When I bump into old friends who know how important fitness is for me, they will at some point inevitably ask me, "So what's your routine now?" This has become a tougher question to answer than I would have expected.
I recently went through a 3-month stretch from October to December last year when I completely stopped exercising. To my memory, I haven't taken such a long break for at least five years and by end December, I had never felt so unfit in possibly my entire life. Even when I tried to start small and jog 3km, it required a 5 minute break every 1km I ran when in the past, I'd crank out 10km for fun.
Of course there were times I tried to start back up during these three months but I just couldn't hack it. On reflection, it was because I had become too idealistic about what a workout should consist of. I had a gym membership to Jatomi which allowed me to have a dedicated schedule three times a week. My routine was to do chest on the first day, back on the second day and legs on the third day, starting with a strength portion for 30-40 minutes, and finishing with a 15 minute MetCon circuit.
Following this routine religiously allowed me to build discipline and structure in my fitness journey. But this all changed when I did not stay on at my company and decided to transfer my gym membership to my colleague at the end of September. I had grown so used to my routine that not having the same access threw me off completely - a workout just didn't feel worth it unless I could do what I had grown used to.
I had no idea how easy it was to stop being diligent about working out. It's a slippery slope down once you start building momentum and with our generation's infatuation with 'busyness', before you could say 'Jack Robinson', I had filled up every exercise slot with other activities, mainly lounging on the couch watching TV or playing with the kids...
As with every beginning of the year, I decided to do something about the situation with a resolution to build fitness back up in my life. I had to reassess my need to have a 'perfect' workout and go with what my body could manage. At the same time, I decided to go back to college and this needed to be taken into account as well; I did not want to spend any money because my income had stopped and I was dramatically surprised at the demands on my time as a student (I actually sleep well after the entire household has fallen asleep and I leave for class before any of them wake up).
So in a nutshell, my new routine is called the 'whatever I can squeeze in as long as I try to manage a sweat out three time a week' workout. So when I head to my in-law's place to pick up the kids, I sometimes do a quick 20 minute jog around the neighbourhood before dinner. Or after class on Thursdays, I try to do an Insanity session with my classmates. Or on Friday before cell, I squeeze in a weight session at my apartment gym before my wife drops off the kids so I can watch them while she does visitations.
I don't have the luxury of making sure I get my chest day in anymore or considering an expensive membership at a crossfit gym run by my cousin-in-law which I actually really, really want to go to. One thing I do like is that I don't feel the burden of having an ideal workout anymore. If on my off-day I feel like hiking Bukit Tabur, I do it at 6am and can be down before 8am for breakfast, and it counts as one of my three workouts for the week.
It's been a rather refreshing to approach my fitness in this way and because I went through that three-month stretch, I can slowly feel myself getting stronger and fitter even without a dedicated, focused routine. I just get out there, move and sweat it out. And I've found that I'm having far less injuries and muscle soreness as well because I'm not constantly trying to push my limits. I may not be at a place of optimal muscle building but it's been fun with more variety and less pressure.
Who knows? Maybe when this all plateaus, I'll need to find a way to pivot my fitness journey again in the middle of the year. But for now, this is what works for me and I'm still seeing progression, which is a pretty good deal when put in context of how crazy my schedule has become and my commitment to always be there for my family as well.
