Consistency is a real thing.

Photo byPhoto by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I never thought I’d write this down someday. Me, working out? With consistency and pleasure on top of that? Nah, no way!

And yet. It’s been six months since I started working out again.

I’m a 22-year-old woman. I’ve always been pretty active. In my childhood and adolescence, not a year went by without me joining a sports club.

Then I moved to Paris, and I quit. Mainly because everything was very expensive. I missed it. I realized that sport was a way out and a way not to gain (too much) weight.

But every time I decided to work out a bit at home, to sign up for the gym, or to go running, I took no pleasure in it. It was a constraint. Even a burden on my day. After a few weeks, I’d give up.

Last October, I felt like starting over.

I believe that for the first time, it was a conscious step, motivated by a quest for myself. I knew why I wanted to work out. And I also knew what I had to do, and not do, so I wouldn’t give up after a few sessions.

If I have to get out of the house to work out, it demotivates me. If it’s too hard, I give up. If someone doesn’t tell me what to do, I get bored.

Slowly but steadily

​“In two weeks, you’ll feel it. In four weeks, you’ll see it. In eight weeks, you’ll hear it.” — Unknown

I decided to train on my mat, in my 18m2 apartment, 15 minutes two or three times a week, late in the afternoon, following the instructions of an app (Nike Fitness & Fitify, for those interested). It met all my criteria.

Surprisingly, it worked. I found myself enjoying it, and saw the motivation come on its own as soon as I put music on. I held onto it until February.

At this point, I felt that I had toned up a bit, but nothing extraordinary. I also felt better, more energized, and fit. I didn’t notice any real visible change on my body.

Then, quarantine began.

I’m on the verge of hyperactivity. Before lockdown, I could barely spend a day at home. I need my daily dose of moving and walking.

Suddenly, I couldn’t anymore. More than a simple well-being resolution, sport became a need.

That’s when things got serious

“I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t.” — ​Neila Rey

For the first two days, I did nothing.

Gradually, however, I felt the negative energies rising within me. On the third day, I put on my sportswear, I found a rug at my parents’ house where I was in lockdown, and I launched my app with loud music.

It’s done me a world of good.

I did it again the next day. And the day after that. I felt the need to. That’s when I started feeling the well-being that sport provided me. My sessions got longer and longer, before reaching 40 to 45 minutes.

I rotate between three sessions. Each starts with a five-minute warm-up. I only use my body weight, except for a few bottles of water for occasional arm movements. My three sessions are:

• 20 minutes HIIT + 20 minutes back work
• 20 minutes arm work + 20 minutes abs
• 25 minutes of a personalized program that I created to work the hips and lower back + 15 minutes cardio

I sometimes add 10 minutes of cardio at the end of the first two sessions as well.

Now, I’ve been working out every day for two months. I try to force myself to observe one day off a week so that my body can recover. But I feel like I’m missing something.

I’ve discovered the power of consistency.

I saw my body change.

I don’t even need to find motivation anymore. It comes from within. I know I’m going to enjoy these 40 minutes. I know I’m going to feel incredibly good afterward. That it’s going to pay off. And that, more than anything else, I need this session.

An assessment after two months

The muscles in my whole body are much more defined. I’ve even discovered muscles I didn’t know I had.

If I’m careful with what I eat? Yes. I do limit myself. I try not to overeat. But I don’t deprive myself either. I eat normally. More obvious results could appear if I paid even more attention to what I was eating. But I don’t feel the need to.

I spend quarantine at my parents’. I might as well tell you that I eat more here than at home. Especially when my mom almost bakes one cake a day. In the evening, I also often share a beer with my dad while cooking dinner.

I feel way better about my body

I used to see mostly what I didn’t like about myself. Now, I am more satisfied with what I see. I’ve dropped 2 pounds.

The muscles in my whole body are much more defined. I’ve even discovered muscles I didn’t know I had. My arms and legs are toned, my abs are more visible. Muscles in my lower back have appeared.

My whole body is firmer. I have more energy.

I’ve made progress

The exercises that I had trouble finishing at first are now my warm-up. I’m way more resistant to the effort, both in my body and in my mind.

Mentally speaking, I feel calmer. Working-out really helps me to evacuate negative energies. I’m also more focused when I work.

The benefits are total.

Motivation is necessary to start your journey. But when you feel the well-being it brings you, momentum is created, and it takes more motivation to stop than to keep going.

Will I continue to train every day? Probably yes, at least until quarantine ends. Then I’ll see. But I know I’ll keep at least four sessions a week.

Sport has become an integral part of my life. It’s no longer a constraint.

And I’m happy about that.