I would like to think that when it comes to motivation that I don’t usually need a push. Lately I had found that I was beginning to make up excuses on why I can’t fit in my exercise routine. Life, if it is even possible, has managed to get even busier. I have my new website and we also have started a boutique real estate agency TAYLORS Property Specialists, so the term #manyhatsmum has never been so real.
In doing all of this I found that I wasn’t going to the gym, I wasn’t even fitting in my 20 minutes each day that I recommended from my Keeping Fit blog!!! I had to actually go back and read my blog and take my own advice.
What I realised is that I had lost my motivation, my drive for exercise. I needed something to kick start me back into action. I had convinced myself that I now didn’t have time. Pretty ironic since I had just blogged about how you can find time and prioritise it. I had also convinced myself that I was not a morning person and anything that involved getting up prior to 6am was not going to happen.
It was during one of my makeup jobs, where I had the pleasure of doing the make up for Rebecca Douthwaite the owner of CORE Life magazine. She was on her very own journey Finding Forty. This included her 8 week challenge with Whitsunday Martial Arts. Whilst applying her makeup she was telling me about her challenge and how it included boxing. She then went on to say that they were doing 8 sessions a week! Yes I know what you are thinking, exactly what went through my head – there isn’t 8 days in a week!!!
Well that was my trigger, it was “boxing”, I hadn’t realised until then, that was what I had been missing, it was my motivation. I had begun group boxing sessions over 10 years ago, I had somehow managed to maintain these classes. Over the past couple of years I attended other classes, which have been great and I have absolutely loved.
But it wasn’t until she mentioned boxing, by boxing coaches that it really piqued my interest. So on a complete whim I attended a class.
It was a Friday afternoon class, as I seriously was not going to attend a morning class so afternoons it had to be. This class was called “conditioning” and then “striking” – I thought perfect that sounds like boxing to me.
Well, “conditioning” is a whole other level!! But determined to prove that I could do this I pushed through and stayed for “striking”. Yay! We got to box. I wasn’t so excited when I realised I had to use club gloves, that were quite sweaty and smelly (I went straight out after this class and bought my own).
By the end of the two sessions I was absolutely exhausted, I hadn’t worked so hard in a very long time.
Loved the striking session immensely – I was “hooked” (pardon the pun). However, my problem began when I realised that I couldn’t do the afternoon sessions, I had nowhere for my boys. The eldest is 13 years, but my youngest is only 5 years, I didn’t feel like dragging them along. They also had their sports commitments in the afternoons too. I just couldn’t do the afternoons. My only alternative to fuel my renewed motivation was to do the morning sessions.
Shock horror!! The girl that had professed her “I’m just not a morning person” was now getting up at 5.20am!! Not just once a week, but 3-4 times!!! I have now managed in the last 3 weeks to consistently work out 5 times a week, this is a record for me and something I haven’t achieved before.
The obsession really hit me the Wednesday session “Conditioning” or as I call it “a million and one things you can do with a plate weight.” I was literally dripping with sweat from head to toe, you could see it sliding off my legs, I looked outside and the day was beginning to shine and I thought to myself.
I absolutely stink, I’m so red in the face I look like a beetroot, I’m totally wrecked, but I am totally content as this is where I am meant to be.
I had found my motivation!