I spotted the hashtag #WhatFitnessLooksLike tag making the rounds on social media today, so decided to jump on board as I’ve had a post planned on my fitness routine (or perhaps, lack of it!) for while now. I’ve talked before about how exercise isn’t really my thing, and I expanded a bit on that in my Big Cup Little Cup post on the subject. Last year I started up running but had to give that up after only a couple of months thanks to spraining both my ankles. I did do a bit of pilates, but after having the ankles issue with running, I’d lost a bit of confidence in myself and just got a bit lazy again.
You might remember that a couple of months ago, I joined my local(ish!) gym where I was swimming and working out at the gym whenever I got a chance. I previously hadn’t wanted to join a gym for a few reasons; firstly, as I said, mine is only local-ish, emphasis on the “ish”. It’s about 8 or 9 miles from where we live, but I can make it work with a slightly longer journey on my way to work. It can make it difficult to motivate myself to get there though as I’m aware that I’m spending money on petrol and wasting a bit of time to get there. Secondly, I was always a bit scared of gyms as I don’t really know what to do. I’m now bearing in mind that there are other people in that position too, and no one else really cares about what I’m doing there (so long as I’m not literally falling off the machines…this has happened yet…). Finally, gyms cost money. I’m using this as a motivating factor for me to get myself there at the moment – I’ve paid for it, so I’d better get my money’s worth! It’s taken a bit of extra budgeting though, especially considering all the house purchases recently. Fortunately we’ve had it all planned for a while so I’ve got all my ISAs maxed out and some investment in place too. But I’ve had to think a lot about not buying new clothes, fabrics, sewing stuff and unnecessary things so that I can think about my health a bit more.
Anyway, so what’s this post all about? It’s about showing what fitness really looks like – for everybody. We’re inundated daily with images of before and after pictures, showing how amazingly a specific workout plan has worked for people; with #fitspiration images; with girls looking so perfect in their workout gear in the gym. And I don’t doubt that these people exist and that their pictures are real, but we don’t often see the other side of it – the part where we see what everybody keeping fit looks like.
I’m aware that I’m only just getting into doing regular exercise, and I’ve recently had to give myself another push to get back into it again after a couple of weeks of laziness. I’m attempting to swim at least once or twice weekly, and I’m trying to fit at least one gym session in there too. I’ve recently starting doing some circuit training (and absolutely destroyed my thighs for a good 3 or 4 days!). I’m also hoping to get back into doing some yoga and pilates too, even if that’s at home.
Running Tank Top: Nike via c/o SportsShoes | Running Shorts: Amazon | Bamboo Trainer Socks: Elle via c/o Sock Shop | Trainers: Amazon
So today, I decided to get my gym mat out and get a few pictures of #WhatFitnessLooksLike for me. These pictures aren’t perfect, and I certainly don’t look like one of those “after” pictures that you see – but that’s because fitness is an ongoing thing that I still need to work on. Usually my workout attire consists of something like this outfit: a breathable vest top or T shirt, a pair of shorts or leggings (usually shorts as I get too hot and don’t really care about covering up my legs!), a pair of good socks (more on this in a minute!) and trainers. I really should get a good pair of trainers some time, but for the time being, these are working for me – they’re supportive and breathable enough, but with my dodgy ankles I need to be careful. And this sounds strange, but getting a good pair of socks will do wonders. When I started running, I was wearing whatever socks I could find (ie. old Topshop tortoise print ones!). I then bought some proper exercise socks, but found these were too bulky and actually put pressure on the weak spots in my ankles. I’m now onto these Elle Bamboo Trainer socks which I’m loving – they’re really lightweight and made out of bamboo which helps to keep your feet cool and more hygienic when you’re exercising as well as meaning they’re really smooth and soft plus the grey colour I chose is actually really pretty!
To be perfectly honest with you, these pics don’t even really show what exercise looks like for me, considering I had to operate the camera to get these instead of focusing on what I was doing – ideally I would have got someone to help me, but no luck! But it does give you an idea of #WhatFitnessLooksLike for me. What about you though? What’s your exercise of choice, and what does it look like for you?
