You Know Exercise is Your ‘Thing’ when…

Last Updated on July 23, 2017

This is an original entry writen by me, mostly on how exercise had changed my life. Does any of it describe how exercise changes yours?

1. You felt something is seriously wrong by the third consecutive day that you have not exercised.
2. You plan your life around exercising instead of planning exercising around your life.
3. You find excuses to exercise instead of skipping it
4. Your idea of exercising does not involve taking the stairs or doing housework, it involves intensive workout at the cardio machine
5. Still, scrubbing the dirty stains on the white tiles in your bathroom no longer become a dreaded chore like what it used to- instead you use it as an opportunity to work on your biceps and triceps, and your thigh muscles coz your’re squating
6. You no longer get upset when you can’t find a parking close to the entrance- you don’t mind parking much further away and take a walk
7. When your friends commented that you look good, you start preaching about exercising to them.
8. You start a blog that talks a lot about exercise and update it regularly
9. Exerting yourself during exercise give you a kind of adrenaline high- that you begin developing an addiction for it
10. When you travel, you prefer to walk around a lot to really explore the place- for miles and miles
11. If you happen to take the train and it breaks down, you don’t get angry- you’ll just walk to the nearest bus stop (about 3 stations away) and take a bus home.
12. When there are lots of stuff to carry and trolley is not provided, you do not mind to make a few trips to and fro your car to load up.
13. You think of carrying heavy stuff as another form of weight training- and no longer complain carrying too much groceries
14. You don’t mind carrying your heavy gym bag to work.
15. Sometimes you go to the gym once in the morning before work and again after work.
16. You are willing to sacrifice that extra hour of morning sleep in exchange for a morning gym workout- and that is despite you not being a morning person
17. Your idea of the best way to unwind after a stressful workday is a trip to the gym or the park.
18. There’s something about exercising that motivates you more than just fitting into nice clothes, even though it is a most welcomed side effect.
19. You attempt to plan family or friends’ outing to places that you get to exercise- such as to the club, hiking, cycling, disco dancing, nice scroll at the park.
20. You don’t mind walking the extra mile, literally
21. You look at your sedentary friends and wish that they knew the joys of exercising, like what you’ve known.
22. Your friends know if they ever complain about being tired, overweight, unhealthy, they are going to have hear ‘the let’s start exercising’ talk from you.
23. You enjoy mixing and discussing about health and fitness with like-minded friends
24. When you and another like minded friend get together, both of you will be so engrossed discussing about each other’s exercise programs that you are oblivious to other people in the room.
25. You always try to scout for more exercise programs, tips and ideas, that means lots of time spent pouring over Shape Magazine, Men’s Health, and YouTube (looking for more exercise programs)
26. There are times you laze off exercising for a few days and feel oh so yuckie. But when the moment you managed to drag your butt to the gym, you experience the exhilirating effects and you’re wondering why you even want to stop exercising in the first place
27. Fast food and sugarly/fried food no longer rule your life mainly because you realise that they ruin your exercise performance and speed.
28. You know what is Glycemic Index because you know taking food in low or moderate G.I gives you an optimum workout
29. Your idea of a good reunion or gathering is definitely not going for a buffet, because you know you will not eat your money’s worth.
30. Because you exercise so often, your hormones are more regulated- so sugar cravings (related to insulin and blood sugar) no longer rules your life.
31. When you exercise, you are ‘in the zone’, ie very focused -what goes around you does not really matter.
32. You do not enjoy having a talkative friend next to you during workouts, because it slows you down and destroys your focus. You would much prefer to save the chat for the coffee shop or the phone
33. You constantly attribute the good things in your life, such as increased energy, losing weight, feeling good to exercising.
34. When you watch TV or listen to the radio, often your favorite music gets your moving.
35. You don’t mind exercising alone, after all, you are ‘in the zone’ when you exercise. In fact, you prefer exercising alone.
36. Portable exercise gears such as running shoes, exercise band are a must when you travel- and you really use them
37. When people you cared about give you reasons why they don’t wanna exercise, you patiently counter every reason by selling the benefits of exercising. If you are not able to address your friend’s objection, you will take the trouble to research and find the solution.
38. If you ever get bored of your regular exercise program, it never occured to you to stop exercising- you’ll just look for other alternatives. For instance, you try playing tennis, scating, futsall instead of just working out in the gym
39. If you’ve used to have bad temper, the condition improved because most of the anger energy are vent out in the cardio machines. Your loved ones find you a better person to live with.
40. It gets to the point that you always have your favourite exercise equipment nearby- so instead of making trips to the fridge or staring absent mindedly during the ads, you are on the floor or the ball trying out a new exercise program
41. You carry reading materials with you whenever you are waiting in the line at the bank or at public transport-nope, it’s not the latest fiction bestseller- but a book or magazine about exercise programs that interests you
42. You enjoy setting exercise goals for yourself- like increasing your effort levels or improving your timing. And the moment you achieve that goal, you set a higher one
43. Strangely enough, you started to develop interest to learn the scientific name of various muscle groups what type of workout will help built those muscles- when you used to hate biology or anatomy in school.
44. When you accidentally sprain something during exercising, you feel blue because you know you will be down and out for a few days.
45. Sometimes out of desperation, you will squeeze in gentle move or exercise a different part of your body
46. Then after that, you take great precaution to minimize risk of any injury
47. You try to cure certain conditions like headaches and mentrual cramps with exercises like yoga, and are amazed when they work.
48. You are no longer breathless when you run up a flight of stairs
49. You have successfully made people started exercising because they are inspired by you living example. Even those who have not started are seriously thinking about starting.
50. You become very creative when it comes to exercising- raining everyday and you can’t jog at the park? No worries, there’s always a dance music playlist for a great workout at home. Nothing stops you.

OK, by now you will think that exercise addicts like us have no life. Let us assure you that we really do. I have known a few colleagues who made it a point to run in the park every day after work- and they are very happily married and hold high corporate positions. And yes, they have their own site on running.