Even though I have a ton of energy, I have not always been very active. There have been many periods in my life when I have been largely inactive. During these times I have not always made the best use of my time – we are not robots after all.
However, after having my daughters, I realised fairly early on that kids will do what you do, not what you say, and I wanted my girls to be healthy and active. This gave me some motivation, but I didn’t know where to start as every time I started some form of workout routine, I would only successfully maintain that routine for about 2 weeks.
One day when my youngest was about 3, a friend of mine invited me to do a novice triathlon course. I decided to go for it as the financial commitment was not huge and I thought if I didn’t like it, I could choose not to finish (a nicer way of saying quit).
What I found during the course of the course was that I was able to maintain the routine because I was training with a supportive community of others who I enjoyed being around. It was then that I realised that I was an externally motivated person and that my extrovert personality was an important factor to consider when designing a workout routine.
Rowing, as a team sport, is perfect for those like me who are not great at having enough internal motivation to get to the gym alone. In rowing, the team cannot row if everyone doesn’t show up, and that is great motivation to get there.
Unfortunately, over the past 3.5 years, I had to adjust my workout routine as there is no ocean rowing in Bucharest, Romania. To adjust, I had people come to me. Knowing that someone was coming to my house to train meant that it would be quite difficult for me to cancel. This also allowed me to start training with my daughters, who are quite a bit older. Having them as a motivation to figure out how to train successfully, and now having them train with me, has been such a blessing and an even bigger motivator. It has also made training even more enjoyable.
If you are struggling to get to the gym or to get active, start thinking about why you want to get to the gym, and what situation would be motivating enough to cause you not to skip your workout. Start building an environment where that situation becomes more the norm in order to facilitate better consistency. Start small and build from there.
Every step, every session, every time you show up, you are building a stronger, fitter, better you!
