Recommit to Your Fitness Day is April 5, 2025
I considered myself an athlete for most of my life. I played sports growing up and taught aerobics classes pre-kids. After kids, the time got short for all that, but I still found time to get some exercise in. Until I didn’t.
As a single mom (or any mom), trying to prioritize things in my life felt like a losing game. Something eventually had to give.
Regular workouts became sporadic until the only exercise I was getting was a weekly game of recreational sand volleyball. It was something, but I needed more but had no motivation to do more.
Lucky for me I have two active teenage girls living in my house.
My girls remember my workouts at home when they were young. They remember the example I set for them. And they, too, want to be strong and healthy. So recently they encouraged me to join the gym with them. This might be one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. The benefits have been amazing.
As we have begun our trips to the gym together, I have gotten to share my knowledge of working out with them. And they have gotten to share what they know with me. I have gotten to spend time with my girls that is different from watching a movie together or eating dinner around the same table. We have a common goal, to feel stronger and more confident.
In the car, we talk about the day ahead or the day that is just finishing. When we get there, we might go separate ways to the bike, the stairclimber, the treadmill, but we come back together here and there to encourage each other or teach each other new exercises. Often we cool down together as we recount our successes from the past hour and give high fives.
I can’t do some of the things I used to do, I’m not as fast as I used to be, and I can’t lift as heavy as I once could, and I really thought that would matter, but I’ve found that being the strongest, fastest, or most knowledgeable isn’t what’s important now. Am I interested in being strong and fit? Sure. But I’m more interested in feeling healthy and spending time with my kids.
After a lifetime of sports and coaching others, this might be the best part. Getting to grow with my kids in strength, perseverance, and relationships. If there was ever a better reason to recommit to my fitness, I don’t know what it is.
