Fitting In

I have never imagine myself in going to the gym. Fitness was something I maintained with outdoor activities and sports. The variety of experiments and endorsements with ball games such as football, basketball and badminton are deemed sufficient for me. The most I did for strength training was occasional sit-ups and push-ups. Nothing more.

Those were the days

Things needed to be changed and evolved eventually. Life is not the same as you make several transitions from high school to work environment. Impediments are there all the way. Gone were the days where you can cycle to the nearby community field and have a kick with the neighbourhood kids. Gone were the days where you can spend the whole evening and under the revitalising drizzle throwing balls at hoops. There is also the fact that the accumulated injuries and age indicating to the body that you can't take the strain of over-executing the motor process that you only reminiscence during your youthful years.

Ultimately, things changed. I used to scoffed at the notion of going to the gym and exercise classes. That was two years ago. Nowadays, not only I use the facilities, I endorse the programs and classes that they can offer. 

If it wasn't for the persuasion of friends going along to a gym, I would not have advocate the idea of going to one. It started off with the basics, like treadmills and weights. Then, we decided to join one of the gym classes on offer, which is Les Mills' Bodycombat.

And they say the rest is history.

Bodycombat is thrilling to me because of its incorporation of martial arts into a fitness cardio workout with loud upbeat music. You punch, kick and slam your way out while burning the calories. It suits my fitness appetite as it's an ever moving class without the monotonous moves of just running or lifting weights. High intensity used to be my thing and Bodycombat gives me the need of getting pumped with adrenaline through one hour of workout.

Initially, it was exhausting. My coordination was bad and executing moves needed more effort than usual. However, one thing I learned is to persevere and getting the basics right and the next thing you know, you are eager to go for more, instead of dreading at the thought of attending these classes.

Moving to the UK meant further changes were needed. I am glad that I don't have to give up Bodycombat as it is available at my uni's sport centre. I successfully pursue some of my friends to join and they too have never looked back since. Eventually, we decided to go for other variations of gym classes. So far, we have tried Bodypump, Tabata, Zumba and Abs Blasts classes. Each with their functions and benefits to fitness.

My current fitness routine involves (if there are no events or work), Bodycombat for Monday and Tuesday, Tabata or ball games on Weds, Bodypump on Thurs and Fri and my usual Kendo classes on Sunday. Saturday is usually a fitness-free day, but usually working in the restaurant on a weekend "covered" for the fitness as well.

Few things that I learned since taking these classes:

• Get friends to go together. It makes you more committed to your cause. Friends encourages each other and prevents you from missing out.
• Discipline is important. Strive and make commitment to go. Second or third month into a class is normally when people started to give up. Once you get over the crucial stage, it will become a habit and less effort is needed to "persuade" yourself to attend.
• Think of the positives and benefits of attending the classes. This will make you more attached to the classes.
• Set goals. It might be increased weights during BodyPump or engage more level 2 moves in BodyCombat. Goals makes you push for the limit.

Going to the gym together helps motivation to exercise

Adapting is important. I know that I will need to change my routines again once I go back to the working life. However, committing to fitness is important. I won't go into the health benefits as it is all over the place, but getting and being fit and healthy should be a life goal.