Overcoming Setbacks in my Fitness Journey
posted on June 19, 2024
Today I would like to share my fitness journey in hopes of letting others know that a fitness journey is in fact a journey. Just like many others, I have had my ups and downs with finding a fitness routine that works for me. A lot of our society today is surrounded around social media which can set unrealistic health goals for many. The fitness influencers you may see on Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms likely did not reach their goals without some setbacks and that is totally okay! I believe overcoming setbacks in both fitness and other components of life are what makes each person unique and makes reaching goals even more worth it!
I have always had a passion for exercise, but it wasn’t until 2019 that I started to take exercise seriously. I bought a gym membership and began weightlifting with friends, but soon became inconsistent because I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. During this time, I had a hard time eating clean and resorted to many unhealthy junk foods. Shortly after, the pandemic shut down all gyms and I had lost all motivation. I would see influencers on social media, and they would inspire me, but I had trouble actually getting up and working out. About a month into peak COVID, I began doing 30-minute bodyweight exercises once a day at home led by YouTube videos. This time however, I maintained a rather healthy diet, but would end up eating unhealthy again after a couple of weeks. Again, I was not seeing progress and slowly became inconsist again.
Once the pandemic subsided and I was able to move into college, I began going to the gym every day and performing both cardio and weight training. I tried to eat as healthy as I possibly could as a new college student without a source of income. I stayed consistent for about a year and seen a lot of progress. However, as I seen so much progress, it motivated meand I ended up overtraining myself which left me fatigued almost daily and it resulted in a loss of consistency once again. By my junior year of college, I learned a lot more about fitness and nutrition as an exercise science major. Prior to this, I was getting a lot of unreliable information off of social media and websites. With my new knowledge, I decided it was time to really take control and put in the work to reach my fitness goals.
At this point, I decided that I would write down my exact goals and my plan to get there. I was very busy with classes so I made it a priority that at least 4 days per week I would wake up early before class and go to the gym. I also made sure that no matter how much work I had to do, I would set aside an hour or two on Sundays to meal prep for the week. There were some Sundays that I did not want to prep food and would rather relax, but I made sure to do it because I knew that I would be grateful for it throughout the week.
As of now, I still have my setbacks and lack of motivation, but I have gotten better at overcoming it. My current routine consists of two lower body RT days and two upper body RT days, as well as meal prepping on Sundays. Not every week looks like this, however. You should always listen to your body if you need a rest day, but one thing I have learned along the way is don’t let one unplanned rest day turn into weeks of inconsistency. I have come a long way in my fitness journey, but I am nowhere close to where I want to be yet and that’s okay! I share this journey with you to help people realize that reaching your fitness goals will never be a straight and narrow path. Having self-determination and discipline is what will help you overcome your setbacks. The one piece of advice I would give to anyone going through a setback in their fitness journey is to remember why you started and how proud of yourself you will be knowing that you did not give up!
-Alicia M.
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