Ami’s Journey Part 4 – Time To Sync With My Body
For quite a while in my quest for fitness, glamorous models and athletes displaying picture-perfect bodies pretty much made up my perception of fitness. I thought I must follow their regime to look fit. My goal wasn’t to be a fitness model however my perception of being fit was looking like one. Don’t we all do that?
We get inspired by celebrities models and follow them on all possible social media platforms. For us, that’s an ‘ideal’ image.
Inspiration Versus Imitation
I killed it, during each training session. I kept juggling from cross fit to kettle bell to body weight to resistance and then from running at 7 am in the mornings to keeping my cardio in check. My workouts were 1-1.5 hours of intense sessions after a long day at work.
Youtube videos, Facebook posts and Instagram posts kept me pushing for more. To add to it the latest apps on workouts had to be tried and tested!
A few months down the line, I noticed anomalies in my overall lifestyle. I noticed that my sleep patterns had gone for a toss. Although I appeared fit, due to the regime I was following, I always had an adrenaline rush. I realised my strength was plateauing & I couldn’t differentiate between soreness & muscle sprains. Clearly the process was too over whelming.
That’s when I realised, I had ignored the core essence of Fitness – that of BEING FIT instead of just looking fit. I figured that somewhere, I had crossed that thin line between inspiration & imitation. I had to take a step back and reset instead of being caught up in this exercise madness.
Time To Reset
Thanks to my studies in the same field, I got back to applying the science behind programming my workouts and also made sure that I keep my mind excitement in check. My transition to being a Full Time Fitness Professional too came with immense changes in my daily routine & my workouts. My days now start as early as 5 AM. At times with back to back training, it is not easy to train myself as well as motivate clients. It is very challenging to wake up every single day with the same mind-set & energy level. Hence, I try and train for 3 x a week and maximize the effort by keeping my nutrition in check. Exercise for me is now is my therapy.
I try to spend most of my time doing what I enjoy the most- a combination of strength training & weight training and throw in some of the “don’t love, but makes me better” exercises to keep things balanced. This process has helped me immensely to be in sync with my fitness goals.
A Fitness Regime That Serves You
Does a strict fitness regime just mean how much less you weigh? Or how those extra kilometers you run make your but look smaller? Here’s a better way of thinking- each of us should inculcate a routine which focuses on strength & conditioning for everyday life, and the mobility and flexibility to do the things you want to do without pain. We should allow our fitness regime to serve us, by enjoying our life in all other aspects. The effect will last much longer.
Fat loss, clear skin, healthy body composition, your appearance are by-products of being Fit. That’s because our internal system is functioning optimally. Extremes, pushing too hard, over training can actually defeat the purpose.
Someone once told me the mirror is your best judge, I try and follow that now.
