Getting Fit (Week 8: Mental Toughness)
I am 3/4 of the way through my time with a personal trainer. Working out solidly for 8 weeks after a lifetime of irregular physical activity has been an experience, to say the least. Physically I have started to see the changes, particularly where my abs are concerned. In fact, I’m nicely surprised every time I whip off my top to be greeted with *gasp* some definition. It’s also nice to wear a skirt and to not feel I’m sporting stumps for legs…
I wasn’t needing to lose much weight, it was more-so about toning up my body and making the most of what I have, shortcomings and all. I’ve steered clear of scales just because I’ve seen how fixated (and disgruntled) people become when they weigh themselves on a daily basis. I’m judging the improvement in other ways; how I feel about my body, and increased fitness levels.
The latter has definitely improved, as demonstrated today when my personal trainer sprung the same fitness test on me that he used to measure my initial level of fitness two months ago. As for the former, I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin. I’m not quite there yet — I still have a lot of work to do, but just being proactive about it has granted me the right to feel good.
If I can take anything away from my experience with my personal trainer, it’s that mental toughness accounts for everything. It’s your mind versus your body, and most people let their body win. Your body can feel weak and that it needs to give up, but if your mind is focused on doing something, you can push through the pain. I think that’s been the most significant realisation for me.
Anyway, here’s the fun part. Photos! I think I was starting to get heavier around January, just as I turned 23. I remember a bunch of us hit the pubs for my birthday dressed as Wally from Where’s Wally (I don’t know why), and feeling visibly uncomfortable in the clingy clothes I was wearing. I knew at that point that something needed to change, but it took me a further 6 months before I did anything about it.
It’s not the greatest photo to illustrate the difference, but I don’t have many good examples from January. The photo on the left is, as mentioned, the Where’s Wally night out, and the photo on the right was taken two weeks ago before a fancy dress party.
I have 4 sessions left with my personal trainer. Judging by how exhilarated I feel after a workout, I’d like to think I’ll be keeping this up once our contract has come to an end. Whether it be through joining a gym or utilising my surroundings, the sense of accomplishment after a particularly painful workout has me hooked. And I definitely don’t want to undo all my hard work.
