Are you like me, making excuses for not prioritizing fitness? Is your monotonous routine taking away the focus on your own health? What is stopping you from being habitually fit? What can be done to stay active?
The one thing that I was dreading all along the Being Habitually Healthy challenge is the physical activity routine. Funny right? I was one woman who loved the sweat, yet due to my negligence over a period of time , I have reached a state that makes me run away from anything that spells out “exertion”
Knowing the way I am, I thought it’s time I list down all the factors that hinder me to live a fit lifestyle and battle against it one by one. They are:
THE WEATHER
The summers are extremely hot in Bahrain. I have tried going for a walk at 6 in the morning here and have hated it. There’s no wind, no freshness, even in the evenings. The winters are comparatively pleasant but that’s just about 3-4 months in a year.
How can I overcome this?
I may find this doable if I have a partner to take the walk with. But that again is not so practical. Moreover I want to make it a habit, so relying on someone else for my fitness routine may not work out eventually.
Anyway, I have come to the point where I try to walk, when I can. Once or twice a week. For the rest of the days, I have started a yoga routine.
I’m following the surya namaskaram steps and I must say that it effectively helps me to stretch out, right at the start of the day.
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TIME
I have often complained about not having the time to take a walk. After meeting all the other demands of daily routine, I rarely get some time out, which I mostly prefer spending, with a cup of tea.
How am I overcoming this?
Prioritizing the need to stay active has kind of helped. I keep reminding myself that it’s going to benefit me in the long run and that I need to start now. This helps me to allot the 15-20 mins in the morning, for just the yoga routine.
I am trying to stay active within my routine as well, by walking out the calls at home, walking up to the nearest store (we use the car usually, since it’s hot) and taking the stairs when I can.
MOTIVATION
A year back when I realized that I couldn’t take the time out for walking (which I dearly love), I tried adopting a workout routine every morning, at home.
I would get hold of my laptop, switch on one of the fitness You Tube channels I was following and copy what the trainer did.
It was good energy in the first two weeks, but I soon fizzled out. I think I didn’t enjoy it quite much and so I lacked the motivation to continue it.
How did I overcome this?
I realized I had to switch onto something that I enjoy. If it was possible, I would have preferred joining a badminton club or an aerobics class, but those activities seem too time-consuming, for my current routine.
An accountability group also helped here. Every day Priyanka would inform about the number of steps she was completing. This kept me on guard, of the fact that I needed to act quick and work on my fitness, on a daily basis.
So that’s how I convinced myself to adopt the yoga routine. I spend around 15-20 mins for this activity, every morning and it’s done. It’s easy, my body feels better and it’s challenging. Maybe after I perfect this, I will switch to something else, but for now, this is great!
KIDS
My son has always been a good reason for not doing the things I should be doing. “Why don’t you walk in the nearby park?” my husband sometimes asks and I would always answer “Ya right, with S, ahem.”
I’m aware that most of the times, he’s an excuse for my inefficiency, most innocently covering up my deep fears and protecting my state of comfort.
How am I overcoming this?
Taking my son out to run along, is still a daunting task in my head but frankly, my husband paved the way for another possibility in this regard.
Sometimes when he exercises at home, he encourages my 2 year old to join him. Push ups, squats, lunges, planks, you name it and my son will do it with his father. I have of-course loved and enjoyed the fun they have together, during these instances!
So this has motivated me to adopt the method as well. I don’t enjoy workouts but roll on the bed and sit up? okay!! Role play on boxing the dinosaur ( a pillow in most cases). Sure thing!
I don’t resent carrying him when he asks me to, anymore and the time I play with him feels less tiresome and more fun and sweaty.
I try not to comply to all his demands (in the fear of over-straining myself), but I do try to maintain a schedule for our activities together. Hoping that this does work out eventually!
Listing down these barriers aka excuses, have helped me to atleast attempt at finding a happy balance wrt a fitness routine. Hope you succeed in battling yours as well!
It has been a month since the challenge started and only 2 weeks since I started with yoga. While I’m no expert in fitness, I have come to believe that the following tips can help any person who wishes to create a fitness routine for himself:
- List down the barriers you think you will come across while trying to adopt a routine.
- Prioritize staying fit and healthy in your mind.
- Let your family members or other people that may get affected by the change in routine, know about your new priority. Involve them if you can!
- Choose an activity that you enjoy and is easy to start with
- Ask someone if you’re not sure about a particular physical activity
- While it’s fine to set goals, make sure you work out your lifestyle in a way that converts the activity into a habit. As James Clear puts it in his book Atomic Habits – “Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.”
- Start with the basics and start slow
- Keep an accountability partner or join a group
- Don’t strain yourself at the start, out of sheer excitement
- Monitor your progress with technology. There are so many apps that help you with this
- Be proud of the small improvements.
- Be consistent. It’s okay if you’re unable to follow the schedule, some days, but make sure you get back.
- Don’t get stuck with researching on a fitness routine. Get started. Do it now!
Click here to read Priyanka’s post on her challenges and wins during the BHH Challenge 2019
Some additional reading on fitness:
Types of physical activities to choose from
Found this post useful? You might like to read these as well:
Why I am pledging to be habitually healthy today
Meet the accountability group of the BHH challenge 2019
Two weeks into the challenge of being habitually healthy
My progress with the intermittent fasting schedule
My diet and routine for being habitually healthy
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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me
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Thanks for visiting! 🙂