While I’m still relatively young on the whole (hoped for) lifespan scale, I, like the rest of you, am older than I used to be. I’ve been exercising for as long as I can remember, starting my fitness life with track and basketball while I was still in elementary school and continuing into my work as a fitness instructor and yoga teacher.
Over the years, a few things have changed in regard to my fitness life: motivation, interests, and other gym-related issues. Some are very, very good. Some are…different, anyway. Maybe you’ve experienced some of the same? My current 33-year-old exercising self is quite different from my 20-year-old exercising self.
I’m not trying to get anyone else’s body.
20-year-old me was still thinking if I only worked out the right way, I could get arms like Cameron Diaz and abs like Gwen Stefani. (And I was lamenting that it wasn’t looking like I’d manage to get Kate Winslet’s boobs.) Thankfully, that nonsense is gone. They’re beautiful women in beautiful bodies, but mine is pretty great, too. Mine is healthy. It does yoga, it runs marathons. It’s MINE.
It’s a lot more fun to work hard and see how the results show up for me. How could I appreciate my own strength or muscle definition if I’m comparing it to someone else’s?
I appreciate different ways for my body to be fit.
When I started college, I started lifting. I loved my muscular body and I got to know myself that way. It became my personal standard. I never imagined there would be a day when I wasn’t lifting like that.
Then I got more into yoga. I moved to South America and quit teaching 21 fitness classes per week. I didn’t always have a gym. I took ballet classes for six months. I trained for that marathon. With each adjustment to my workout routine, my body changed shape to match. Certain activities got easier while others got harder, but all the while I was fascinated by the way my body adapted. Today I’m not as muscular as I was 10 or even five years ago (and as a result I weigh about 10 lbs less), but I’m okay with that.
I’m more forgiving.
In my early 20s, missing a workout day that was not a scheduled rest day was not acceptable. Now, missed days happen sometimes. It’s okay, because I know from experience that tomorrow I’ll get back to it. The habit is ingrained in me.
Even within the workout, I’m much easier on myself. In those days, workouts happened no matter what. Now, there are just some days that don’t feel right, some days when I’m truly fatigued. I had one of those last week: I started my workout and realized, wow, my body does not want to do this today. After all these years, I know that’s not laziness talking. It’s my body talking, telling me about a genuine concern that it very rarely has. So I cut the workout short.
What I eat makes a more noticeable difference.
I’m not even talking about weight gain (although that would be true, as well), but about how it affects my workouts. If I have more than a couple of glasses of wine in an evening, I will not be exercising until at least afternoon the next day.
6:00am workouts are HARD.
I used to do them all the time. I preferred them, even after being up late. Now I avoid them, even though I’m usually awake at that time. It takes me longer to get charged up and ready to go nowadays. The 8:00am class I go to at my gym once per week is pushing it. 9:00am is more manageable. When I was marathon training, I generally didn’t hit the road until 9:00.
Nothing feels better than yoga.
If 20-year-old me had a limited amount of time for exercise, I would lift weights and maybe take a short, fast run. Now, if I only have time for one activity, I do yoga.
How as your exercise routine changed as you’ve gotten older?
