This month marks a year since I started working out consistently, either every day or every other day. I have never been happier in my entire life, especially mentally.
At first, during my renewed gym journey, I would feel uneasy when I skipped a day at the gym. My mind would revert to how it used to be before I worked out consistently, which was quite eye-opening. I didn’t realize how much of a difference working out made until I did it consistently, when one day during this journey, suddenly stopped for no valid reason.
When I stopped working out for a few days after being consistent, I started to feel tired with extremely low energy. I became irritable faster, and my thoughts were not as creative as they were while working out. My entire mood prior to finally starting to work out had changed drastically, leaving me in complete awe.
Both my siblings work out consistently every day at the gym and have been doing so for more than a decade. I joined them before getting my own membership. I knew that working out consistently was good for mental health, but I never understood how much of an impact it would have on my life and overall body.
Why I Started Working Out Consistently: A Journey to Mental and Physical Transformation
I actually wrote about the first day I decided I needed to start going to the gym. The night before, I enrolled at a nearby gym in my neighborhood. The decision to get healthier came from a mental switch that occurred right after I landed in Norway from Los Angeles.
I felt as if I was reborn into a strong individual. I knew at that time that I was given a second chance in life, not in a dramatic way, but rather in a humble and gracious manner. This is what I wrote in my diary/journal:
Friday, June 2nd, 2023
Today I woke up to the ear-splitting alarm at 12 o’clock. I agreed with a friend to train together at EVO Fitness a few days before. I really didn’t feel like it but ended up forcing myself out of bed anyway. I went to the bathroom to groom myself, got ready with makeup, and got dressed. I sent a message to call my friend, but she didn’t answer. So, I went to pray Duhur, where I asked Allah for strength to give me energy and remove the anxiety of exercising.
Something I feel He did when I actually went out and reached EVO Fitness. I called my mother on the way, but she was supposed to be sleeping because she had a night shift the day before and was due to another night shift the same day. I also called my friend again, suspecting that she was sleeping. I wanted to wake her up, but she didn’t answer.
Now I have arrived at the fitness center. I had started a new membership the day before, so it took a few tries before I got into the main entrance.
I finally got in, but now I struggled with the other entrance door to the gym itself, as you need a code or chip to get in. I tried maybe 10-15 more times with my code but still couldn’t get in. So, I called my big brother to ask if there might be something I’m doing wrong, but deep down I only called because the anxiety started to kick in, and I needed to talk to someone I’m comfortable with.
He answered right away and said he would check with our little brother and call me back. Before he could call back, a lady who works there came to ask if this was my first time there and if my membership was created yesterday.
I replied yes, and she was able to confirm that their system was down when I signed up. She let me in, gave me a token for the gym, and asked me to register it via my account with them on the internet.
It should take 15 minutes to activate. I talked to my big brother in between after I had registered the chip. I hoped he would stay on the line with me for as long as he could because I was not really that good at navigating a gym alone.
This was my first time ever all alone in a gym. He is so kind and helped me throughout the training session the time I was in there.”
You see, I was quite nervous to go to the gym that day. I woke up late and was not motivated at all. All I knew was that I needed strength to be able to even walk out of that door. It took so much effort to get ready and leave for the gym. I was so used to working out with my siblings and not by myself. I am so glad that I went and didn’t hold myself back by snoozing in bed at noon.
The Surprising Ways My Body Reacted to Consistent Exercise
My energy level a year ago compared to now is completely different. I have learned to save energy without taking too many naps like I used to. Because my body holds more energy now, I take less power naps during a month than what I used to prior to consistent workouts. Which is great! I eat healthily, cook amazing food, and sometimes, when my schedule is tight or I want to treat myself, I order takeaway.
I started to see changes of my symmetric muscles. I enjoy the change of the muscle density I built. I lift weights, do moderate exercises without manuals and nowadays I have recently started doing cardio once a week.
My strength sessions consist mostly of building glute and tone my muscles throughout my lower and upper body. My stiffness and balance are overall improved. I also act and feel healthier.
Compliments like “You look healthy” and “Your energy is unmatched” or “You look stronger and happier” is fun to hear. Especially now that I have put in so much energy and work into myself. I always get this big smile anytime I get compliments like these because I have noticed from within how gym helps mental health.
I have been able to gain lots of benefits through consistent exercises like for example, it helps me maintain a healthy weight by burning calories and increase metabolism.
The physical change is great, but the best reward is how I feel after each session. I am happier, I eat better and overall feel better from within.
Why Dieting and Workouts Are the Perfect Pair for Optimal Health
I really need to chill with ordering food because I order too much. I am supposed to only order when I know I have a tight schedule or special cravings during my periods, for example.
However, I have been ordering food almost every other day while simultaneously cooking breakfast and evening meals.
I really like to cook. Just now, while writing, I remembered when I cooked chef-level food at the age of 15. I was gifted a cookbook by an elderly lady I knew. I was so happy when I got it because I wanted to learn how to cook over-the-top meals.
At the time, I just wanted to learn a new skill. I spent so much time in the kitchen buying all sorts of ingredients I had never heard of and cooked meals even that elderly lady was shocked by.
She was so amazed that she wanted me to cook for her every day. Wonderful! I cooked anything from that book. I remember this turkey meal filled with delicious homemade stuffing and amazing sides, and the cauliflower gratin that I made that both she and her husband enjoyed.
They sat at the dining table for a while, just eating and taking breaks to fill their bellies even more. “The taste was too good to stop eating,” they said. Haha.
I love these memories. It calms me down a little knowing I don’t cook like that anymore, but that I have it in me if I ever decide to go all out in the kitchen again.
All I need to get going is an amazing cookbook. I have never considered buying a cookbook, but maybe that should be my next purchase. Not a bad idea, right?
How Journaling Motivated Me to Hit the Gym Consistently
Honestly, it all comes down to what we decide to do with our free will. I have been on both sides—the side where I was not allowed to do what I wanted with the free will that Allah gave me, and the side where I am in complete control of my decisions and life with the given free will.
I motivated myself that day last year to go to the gym for the sole reason that I wanted to prove to myself that I am much stronger than what I initially think I am.
I wanted to be able to write it down, personally for myself in the diary later that day, and look myself in the mirror, telling myself “I told you, you are capable of anything in life, so don’t you ever doubt yourself again”. I also wanted to look back at it a year later (which is this month) to reflect back on how gym helps mental health.
When I am pushed into a corner where I am restricted from acting on my free will, I get agitated and unhappy. I am a free spirit and need to live life as I want to.
For example, you can’t force someone to believe in Allah and become Muslim and expect them to listen. They will retaliate and resent the religion. It has to come from you first, you got to show interest in your own mental health to prioritize exercise.
Another example, you can’t be forced by your manager to work hard at a corporate job and expect the employee to do an excellent job. As a manager, you have to lead by example by doing that work and then some, then invite the employee only after you have done that same task you expect of them.
This applies to anything in life—we have to lead by a great example to achieve what needs to be done. Our free will is there for a reason. Saying “no” is not a crime. It’s a choice, a clear answer.
Unlocking Mental Clarity: How Gym Transformed My Mindset
Before I started going to the gym, my sibling had asked me to join multiple times over many years. He led by example for many years before I finally reached a point in my life that led me to the gym. I knew working out was good for you in every way possible, but I just didn’t want to. The simple reason why I didn’t want to was my mentality.
I always came up with excuses, “I don’t have time” or “I am not motivated enough.” The simplicity of my thoughts was that I did have time, and motivation does not come to a mind full of excuses rather than execution.
Sometimes we just have to throw ourselves into whatever is outside our comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be perfectly set up for us to go for it. It’s better to jump and then activate the motivation we think we lack after jumping into it.
Before I decided to start a blog, I wasn’t in the spirit to even think too much of it. I just stumbled into it, once again.
The motivation was there already, because I have been writing in journals for almost two decades now, I just never published those articles. Seriously, I have racks and racks of personalized articles about my life on my MacBook, my phone and all my eons of journalling books.
Writing was already within me, all I had to do was to build courage to take a risk by sharing these personalized stories of my life experiences, and how I navigate life as a Muslim girl in the west.
Starting a blog in 2024 is not complicated, it is natural, but I still needed to set that courageous mind into play before creating this website. Like with anything in life, you need to motivate yourself.
The human mind does not find things outside our comfort zone worth doing. It doesn’t appreciate change while we are in that comfort zone mindset. The only solution is to walk out of it.
It’s like learning how to build a website—you just have to go ahead and do it. Do the research it takes, then just do it!
I waited a long time before I started building this website. I just kept writing and writing (as per usual), knowing I’d get the website up and running at some point. By writing consistently, and thinking about launching this website in the back of my mind, I knew I would get it up sometime soon.
But I dreaded actually going ahead and building it. I was not used to WordPress and had a bad experience with it a while ago and didn’t look forward to learning because last time I used WordPress, I didn’t get anything out of the learning process.
I could’ve easily outsourced it and had someone else build a website for me, but I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to be able to say that I did it myself.
Having a skill where you can build average to excellent websites is something to be proud of. I built this website all by myself and I am proud of it. It took me almost a week, and I had to redo everything a couple of times.
Going from someone who couldn’t understand anything about WordPress to now having built my own website through WordPress, understanding the system, and it’s actually not that bad either—what an achievement right? The feeling that comes with mastering a project of your own is amazing to say the least.
This is what I mean by making up excuses rather than acting on them. My mentality before going to the gym and before building my website was holding me back.
I was lazy with my own projects filled with excuses. Simple as that. I could blame so many things like my upbringing, my circumstances, my health, or the weather. But I was just lazy about it. That is the honest truth.
The simple truth is that we sometimes are lazy to fulfill our own dreams and go after what we truly want. You are capable to go after your dream without hesitation. Having a blog is very important. I will get back to this later in another post.
The end result is that I didn’t want to do the hard work it took to change my mentality. You see, the root problem in us all is our mentality. How we think, how we act, and how we talk—these all impact our lives.
It wasn’t easy for me to start going to gym at all, but now a year later I can’t think of a day without working out. I love how I can walk into the gym at any time of the day and get a good session in.
That’s what I love about free will. I am not forced to do anything against my will. It’s amazing to think about, and my admiration for free will has increased so much. It has given me another chance in life. It’s so beautiful and I am very grateful to Allah for it.
I don’t think I could have survived a different way of living life. I was born in a restricted country where women empowerment didn’t exist. Somehow I just knew in my heart that if I worked hard, Allah would eventually reward me with my given freedom.
Reflecting on how gym helps mental health
The reason I am so open about my thoughts is that I want anyone reading (or listening) to this to feel that they have the power to do anything they set their mind to. Be it going to gym, starting a business, learning a new skillset or moving abroad. It’s the most powerful lesson I have learned through the years.
Hardship does pay off. All we must do is take it step by step. Small steps create bigger changes in life. If I want to do something, I’ll plan it out on paper and set it up in my mind first, then go ahead and do it.
Structure and a strategy is helpful if you don´t know where to start. Get a pen, and a paper and go crazing about one thing you want to become successful in. It´ll help stimulate your brain into working towards it overtime.
No matter what it is that I want to accomplish, I’ll do it with the intention of learning, growing and being a helpful resource in our world. The end goal is always to learn and to prosper, so remember to always find ways to grow in every way you can while exploring.
Personal growth makes everything much easier to navigate. We can’t control everything around us, but we can control how we navigate through it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my year-long journey of consistent workouts has transformed my mental and physical well-being.
From overcoming initial challenges and discovering newfound strength to realizing the significant impact of a healthy lifestyle, I’ve learned that dedication and persistence pay off.
Embrace the power of small steps, trust the process, and watch how making positive changes can enhance your life in unexpected ways.
Suggested reading: How Unwarranted Manifesting Changed My Life: A Journey of Breaking Free from the Law of Jante
