How getting fit has changed your life

[cybersaint]

@hlb Mentally--I really don't think anything else helps me to be more mentally clear. From everyday decisions to big ones, it helps to clear my mind and just can keep focus more when I'm exercising. Also, it keeps those down days away a bit more. My posture is better, my mind is better, I'm stronger physically, I'm less insecure. Also... I look better when my clothes come off ha. My ass isn't 30 anymore but it does look like it could be on a fit 30 something.

 

[jamielw83]

@hlb The community I have with the people who share my fitness hobbies (running, climbing, and hiking), really has changed my life in amazing ways.

 

[ibiggy]

@hlb I have more energy when I’m getting regular exercise.

It’s great being able to accept invitations from friends to do physical activities. I used to dread it when friends wanted to hike because I knew I’d end up lagging behind the group, slowing everyone down. Now I don’t worry about it, I know I’m fit enough to at least keep up or participate no matter what activity they choose, whether hiking, kayaking, cycling, softball, etc.

I used to always see myself as unathletic, and that closed a lot of doors for me. It never occurred to me to try out a team sport. It wasn’t until I got fit that I decided I was gonna branch out and do some new things. Now I play hockey three or four times a week and have made so many amazing friends through the sport. From being picked last in every gym class to being part of multiple hockey teams… who knew I had this in me? I certainly didn’t.

 

[steveinalberta]

@hlb Physically: strength, endurance, capability, flexibility, and balance. The obvious aesthetic changes to my body as well.

Mentally and emotionally: I find I am more patient and relaxed. My stress comes out as I work out and I tend to just take a breathe and gather myself before I respond to anything. I was always typically a passive person but this has made me a lot more calm in general.

As a parent: I am more present. My kids are now super active as they see my husband and I as active. I’m that parent chasing them in the playground, climbing the structures with them and carrying them on my back. I have so much more energy.

Meal prep: I don’t count calories, but I am mindful of what I eat and aim for a balanced overall diet. My kids diet has improved because of this. They mirror me. We cook and bake together.

Socially: I have met some of the hands down most amazing people at the gym. Being in a place consistently where there are people who are self confident and happy is just amazing. I have made amazing friends who inspire me to push myself forward.

Getting out of my own head. I always said I was not athletic. I could never run. Push ups were a fantasy. I now teach spin. I can run a 10k easily in an hour even though I haven’t run in months. Give me a month to run consistently and I can run a half marathon at a decent pace. I can lift heavy things. I can get into balance poses. I’m not that person I thought I was. I’m more.

It’s all cyclical. My changes led to my best friend’s sister asking me for advice. A year ago, she came to the gym with me to try it out and now she is there with me consistently 4-5 times a week. Her physical, mental and emotional health has changed. She is happier. We have formed a stronger friendship. My best friend saw her sister and her best friend at the gym together and joined us. She now goes consistently too. She signed her kids up for classes at our gym as well. Honestly, it changed my family and my social circle. It’s amazing.

 

[dawn16]

@hlb I know firsthand that everything is much harder when I am not taking time to be active in some form or another. I sit at a desk all day. If I don’t intentionally make time out of my day to move, I get somewhere between 1,500-3,000 steps a day. Without being involved in SOME sort of intentional exercise (walking, a sport, running, biking), i don’t have a lifestyle that can still be considered healthy.

 

[aderemi]

@hlb Good job getting back into it! Exercise is a weird thing innit - I've been consistently exercising for years - and my reasons for it can fluctuate but my initial/general leading reason is probably aesthetic and looking in the mirror and wanting certain things for my body, which doesn't always work for me (cause I like to eat and our bodies are all different etc.) but the other things that have developed over time that probably get me our of bed and that I look forward to from exercising consistently are things like:

• Energy levels, before gymming regularly (and this is like 6-7 years ago) I used to fall asleep on the bus to work. Once I started exercising regularly in the morning, this stopped! I was so much more alert and raring to go in the morning
• Not being sore. I pretty much have to exercise every morning, even if it's just a 20-30 minute brisk walk with the dog - otherwise I sit at my computer and i end up pulling my shoulder/neck in weird ways etc. I'm prone to less random injuries!
• Speaking of injuries - I recover from injuries much more quickly than I used to - even if I do randomly have a twitch in the neck, it'll usually just bother me for a day or so, rather than put me out for a few days like it used to
• Podcast time - I love having the hour or so in the mornings to listen to podcasts! Been getting sooo into them during lockdown
• Feeling different sessions contribute to each other - I started running more in lockdown, and would get soreish lower back, glutes etc. Started doing pilates regularly, and noticed that working on the core and glutes in pilates helped my running SO much. Was no longer getting a sore back, could feel my core muscles working harder when I was running etc.
• I recently got a new pair of running shoes - holy shit, they've changed my running game. I didn't realise what I was missing out on! I now have a running rotation with my old shoes and these new ones, and I'm SO excited for my runs in these faster shoes, cause I like seeing my times and they're actually really fun to run in cause you can really feel them propel you a long - it's just fun!
• More reps - doing pilates has made my upper body strenght so much better, I'm pretty pleased these days how many push ups I can do (which isn't many by some people's standards I'm sure) but it's so good to feel the progression
• Resting heart rate - strange one, but I went to the doctor after ages to get a prescription top up, and he took my blood pressure and pulled a bit of a face as it showed the results. He commented my resting heart rate was low and asked if I worked out a lot - was happy to say I did! Was super cool to have an unseen marker like that

 

[tipulovesonali]

@aderemi What are these speedy new shoes you speak of? I'm looking to get a new pair soon.

 

[aderemi]

@tipulovesonali I got New Balance Rebel v2! Hung out in r/RunningShoeGeeks for a while and read heaps of reviews and very happy with my purchase

 

[tipulovesonali]

@aderemi Very nice!! They look pretty sweet and now I have a new sub. Ty!

 

[olivia4kiss]

@hlb I'm with you on wanting to age healthfully! I'm almost 34 and think it's important to keep your body in motion. Though I don't enjoy the creakiness that seemed to hit at ~32 or so, I'm somehow stronger than I've ever been.

Additionally, exercise has allowed me to enjoy my body in a way that isn't tied to competitive results. I started sports at age 6 and did the whole varsity thing in school. We didn't have a lot of money, and since my dad put himself through college on a sports scholarship, he made me think that was the only way I'd go to college as well. As a result, I HATED exercise, sports, and competition. I would DREAM about quitting and finally did before my senior year. (Wound up getting through college on student loans and a part-time job!) I did zero exercise throughout most of my twenties, kind of in an act of prolonged rebellion. I'm lucky to be tall and lean, so I never felt compelled to work out to lose weight, but that also had the effect of allowing me to become extremely sedentary.

But then I realized how shitty I felt. Mentally but also overall. Like my body was dead weight. Now that I have a workout routine, I'm enjoying my body again and what it can do — not for anyone else but for ME.

 

[velvety777]

@hlb Helps with my anxiety.

Also, my confidence, my entire appearance, posture, it's all completely transformed. I met my boyfriend through the gym too

 

[memneso]

@hlb I feel stronger/more stable on my feet, and my balance has improved. I think that's really important as we age.

Also, we lose bone and muscle over time. It's very important to retain and build what we can while we can.

 

[dawn16]

@hlb I have also been like you! I now have a decade of extremely inconsistent exercise behind me, and every time I say, wow, this is amazing, I will do this absolutely forever with no changes, and then something happens and I stop doing it.

That said, I've been getting gradually more consistent over time. I've also tried to celebrate myself more for what I HAVE accomplished. Being a beginner at exercise is hard and sometimes humiliating adn I know it and I do it and start again anyway. I'm really proud of myself for always getting back up when I fall off the horse.

I also really recommend reflecting in a formal way on how it's benefiting you. At one point, I kept a journal every six weeks just on exercise -- just a note in my Notes app where every 6 weeks I would take stock of what I'd done, make notes on how I felt/what had changed, and set new goals. It was helpful for accountability (keeping me realistic about how much I was actually doing) and also for capturing progress that I might not have noticed if I hadn't intentionally celebrated it.

A few random excerpts from that journal that capture little incremental progress wins:

• I have more energy when I’m running
• I feel more motivated to work out than I used to be
  • I still, constantly, try to talk myself out of working out. I’m just less successful at it than I used to be
  • I’m not always excited about working out, but I don’t feel existential dread/procrastination/panic about it. I just matter of factly put on my clothes and go
• I am so much stronger than I was six weeks ago!
  • I can do two real push-ups with good form
  • My core has also gotten much stronger — I’m not having much trouble with boat pose anymore.
• My body hasn’t changed as much as I expected it would by now. But it has changed in the sense of being able to DO MORE STUFF

 

[dawn16]

@hlb 1) My energy levels are better, and if I have a busier than normal day it doesn’t wear me out

2) Being able to pick up heavy things when necessary is nice

3) Having body goals that are about what I can do rather than how I look has been good for my mental health

4) Having a hobby where effort clearly leads fo results has also been good for my mental health

 

[pastorjoseph]

@hlb I think that focusing on getting physically stronger has translated to increased strength in other areas of my life. I feel more empowered in my relationships, including dealing with toxic family members, and have greater mental strength to handle uncertainty.

 

[polisci29]

@hlb Confidence, tools to deal with anxiety and depression, more willing to be out of my comfort zone, muscle bounces better during sex , better understanding of how food affects my body and mind, enjoy the outdoors far more, more accepting of others now that my self esteem isn’t through the floor, body isn’t so sore, tight or tired all the time… the list goes on!

 

[alwaysjesus]

@hlb It’s given me a sense of agency over my body that chronic illness and ED had stolen from me.

 

[magicman977]

@hlb I got back into exercising consistently after getting my first full-time job back in 2017. I finally had the money for a gym membership and needed to be more active after sitting at a desk all day. Initially, it was just feeling more active, being able to do Zumba easily or go for a run without running out of breath, etc.

But now, since I started weightlifting (deadlifts, increasing dumbbells for bodyweight exercises, using the assisted pullup machine) last year, it has really helped other facets of my fitness life. I’m better at certain poses in yoga and I can hold them longer. When doing pliés (these are similar to squats) in my barre class I can tell that my form is so much better too. It’s also cool to put it to use in real life- I’ve helped 2 friends move house in the past year, and I’ve had good stamina with lifting boxes for them. At my office, I can be the one to say, “I can help lift that” because I know I can

You'll start to notice some fitness rewards eventually- stick with it and you'll get there!

 

[kuku]

@hlb My depression is much more manageable and I sleep better when I work out

 

[acer621]

@hlb God, my levels of self confidence just soared as I became more fit, and then even more after a did a cut and had striking muscle definition and really looked the part

That confidence has really translated into a mindset of being fine with giving anything physical a go. There isn't a spot or fitness methodology that I would be too scared to try now. I'm absolutely aware that, like doing anything for the first time, it would be hard and I wouldn't immediately be good at it, but my awareness of my body and general athletic ability means that I wouldn't feel embarrassed by my level of newness, and I wouldn't feel the need to be wall flower while I did it for the first time. If I went to, say, a rock climbing class (something I've never done before), I would happily say, 'Sure, I'll go first! I mean, I'm going to suck, but it will be fun!'

The level of respect I have for my body has also increased. Pardon me for the seeming lack of modesty, but I'm sometimes really impressed by how quickly I can pick something up something new these days. Sunday for example, my trainer introduced me to two new movements and I was able to do both of them with perfect form by the second set. My proprioception is really good, and I'm positive it has improved by doing new physical things all the time.