I Went Back To The Gym After 2 Years, And This Happened
Working out helps…more than you think.
I used to workout at the gym regularly. Lifting weights, doing crunches, and running on the treadmill — those were my thing.
But then, Covid-19 happened. So, I stopped.
Every place was closed. I couldn’t even go running in the park because of the strict lockdown. So, I used to do body workouts at home. But, they weren’t as effective as lifting weights at the gym. So, eventually, I stopped working out entirely.
I began losing my gains. My body became flappy.
Even after the lockdown ended, it was too risky to go to the gym. But, by the time the gym finally opened, I had lost my motivation to go.
I went running some days, but that didn’t last very long either.
Almost 2 years had passed since I first quit the gym. By then, I was a different person — physically and mentally. I spent most of my time alone doing my work, writing on my blog, reading books, and watching movies.
One day, I realized that I wasn’t doing very well mentally. I had stopped going out very often, most of my friends were out of touch, and I didn’t know how this happened.
A scary thought entered my mind — “Is this depression?” I started researching online. I came across a book called The Depression Cure by Stephen S. Ilardi. In his book, Ilardi mentioned exercise as an essential part of his six-step process to cure depression.
So, I decided to join the gym after 2 years. Surprisingly, I felt good, mentally, after just 1 week of going back to the gym.
I don’t know if my problem was depression. It could have been something else. Maybe a lack of socializing for a long time. But whatever it was, it’s gone now. And, I know for sure that exercise had something to do with it.
We know exercise is essential for your health. Yet, most of us have a hard time doing it.
With this experience, I now clearly understand the benefits of exercising — both physical and mental. So, I commit to exercising for the rest of my life. So should you.
