6 Things I’ve Learned On My Fitness Journey

My fitness journey began during my university days, back in 2015, when I fell in love with home workouts. Since then, my fitness journey has taken on new paths, and somewhere along the way, I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a person. I’ve had successes, I’ve had failures and I’ve had a lot of lessons to learn from, that’s for sure.

In this blog post, I share with you all 6 things I’ve learned on my fitness journey so far. If you’re just starting out, or need a little bit of a helping hand, then perhaps you’ll find this post helpful in finding your own success in your personal fitness journey.

1. Fitness isn’t one size fits all

No matter what the latest fitness trend is, fitness doesn’t fit all. Over the years, I’ve gone from working out in the comfort of my living room to deadlifting 110kg during a CrossFit class, and along the way I’ve slowly come to realise that it takes months, if not years, to figure out what your passion is when it comes to fitness.

I always say that whatever keeps you coming back for more is what will work for you in the long run. Figure out what is best for YOU. What are your goals? What do you enjoy? What workouts motivate you? Do you prefer yoga or lifting weights? It’s important to ignore the trends and the workouts your favourite influencers do, and instead focus on yourself. There really is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to fitness, so get out there, experiment and find what makes you tick. Nowadays, I love a mix of everything: yoga, running, weight lifting & swimming.

2. Rest is a part of training

I learned the hard way that rest is just as important as your workouts. It’s so incredibly important to allow your body to rest so it can recover and grow, and most importantly, so you can utilise your training! Thinking about it now, I used to feel somewhat proud of myself for going weeks without taking a rest day, but now I couldn’t think of anything more damaging!

I often speak about the importance of rest days on my IG page, especially as I’ve had to help support my body with imbalanced hormones over the past year, so for me, rest is just as important as what I do in the gym. I can happily say that I now work out 3x a week while synching my hormones to my menstrual cycle to help support my body further!

3. Your fitness journey will change over time (and that’s ok)

I think as humans we often fear change, especially when it comes to what we already know, but over the years you’ll find that your workouts will change, especially as you go through different phases in your life. When I first started working out I worked out from home following a guide that mostly consisted of cardio 5x a week. Since then I’ve tried my hand at CrossFit, running almost half a marathon, yoga and I’ve even got back into swimming.

It’s safe to say my fitness journey has certainly changed over the years and what I’ve realised most along the way is to fully embrace the change. Because whatever I did at that moment in time, I did it because I enjoyed it. And when things started to shift again, it’s because I needed a boost of motivation or a change of scene (and that’s ok).

4. Too much of a good thing can be bad

I suppose this ‘lesson’ comes from my heart as it’s one of my biggest regrets in my fitness journey. I’ve been battling with imbalanced hormones for almost 3 years now, which were caused by overtraining, under-fuelling & not allowing my body the rest it truly deserves. While exercise can be extremely beneficial to our health, it’s also a stress to the body and just like anything, too much of a good thing can still be bad for you.

Over-exercising can increase cortisol levels and too much cortisol can wreak havoc on the body, including imbalanced hormones, poor sleep & mental health issues. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Fuel well, maintain a healthy relationship with exercise, prioritise sleep, listen to your body & take enough rest days. Signs of overtraining include poor sleep (waking up in the middle of the night), increased PMS, little to no progress with your workouts, mood swings, period issues, weight gain, water retention, bloating, and more.

5. It’s not about the calories you burn

I used to get so hung up about the calories I burnt at the end of my workout that I often chose the most intense workout just so I could feel like I really smashed an intense workout (I know, I know, you don’t need to tell me). Now, I’ve learned to ignore the number because I’ve finally learned that the real importance is how you feel after a workout – not the silly little score at the end of a workout.

Focusing on what really makes me feel good in the gym (or wherever I am), has actually really helped me progress well throughout my fitness journey. It’s allowed me to find my true passions, whereas before, I would have ignored exercises like yoga or mobility work because they ‘simply didn’t burn enough calories’. Although, let me just say that yoga can burn a heck load of calories! That stuff is sweatyyy!

Luckily, I’m in a really good mindset with exercise now, and depending on how I feel on the day, I’ll choose whatever exercise my mind and body craves that day – not how much it’ll burn. Love that for me.

6. Health > fitness

I’ve left the most important one till last. It’s taken me a long time to prioritise my health before my gym goals, but I’m at a point in my life where if I don’t feel good or haven’t slept well the night before, I won’t workout. Period.

I’ve learned along the years that while fitness can feel like it’s doing wonders for my body, it can in fact be doing the opposite.

Nowadays, whenever I find myself lacking in motivation (yes, really), I ask myself how I’ve been treating my body…

Am I sleeping ok? Or am I waking up throughout the night?

Am I consuming too much social media?

How’s my anxiety doing?

Do I feel tired?

Did I get more than 7 hours sleep last night? If not, does my body REALLY need to go to the gym?

What was my recent period like? Was it later or earlier than ususal? (note: those on the pill will find it harder to track as you’re experiencing a fake period).

The days when I start feeling unmotivated, stressed and fatigued, I no longer see the gym as a priority. Instead, my health HAS to come first. So many of us view fitness as a key priority when it comes to our health, but actually, if you’re running on 5 hours sleep 6x a week, then you’ll probably best off sacking your 5.30am workout for some much needed zzzzzzz and taking things easy.

What do you think? I’d love to know what you’ve learned during your fitness journey in the comments below. Come and say hi!