I have never been great at working out every day or maintaining a fitness plan. But recently, I’ve been going to the gym “casually” and it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. Below, I detail my workout journey and a few tips about mindset to stick with it.

Being physically active is one of the closest things to a miracle drug when it comes to maintaining and improving physical and mental well-being. It means you’re passively fighting many physical injuries and diseases, strengthening your muscles, managing anxiety, and so on. However, knowing this often isn’t enough to kickstart a more active lifestyle. It certainly wasn’t for me.

For me, I was just tired of being weak. I picked up a few books on behavior change and decided on a new approach – keep my workouts short and celebrate small wins. Making exercise a regular habit started with going through the motions, followed by manifesting a new identity. Let me explain.

For many people, the start of a new year, a new season, or a new month is a sign to start fresh. I used the beginning of my fall semester in college (which also happened to be during COVID) to kick off my fitness journey. At the time, I set a goal to do a single pushup, a feat my twiggy arms couldn’t do for the first 19 years of my life.

For the better part of my first six months, I set myself up to work out for 5-10 minutes a day. Before, lengthy and complicated workout sessions overwhelmed me and led me to quit working out when life became too busy. This time I picked up a short ab workout off of YouTube and stuck with it. That made working out easy to stick with every day, even during the busiest times in the school year.  

One day in November, I tried to do a pushup…and I did it! I felt so exhilarated at the time. “What the hell? I finally did a pushup!!!” I was mentally screaming while sitting on my bedroom floor. It was my first mark at building strength and muscle, even if I couldn’t see any physical changes.

Fast forward to today, I work out 2-3 times a week with each session going on for a little more than an hour. There are days when I’m too busy with coursework to prioritize working out, but I never feel pressured to work out because I know that I’ll be back. I enjoy the process, I’ve found the music that I groove to, and I love the feeling of accomplishment when I see my progress in the mirror.  

If you’re looking to be more active, I would recommend starting small. Start with something you can do anywhere, no matter where you are and can do relatively quickly. This is key to getting into the habit, as you won’t be able to give yourself any excuses as to why you can’t do it. The second key component is celebrating small wins. Bask in the small milestones that you reach. Enjoy the journey! Almost nothing is more satisfying than knowing that you are stronger today than you were a month ago. Eventually, you see a little lump of muscle in your arm that wasn’t there before and can jump up and down and tell everyone you know. When you start seeing your progress, it gives an incredible boost of motivation.

There will be days when you feel great and can push beyond the bare minimum of 5 minutes. Take advantage of that! Keep riding that wave of motivation. Never pressure yourself to do more than the bare minimum, but feel free to do so when you’re in the flow. On the flip side, forgive yourself for days when you feel more tired than usual, and move on.

Something else to consider – If you’re anything like me when I work out, then your mind occasionally wanders. It’s telling you, “God, why can’t I finish this set? My abs are burning. I’m so tired. I want to go home ☹”. Whether you like it or not, your brain is always thinking about something. In this case, you may be subconsciously feeding into your anxieties. So how do I deal with these destructive thoughts? I shift my focus to your breathing, form, or music. Eventually, those negative thoughts dissipate and you can get back to your workout. Nothing matters more than giving it your all when working out. That’s it. It doesn’t matter whether you think you can, can’t, or feel like giving up. You’re there, so you try your best. Your ability and emotions have little to do with finishing your set. All you have to do is try.