. Yes, I may not be crushing the weights right now. Also, even though science informs me about the fact that I am losing muscle mass over time, I still would take things slow in this season. I care about my overall health. Afterall, you might be working out as hard as you can, and still have poor health. A balanced life is very intentional as well as intuitive.

One piece of advice I would give to the person reading this is to continue feeding your mind with good fitness content. I am saying this because it would allow your brain to subconsciously carry out activities that will help you achieve good health. I hope you will come back for more as I open up more about my struggles and achievements in keeping fit in the 21st century. Take care of yourself.

Warm regards,

Ayoku Fashola