I never imagined that I would like working out as much as I do now. I’ve gotten to the point where I feel unproductive and like I’m not fulfilling my day when I skip it. I was in sports for most of my life, softball since second grade and basketball since fifth grade, so I never really thought I needed to work out. At all. I was active enough in my eyes.

Then in May of my senior year, my sports career ended for good, and the most I was active was when I walked to my fridge to get food every now and then. I kept telling myself I was going to go for a run, that I was going to finally go to the gym with my sister, but that was all talk and no action. I spent the entire summer working, but not being active and actually working out. I knew it was going to catch up to me.

Finally, college started and I found that I had a lot of free time. Enough time to work out right? Nope, I turned to Netflix instead. My sister got me to go to Lund with her for about a week, but then I started making excuses and stopped going.

I finally started back up again when one of my friends convinced me to come with her to work out with her. We were pretty inconsistent at first, but then we finally pulled ourselves together, working out at the same time every night, taking a rest day on Fridays and Sundays.

Of course, we didn’t really know what we were doing at first, but we looked up workouts and did quite a few planks.

It can be hard to start, but once you fall into the routine and become more confident in what you are doing, it becomes a lot easier and even fun. It became something I looked forward to after dinner and after my workout buddy got off work. Not only was I becoming healthier physically, but I could tell just how much my mood was improving.

We’ve all heard of the runner’s high, and I can tell you that I definitely get that when I run. I still get tired, that’s inevitable, but once I get into my rhythm I don’t really want to stop. Every time I do a set of push-ups or planks, I get a feeling of accomplishment and I feel as though my body is thanking me. I always have more energy after working out, which sounds fake but I promise it’s true.

You may have read some other articles that encourage you to workout when you’re feeling a little down. I had a few days where I walked to the gym upset about something that had happened early, but afterwards I felt a lot better. I don’t know what the science is behind it, but I can tell you for sure that I am a much happier person now, and even more energetic. I plan on continuing to workout consistently throughout the week and encourage everyone to do the same. Just grab a workout buddy and go!

You don’t have to go crazy like you see in those fitness Instagram accounts. You don’t even have to go to the gym. You can do a bunch of exercises in your bedroom. The hardest part is starting, once you get past that it’s smooth sailing.