How getting fit has changed your life

[hlb]

Edit: THANK YOU xxfitness! This is exactly what I was hoping for, and more! I love reading about how important and foundational your fitness is and I will return to this again and again. Now: how long until I look hot? j/k. Thanks again. Y'all are amazing.

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I've been exercising consistently for 3-4 months now. It's probably the 15th time in my life--I'm 44--that I have started with the intention of exercising forever, except that times 1-14 I eventually quit for various reasons--pain, a change in schedule, boredom, winter happened, etc. I'm super tired of quitting and I want to age healthfully. I love how working out a lot makes me feel. It evens out my intensity and is great for my mental health. I love that I can do more physically than I could before. I need fewer naps. I feel better about myself.

However, as we all know, "results" of fitness, be they fat loss, muscle definition, or enhanced performance, are slow to come. As a person who is naturally impatient, I struggle with putting in the grind in the long term to wait out the rewards. I know I _can_ (I have a PhD and I've held down a good job for a decade), but this is apparently my white whale.

I am also in the middle of losing what will total about 100 pounds (50 so far). Every so often on the loseit subreddit there will be a long thread about the benefits of weight loss and they really help when I am struggling with waiting for the fruits of my work restricting calories and shifting my habits.

So, fit and getting-fit people of xxfitness, what are YOUR benefits of getting fit? What did you notice at first, and what rewards came later? How did you deal with the "waiting and putting in the work" part? I need to up my mental game and I could use some pointers!

 

[neo_ocelot]

@hlb I can keep up with my pretty fit 12 and 15 year old daughters.

We’ve recently gone tree surfing and climbing and I totally held my own! On the way back from climbing one daughter couldn’t understand how I was holding on the the cars steering wheel with no problems as her hands were hurting so much. I’ve obviously got good grip strength from lifting.

 

[hlb]

@neo_ocelot I freaking love being strong in front of my kids. This is a great motivator!

 

[nanachickies]

@hlb I’ve been weightlifting for three years now and I can honestly say I’m a better person because of it. This past year I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and PTSD and weightlifting has taught me how to become present in my body (if you’ve ever struggled with anxiety to any degree, I’m sure you’ll know what I mean) and clear my mind in a way that nothing else does. Strength training just makes me feel like such a bad ass lol.

 

[dawn16]

@hlb I started exercising relatively recently because I started going to school for a physical job and was worried I'd injure myself. The benefits have been amazing. I started with going to the gym twice a week, but I recently realized that I had unknowingly been scheduling "off days" from activities because I was worried I'd be too tired or sore or unmotivated. But realistically, that gives you like 3 days of things to do. Now, I feel like I do things more like 5 times a week, whether that's going for a run, going hiking, going to the gym, or just an activity that involves walking all day. I can fit in more fun! Not to mention energy for getting things done around the house. It's been amazing. Lastly, I used to have to ask my husband to open the lids for our ninja blender and I don't have to do that anymore

 

[dawn16]

@hlb

1. I can eat more
2. My life feels in order
3. Nothing like post workout good feels
4. Great quads
5. Generally just a happier, nicer person to be around
6. Have met loads of cool people through fitness

 

[tradervic55]

@hlb Serious mental health benefits immediately- lowered stress and anxiety, improved my mood and energy level.

Lifestyle- I’m more active in general, and more into various active hobbies. Like another user said, I am down to try just about any physical activity, and have had so much fun joining in on obstacle course races, runs, biking, climbing, etc that I would’ve never tried before! All-around my confidence in myself, my abilities, and appreciation of my own worth have really improved.

I’ve also become more social- making friends as an adult is hard, but gym/active hobbies kind of end up giving you a built-in friends group who enjoy the same kind of things I do. That’s been a cool unexpected perk.

I’ve also become just generally so much more conscientious about my health, for now but also so I can be one of the 70+ year old badasses at an obstacle course race or CrossFit competition or whatever.

*edited to add: becoming fit has also changed my mindset/outlook/personal philosophy for the better. I appreciate the Stoics more than ever, and can just buckle down and deal with shit when I need to instead of feeling upset when things are unpleasant or difficult.

 

[jenib]

@hlb Heya fellow 44er! I‘ve also stopped and started working out throughout my life. I started working out again in January 2020 and the biggest changes that I have noticed is overall stress reduction, more energy, more ability to do things, and less stiffness/pain in my body. In my 40’s, I had really started to get stiff and just doing things felt harder. Since I started consistently working out (especially yoga), I have noticed a huge improvement in the overall feeling of my body (way less pain!) and more confidence in being able to do both fun things (like hikes or other outdoor activities) and house tasks (moving heavy things).

I also lost 50 lbs in this process (5’4”, 192 —> 142 lbs) and this has also really helped in my ability to move better. For me, the weight was really impacting my ankles and hips. My best advice is to take it slow and steady, and really work on long-term habits. It also helps to write down physical or mental changes that you notice as you go along so you can refer to them.

Best of luck to you.

 

[bethel8]

@hlb I no longer get aches and pains from working and being on my feet all day.

 

[noose]

@hlb I used to make myself as small as possible to be invisible. I thought I had to take up the least amount of space as possible because I hated myself so much so I held my limbs close to my body, had terrible posture and constantly tried to starve myself. Getting fit and seeing the amount of weight I can lift every week has completely changed that attitude and fixed my posture. I'm not afraid of taking space anymore and my whole body language is so much more open and confident.

I walk with my head and chest high instead of slouching and looking at the ground. I sit differently, I used to cross my legs in a way that took the least amount of space possible (which was not very comfortable) but now I prefer to rest my ankle on my knee. I interact more with my surroundings and I feel less anxious when I'm going to a new place. I often had this feeling of being "lost" somehow, like I'm a helpless child everywhere I go and my mom even told me in the past I looked helpless in everything I did. I noticed that this feeling of being constantly lost is gone since I got fit and have more of a "I belong here" feeling when I go out if that makes sense.

 

[dawn16]

@hlb I like exercising. I love the mental buzz I get. I love being part of a team/class but also individual training. Instead of focusing on the results it's giving you, just focus on enjoying the workout and getting fit is just a bonus.

What's your measure of success? Maybe change that. So for strength training it's adding weight or reps to your lifts, for cardio it's holding a pace, upping a pace or going for longer etc. Also it doesn't have to be measurable. It could be did I enjoy my workout, do I feel good after it, am I looking forward to my next workout.

You don't have to stick with 1 particular type of training. Maybe switch it up, so say after 4 months you find you give up, change what you're doing after 3 months, don't wait til you're bored. Try loads of things, find the things you're interested in and keep coming back to. I do a cardio class 3 times a week, I love it, they monitor your work in the class so you can see progress but they change up the division of the sets so it's still 45 minutes but could be sprints 1 day, steady state another etc. Even without all of that, I just find it really enjoyable, the coaches are nice, the music is good and I get out of bed at 5am quite happily to go to it, if it was a different class I can't say I'd be so happy getting up that early.

 

[hlb]

@dawn16 You know, I'm not sure I ever articulated my measure of success to myself. I have some squishy goals, like I want to make it to 30 miles/week running and it would be nice to run a 30-minute 5K (my PR is 40 min), but nothing more concrete than that. I just want to increase my lifts, I guess? So far I've been good about tracking my consistency and rewarding myself for that, but it may be that I need more specific measures.

 

[dawn16]

@hlb There's nothing wrong with squishy goals. If whatever you've been doing isn't getting you where you want then I would definitely change it up.

 

[hazeleyesis]

@hlb Energy and sleep improve enormously plus my emotional state really benefits.

I love feeling so youthful and fit! Appearance wise it is very affirming as well It feels good to look so much younger/"better" than many of my peers...

I also look at my mother (early onset osteoporosis and fragility) and know that I want to avoid this at all costs. As we get older (I'm 43) being active, prioritizing muscle growth and working on balance/flexibility is everything. I want to be active and healthy for my kids

So many reasons to continue! I wish you luck

 

[gracetemple1000]

@hlb I feel empowered. As a woman, I think I was taught a lot about my body and fitness that hasn't served me. I can be strong, I can be bigger, I can eat more and feel better and more energised than the messages I received as a younger woman led me to believe. I've learnt more about my body and what works for me. It's also changed my perception of myself. I can do things I never thought I could and had discounted as possible for me, and led me to think about why I discounted those things.

I think if you struggle to see the benefits of being fitter, it might be fun to try new things and find something you love, where the benefits of the activity is something you really see the value of on a personal level.

 

[matchfox]

@hlb Turned 48 this year and can give these youngins a run for their money. Everything is snatched. And I’m super super proud of myself and the process. Ive been lifting at home since lockdown last march. Haven’t missed a single week. One of the best things I got out of Covid crisis.

 

[yungjah]

@hlb One of my main benefits is that things are just generally easier. I can walk up five flights of stairs if there's a queue for the elevator. I can carry a heavy package home from the post office, or walk back from the supermarket with a full week of groceries. I can run for the bus or bike to work without breaking a sweat. The functional benefits of exercise are so so so important, and I didn't realise how much I was getting out of it until a couple of months ago when I went for a bike ride with a friend who doesn't workout. We were going to a park about 20 min away for a picnic with some friends, something I can easily do, and she ended up needing to stop for a breather at the halfway point and was winded when we got to the park. I don't compare myself to others fit-wise as a general rule, but that really put into perspective how much I'm getting out of regular exercise

The other big thing (which has already been talked about quite a bit in this thread) is the mental health benefits. I went through a really nasty bout of depression recently and I think that going to the gym everyday (which I dont recommend btw rest days are important) is the only thing that stopped me from going completely off the deep end and potentially needing hospitalised. Even when I'm not depressed, my day is just generally better and I feel more positive when I have a solid workout

 

[hlb]

@yungjah I just wanted to say that depression sucks and I'm so sorry you went through that. I'm glad you had the gym to support you!

 

[bones49]

@hlb I think instead of fighting your impatience you should find ways to workout that you enjoy. Dance classes, martial arts, rock climbing, hiking, long walks with the dog, yoga, whatever. TO be healthy, you just need to MOVE. you don't need a perfect workout scheduled. Moving in ways you enjoy in the moment is what I think will make this work for you.

 

[hlb]

@bones49 Thank you for this reminder! A sense of curiosity and novelty will help as well, and I can see myself trying new things to keep it fresh.