I have never been one to like working out. Just the thought of running can make me feel tired and out of breath. I would much rather be watching TV than going to the gym. I have also never been one to like to work out in front of people. Workout days in P.E. in high school made my anxiety skyrocket because I’d be surrounded by all these people who were in shape while I could barely keep up with the exercises. I felt like I always needed to be at the same level as everyone else.

When I started working out 4 months ago, I started with the mentality of “If something is too hard, I will do the modification version of it, and I won’t be ashamed of it.” After all, Bob Harper always says in his Biggest Loser workout DVDs “It is better to do the modification for the full time period than stop halfway doing the regular version.” That is something that really stuck with me. It was important to realize that I was completely out of shape, and I had to work myself into doing longer, tougher workouts. I think that I’ve always hated working out because I never could do every exercise to the full capability, and I would get down on myself as a result. With this new found mentality, I was able to do a workout and still want to push myself to work out the next day, and the next, and so forth.

Now, working out is a part of my everyday routine. I feel nasty and sluggish if I am unable to work out one day. It helps me to relax, focus, and de-stress. Don't get me wrong, there are still days where I have no desire to workout. These are the days where I choose a more fun or lighter workout. And I still push myself to get through it. Even 4 months in, there is still many exercises where I have to do the modification version, but I am still not ashamed of it. There are exercises where I now can do the regular version, and it makes me so proud of myself. I love being able to see my progress. I now don’t feel ashamed working out in front of people at the gym. I know that I am doing the best I can, and I don’t care if other people are doing better than me. The sooner I made myself realize that we are all at different levels, the quicker I was able to like working out. Working out is more of a mind game. You have to learn to like it, and the results will come.