It's Friday! TGIF! The start of the weekend!
On Fridays, after work, I hold a self-sponsored Happy Hour at the gym. I call it:
A HAPPY HOUR OF FITNESS.
Instead of drinking shots of booze, I take shots of amino acids. It's a good time and everyone that attends has a great time.
Workout Happy Hour is fun AND you don't wake up with a hangover the next day. (Also, if you wanted to do a happy hour of fitness, there's no rule that says you can't do a regular happy hour afterwards.)
Lately, I've been trying to make fitness more of a priority in my life. It has been a lifestyle choice, and I fully embrace it. For the past 32 straight weeks, I have hit the gym/weights at least 4-6 times a week.
It's a new record for me. Never before in my life have I done any sort of physical activity for 32 weeks straight. I've always taken a break. Or found a reason to take one.
Throughout my life, I've always gone to the gym and have been in pretty good shape. I was even a former athlete. Not a GOOD athlete. But I was on teams. Lettered. Colleges called me and wanted me to join their athletic departments. Stuff like that. I'm not tooting my own horn. If I was, I'd say I was actually decent. But, I wasn't. Back in the day I "played" Basketball, and ran Cross Country and Track. But, I was never really good at any one of them. I just liked being part of a team and having something positive to do.
At any rate, in order to be strong enough to participate in sports: I've always lifted weights. But, I've also always lifted erratically. I'd lift for a couple of weeks, see some progress...and then stop. I'd take some time off and then realize I was getting out of shape, and then start back up again.
It was a vicious cycle.
And never in my life have I kept with it.
But oh, have the tides have turned.
My significant other said something to me about 8 months ago that changed the way that I thought about both myself and fitness overall.
He told me that he really admired how hard I work and study for school. But, that he couldn't understand why I didn't put the same amount of energy into my fitness regimen as I did with school or my career.
And of course I got mad at him for saying such a thing.
HOW DARE HE POINT OUT AN AREA OF WEAKNESS.
The fact of the matter was: He was right. Did this hurt my ego to admit? YES. Does this hurt to actually type this in a sentence for others to read and our mutual friends to also know that he was right? YES.
However, it's the truth.
He was right. I put so much energy into school and into my career. But I did not do the same in the gym.
I strongly believe that: ONCE YOU KNOW MORE. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO MORE.
And it was then that I knew more about myself. I knew that as far as fitness goes, I was not giving it all I had. I knew he was right. And knowing that, made me change my fitness goals. So sometime last April, I set a new goal for myself. I vowed to keep working out. And not stop when I saw results. I vowed to hit the gym no matter what, at least 4-6 times a week.
And you know what?? I kept after it. When life handed me lemons: I made lemonade. (Well, literally, I love lemonade and why wouldn't you if life was just HANDING them to you??) But figuratively, when I got busy and stressed...I headed to the gym and not the the bar or fridge like I previously was doing.
I made myself accountable. I started posting things on Facebook and Twitter. I started telling friends and family. I started to believe in myself. I took ownership over my level of fitness...just like I have with grad school and my career.
Eight months later, I am now reaping the rewards!
Rewards that have been reaped:
- I feel better overall.
- I have been able to get off of multiple medications.
- I sleep better.
- My mood has improved.
- My energy levels have increased.
- I have actual visible muscles.
- I have started to become more productive. And not just in the gym. In all areas of my life.
So you get it right?? You get that this has been good for me?? Do I need to go on??
One more thing:
Not only has this been good for me physically and mentally. It now will be good for me financially.
"How can fitness be good for me financially (you ask)??"
With Gym Pact.
At Book Club, some friends and I were discussing the gym. (I had shown up to Book Club all sweaty after a workout...and this prompted our non-book-club discussion.) A girlfriend had been talking about this "Gym Pact" and so I asked her what it was all about.
Well, what is Gym Pact? It's amazing, is what it is. It's basically a program that PAYS YOU TO WORK OUT.
I'm serious.
Gym Pact is an application that you can download on your iPhone or Android cell phone. It allows you to check in a gyms, workout, and literally get paid for doing the workouts that you are already doing. Also, it keeps you accountable. It allows to to say how often a week you want to work out. You basically make a pact with yourself to workout X times a week. Then you set the dollar amount for how much you are willing to pay if you miss your workout goal. So, if your goal is to workout three times a week. And you workout three times a week. You get paid. To workout. But if your goal is to workout three times a week, and you only work out twice a week. Then you have to pay for your missed workout. It's genius! I'm a cheapskate, and trust me, I will NEVER miss a workout now. So therefore, I will be getting paid for the workouts that I'm already doing!
- Already working out and a fan of money.
- Or someone who is not working out and want a way to stay accountable.
- Or someone who has made a New Year's resolution to workout more...
Gym Pact is for you!
If you sign up on Gym Pact please use my referral code: barbeShann
Using this code will give us both $5 (after your first workout!) You can search for the application on your iPhone, Android, or sign up on the world wide web at: www.gym-pact.com
I've come a long way on my fitness journey. To read more of previous tales of my athletic inspired pursuits please read the blog posts listed below. Two things will happen if you read any/all of these posts. One, you will not be disappointed. Two, you will feel better about yourself.
Previous Tales of my Athletic Pursuits:
That One Time I Registered for a Marathon
Excerpt from my MySpace Profile Circa 2005, in which I talk about my "Extreme Athleticism"
Weight Training, White Jeans, and a Couch: A Tale of Muscles
Thought About Going for a Jog. Ate Cold Cuts Instead.
Can I Perform a Citizens Arrest at the Gym?
Invest in You
Always Sharing,
Miss Oakley
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