Image: supplied.
About six months ago, the social basketball team I was playing in stopped, not long after, I decided to cancel my gym membership.
For three months, I did little to no exercise while my eating habits stayed exactly the same. The consequences of this slowly crept up on me – I felt sluggish, tired and my clothes felt tighter. Something had to give.
It’s now been three months since I started High Intensity Impact Training (HIIT) bootcamp. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve learnt some important things along the way.
1. The first session will be hard.
It sounds obvious, but it will be 10 times worse than you expect. I was the slowest of the group (despite being one of the youngest) and I had to stop halfway through to throw up. It took two days before I could walk properly again. But despite wanting (badly) to give up, I went back. Each time it got that little bit easier. And the feeling after completing a particularly hard workout got addictive.
2. Results won’t happen overnight.
You’re not going to wake up the day after your first workout with a six pack. Like your fitness levels, changes to your body (if that’s your goal) will take time to notice. I actually found I put on weight in the first few weeks – mainly because I was actually building muscle from exercising.
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3. You don’t have to give up everything you love
Being healthy doesn’t mean having to quit sugar or carbs or gluten. I have a big sweet tooth and was having something sugary after almost every meal because I wasn’t feeling satisfied. Now, I still have something sweet at least every other day – but I choose something that I know I’ll really enjoy rather than eating it for the sake of it. (Post continues after gallery.)