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Keeping Your Inner Athlete Motivated in the Face of Life Changes

Posted July 12, 2007 at 06:00 PM by Kristin Bland

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Her Health, Her Motivation, Special Features

I have always owned the identity of an athlete.  Practice schedules, conditioning, training-these have been ingrained in my person as the standard routine of every day.  This all started coming to a jolting halt, however, as I neared the end of my college years, and strode into the ‘real world’, as the elders in my life like to put it.  Besides the increased awareness of the cold reality of responsibility that continually cuts into my carefree social life, my athletic life has taken a huge hit as well.

In the face of securing one’s own living situation for the first time, and working hard to land that first job, an individual in her early twenties often ends up pushing her athletic life to the bottom of her list.  And I have learned, as many in my position surely have as well, that our inner athlete is yelling to be trained again.

A solid exercise life is important to help us brace ourselves against the ever-coming new experiences and uncertainties of branching out as a young adult for the first time.  But the structured routine so familiar growing up of a set practice schedule everyday after school, or that lax college schedule that can actually be planned around one’s workout routine, suddenly collides with the “real world” – it’s like trying to mix oil with water. 

The oil marks the rigid 8am to 5pm exhausting workday (with a commute added to both ends), and the water represents our neglected exercise life.  Being pushed hard both personally and by your new bosses in order to prove yourself worthy on your work-team, much like the effort put forth in your past athletic career when joining a new sports-team, hardly leaves you with enough energy by the end of the work day to face the demands of the running trail. 

Basically, the question presented to you at this turning point in your life is: “Are you truly an athlete?” The only way to answer “YES!” is to go out there and push that inner athlete into action once again.  As stated by my dad who, being a runner himself, faced this same challenge as a young man: “Refuse to not run.”

Alas, it is time to resist and adapt.  Resist the false sense that there is no energy or time left in this brand-new young adult life timetable to devote to being an athlete, and adapt to the new ways that must be found in order to continue your athletic endeavors. 

Each individual will have a personal way of managing life and sports, but here are a few discoveries I’ve made which helped me cement training time into my busy days.

If you prefer to workout in the morning before work, motivation for jumping out of bed and into your running shoes at 5am can be difficult to find, so organize everything for the next day’s work (lunch, clothes picked out, documents ready, coffee ready to make, etc.) the night before.  As a fellow young colleague of mine says, “That way I don’t even think about it.  My alarm goes off, I’m up, grab my stuff, and I’m off.”

However, if you’re more like me, then your body responds better when you work out in the evenings.  After starting work, I was quick to find that if I headed home to change, my motivation for that 5 mile run I love so much suddenly seemed less appealing than the cozy hammock outside.  Therefore, I forbid going home after work.  I keep my workout gear in my car, decide during the day what type of exercise I want to do, and then drive straight to the gym, running trail, or climbing park.

Find something you can dedicate your athletic energy to, and then put yourself on a regular training schedule.  Good ways to follow through with this are by joining a class or a team.  My sister, a woman in her early twenties as well, committed to a regular workout routine by registering for marathons.  She says that by just registering for a race, the discipline to train for it becomes easier.

As Sylvester Stallone says in Rocky Balboa - concerning his drive to fight yet another fight - “There’s still some stuff in the basement.” And, let us not forget - he is in his 60’s, not 20’s.  So the next time you feel you have nothing left to give to a workout at the end of the day, remember that, as an athlete, there is always strength and determination left in the basement.  Settle into a routine and embrace these new beginnings!

Photo: ©istockphoto,com

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Tags: athletics, fitness, health, juggling career and exercise, scheduling time to work out, time management, tips for working out, work, working out

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