So it’s been about two and a half months since I joined the gym, and I’ve been trying to go 4-5 times a week at the moment, and I’ve actually managed this most weeks! I’ve really surprised myself with how dedicated I’ve become to going, and how much fun I’m actually having as I am definitely not a sporty person! I kind of feel like I’ve come so far and that encourages me to keep going as I don’t want to lose the progress I’ve worked so hard for! There has definitely been a few days I’ve really had to drag my butt to the gym, but once I’m there I always really enjoy it.
I’ve found I love going to the gym in the morning around 9-10am as it’s just so quiet, there’s often only a couple of people there so there’s much more space for working out etc. It also gets it out of the way for the day, and I’m much more likely to procrastinate about going as the day goes on! I’ve also really enjoyed having a hour of “me time”. I put on some energetic and motivating music, and enjoy not having to talk to anyone for an entire hour! I’ve settled into a bit of a routine now with three different workouts – I do a leg workout, a core workout, and an upper body workout. Generally I try to go 2x legs, 2x upper body, and 1x core a week, however I do just go on how I feel. If something is sore from the last workout, I always like to wait until it’s fine before I work that body part again, so sometimes I might end up changing up what I do each week to fit everything in. I do plan to share my workouts at some stage, so let me know if this is something you’d like to see!
So before I started at the gym, I didn’t do much active stuff at all. I’d go for regular walks, but that was about the extent of my activity. I’ve always been one of those annoying people who can eat what they want and not workout and I still stayed slim, but slim doesn’t always mean feeling good and it also doesn’t mean you are healthy. At the start of the year I weighed 46kg which is what I’ve weighed since I was 16. I wasn’t eating an awful lot, as I never really felt hungry, and I often found I didn’t have a lot of energy. I started doing 2kg weights at the gym and found I struggled to actually do a full 10 reps as I just felt so weak. I had absolutely no tone or muscle mass at all. I couldn’t even do one push up!
Fast forward two and a half months and I’m now working with 5kg weights and I can do 10 push ups in a row. Exercising more and pushing myself harder means that I have a better appetite, so I’ve been eating an awful lot more (I’ll admit this felt really weird to start off with!). I’ve been also making a point of eating food that will sustain me throughout the day, which is keeping my energy levels stable throughout the day rather than being all over the place like they used to be. I’ve also put on 3kg in two months, and I now weight 49kg which is extremely exciting. I know I’m still very much on the light side, but I think it’s more important to go on how you feel rather than weight and I feel so much healthier, stronger and happier.
I really wish I had started taking measurements and photos before I started, but I really didn’t start to track my progress until I was about a month or so in. I remember my boyfriend telling me that you need to usually wait around two months before you see progress, and he was so right! In the past couple of weeks I’ve really noticed my legs and arms are starting to look leaner and more muscular. My waist also looks smaller, which is such a surprise when I have actually put on weight. I’m still not 100% sure where it’s gone, but muscle does weigh more than fat, so I’m guessing that I’m just getting myself some muscles!
I’ll have another update in a few months. My current goal is to be able to do a proper pull up so I better get working on those guns! 💪🏼
