Learning to love exercise plus a chance to win with Zando

Some people just seem to love exercise, I am just not one of them. I’ve never been one to wake up in the morning ready to hit gym, climb a mountain or go for a run. To be honest, there are a ton of other things that I would prefer to do… like snuggle in bed with a cup of coffee. However, a few months ago, I just knew that my body was in desperate need of some exercise, and so I signed up to a gym… again. It’s been about three months now (which is early days) but I am slowly learning to love exercise.

I honestly never thought that I would enjoy my hour three times a week at gym, and a lot of the time I don’t because it’s never ever easy but I have noticed some amazing changes both physically and emotionally since I’ve started working out. I know a lot of you out there are in the the same exercise-hating boat as me and so I wanted to share what has helped me enjoy exercise as well as some changes that I have noticed.

Getting a trainer totally changed the game for me. I used to go to gym and faff around on the treadmill, maybe spend a few minutes doing the circuit and then call it a day. I was bored and I wasn’t noticing any changes and so I took the financial plunge and started training with Mike who owns Deshi Basara Training Academy. Training with a professional and someone who is incredibly knowledgeable makes gym so much more interesting and I know that the exercises that Mike sets out for me are the ones that are going to help me smash my fitness goals. I find that it also helps me be consistent with going to gym three times a week, every week. My sessions with Mike are in my diary, I’ve made the financial commitment and if I cancel I mess up his schedule, these three factors push me to go to gym, even when I don’t want to)

I didn’t expect to feel so differently emotionally. It’s no secret that I have post natal depression, it’s something that I have battled for a little while and although I have been on medication that works so incredibly well, I haven’t felt as good, emotionally, as I do right now, now that I am exercising regularly. We all know that when we get moving our body releases the endorphins, the happy chemical and so after you’ve done your workout, you really do feel that exercise high (despite being so exhausted you want to pass out), I 100% this, but I didn’t think that exercise would have such a huge impact on my mental health as it does.

Comfy workout gear makes my life a ton easier. When I first started gymming again, I really didn’t have proper gym clothes, I really didn’t think that they were neccessary. However, after spending a few sessions pulling my leggings up and trying to keep my shirt from riding up, I bought a select few items. My two newest additions are these star cluster leggings from Custom Apparel that I bought from Zando with a voucher that they sent me (keep reading to the end to see how you can win your own voucher!). They are higher waisted than my other leggings which I love, it means that I don’t have to constantly pull them up. They are also made from 100% Echelon which means that they have slightly more stretch but they don’t look thin.

Another addition to my workout wardrobe is the Shock Absorber Power Workout sports bra that Choose Me Intimates sent me a few weeks ago. I’m not exactly a flat chested gal and so when I work out, I need a decent amount of support. Originally I was just using the normal t-bar unpadded sports bras but I found that they hurt and the support was pretty much zero. The Shock Absorber sports bra has adjustable straps and the light padding makes it incredibly comfortable.

Making time for exercise made me realise how much time I waste. For a long time I maintained that I just did not have time for exercise, I was way too busy with important commitments (like looking after my kid and working) to carve out an hour three times a week to go to gym. When I decided to get moving again, I sat down with my diary and highlighted every single free minute that I had during the day between working and looking after Aria. And what do you know, I found a full 90 minutes, enough time to go to gym and then come home and shower. It’s not at the most ideal time, it’s as soon as Dan gets home and the minute that I get back from gym (absolutely shattered), we start with Aria’s night time routine of dinner, bath and bed. But I found the time. I thought that I would have to really work a lot harder during the day to catch up on “all the important work” that I do during those 90 minutes. Turns out, I didn’t need to. All I had to do was to stop scrolling mindlessly through social media every ten minutes or quit procrastinating by watching another episode of series. Once I put my mind to it, I found that I actually had quite a bit of extra hours in the day if I just used my time wisely.

Zando has very kindly given me a R500 voucher to give away to one of you to use on some new sports gear. They really have a huge variety so you will be spoilt for choice! Entering is super simple, there are 4 different ways to enter, you can do one or all of them, it’s totally up to you!

  1. Follow me on Twitter and tweet “I want to win a R500 Zando voucher from @mascara_mimosas so that I can buy some new workout gear! You can enter too: https://goo.gl/2pSrBd”
  2. Comment on this blog post and tell me what you love the most about exercise.
  3. Follow me on Facebook and tag two friends in this post.
  4. Follow me on Instagram and tag two friends in this post.

Rules:

  • Open to South African residents only
  • Giveaway ends at 00:00 on 19 October and winners will be announced on 20 October.
  • The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize, after which a new winner will be drawn
  • Spammers will be disqualified

Photographs: Chloe from Kiss Kiss Photography (seriously, she is incredible!)

Sports bra: Shock Absorber from Choose Me Intimates

Leggings: Custom Apparel from Zando

Trainers: Adidas

Save

Save

Save

Save

South African Influencer Sarah Booyens

I’m Sarah, shameless coffee addict, brazen beauty fiend, mid-size style gal and the heart behind parentingbeauty and lifestyle blog, Mascara & Mimosas.

63 Comments

  1. I love that feeling after exercise – accomplishment! I need to get back to exercising regularly!

    Reply
  2. What I love most about exercising is the pain I feel afterwards it pushes me to work hard and let’s me know that I’m doing the right thing. #NoPainNoGain. Another thing I love about exercising is feeling energised and confident. Knowing that I’m doing something to improve my self confidence is just such a empowering feeling.

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. My struggle with post natal depression - an update | Mascara & Mimosas - […] I started to gym properly at the same time that I decided to stop taking my antidepressants and I…

Leave a Reply to Megan Buhrmann Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This