The first time I ever stepped foot into a gym was last year, on the 21st night of September (lol). I was told by my friends we were hitting legs but somehow I was still shocked when they took me straight to Marino’s weight room and fell in line for a squat rack. I was legitimately losing my mind. And I felt pretty self-conscious doing my sets with literally just the bar even though the bar is already half my weight so I let them convince me to put on 5s then 10s. I went consistently 5-6 times a week until finals season rolled around and I had to really lock in to raise my GPA for my scholarship. And I didn’t end up going to the gym during winter break either – I just needed to recuperate.
Last week was my first week back to the gym in 2023 and at first I was really discouraged – I could tell I was weaker than before and I couldn’t help but compare my weights with other girls I knew. So even though usually a workout would improve my mood and make me feel strong, proud, and productive, for 2 or 3 days I left the gym feeling really discouraged and honestly just sad.
But I kept at it.
I realized this last semester but truly going to the gym ended up being the keystone habit that helped the rest of my habits fall into place.
Putting in all that effort going to the gym and working out made me want to eat better. I made sure I ate 3 meals a day, and that I had high protein intake. I knew I qualified for SNAP/EBT months before but I finally applied for it so that I could buy more meats and healthier food options without having to worry about the cost. I got protein powder on Amazon using my SNAP, too. I also was more productive in the day because I now had an earlier deadline – although my assignments were due at midnight, I needed to finish them earlier so that I could make time to go to the gym at 10pm. So I worked with more urgency and found it easier to get into a flow state and not procrastinate. I also started to prioritize sleep because after a workout, I was tired out in a good way and I wanted to get at least 7-8 hours so I could properly recuperate and perform well in the gym the next day. And getting proper rest meant I could wake up in the morning easier, do my entire morning routine, and actually feel prepared and ready for the day when before I’d just sleep in and have to rush into work or class. I also noticed a difference in my mood on weeks where I could only go 2-3 times versus weeks where I went 4-6 times. Going to the gym kept my stress levels down even when I had a large workload and made me less irritable. With each good habit I’m able to incorporate into my life, I gain more and more inspiration and motivation to continue to add others.
When you go to the gym solely just to ego lift and/or change your appearance, it’s so easy to get caught up in numbers and compare yourself to others. I started to get caught up in that mindset and I had to really put effort to shake it off.
It’s important to frame working out as a lifestyle, not as a means to an end. You should enjoy the workouts you do, and when you enjoy the process, consistency becomes easier to achieve, and ultimately in the long-run, the results will always come.
A tip with this is to make it a social thing! I know that not everyone likes to work out with others and some people prefer to work out alone, but if you’re extroverted, I highly recommend turning it into a way to hangout with friends. Some friends I’d typically not see frequently and only maybe once a month or every other month became people I saw nearly every day, because although we usually wouldn’t have time to hang out because we were busy with classes/chores/homework/extracurriculars, I could now fit in time to see them by joining them on a workout – something they do everyday that now I’m doing everyday too! More and more of my friends are also starting to go to the gym and it’s honestly so fun and a really good time.
I’m looking forward to seeing myself build more strength and progress in the gym! If you’re reading this and haven’t gotten into fitness yet, I hope this maybe helped you start to even just consider it. 🙂

