Catching the Fitness Bug: Over and Over Again

Working out with JIllian Michaels…just one step in my long fitness journey.

It’s a New Year and time for a new Question of the Week! This time each FBG is answering the somewhat long-winded question: “When did you catch the fitness bug where it went from occasional ‘I should do this’ to the promised land of loving workouts and ‘I want to do this?'”

First of all, did anyone else think of that Nelly and Tim McGraw song when they read this headline? Just me? Okay…

Being a founding member of Fit Bottomed Girls, you could imagine that I’ve caught the fitness bug a time or two. You might think it’s probably a chronic condition. And that’s mostly true. But while I do love my workouts and try my darndest to fit them in come hell or high water, I’ll admit that sometimes my fever is more raging than others. Sometimes it feels like a torrid love affair; other times more like a reliable old friend. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m human, and as my priorities in life have shifted, so too have my workouts and my love for them.

Just like Jenn, I’ve had several standout moments in my life that got me hooked.

First Time I Caught the Fitness Bug: Youth, the Early Years. I don’t know exactly how old I was when I started tagging along next to my mom doing Gilad and Denise Austin’s workouts when they were on ESPN, but it must have been middle school and high school, if not before. We’d tape them, on VHS, people. I loved feeling the burn and loved the 80s and 90s aerobics fashion. From there, I got hooked on ESPN Fitness Pros (please tell me someone else knew and loved that show, too) and then Donna Richardson’s 4-Day Rotation Workout. I could wear out a VHS, I swear.

Second Time I Caught the Fitness Bug: I worked out off and on throughout college, but really upped the ante one summer for love. I got the wild idea to join Red Dog’s Dog Days in Lawrence, Kansas—a summer-long community exercise program. It was free to attend, and you got a T-shirt if you hit a certain number of workouts. It was also at 5 p.m. In the summer. In Kansas. And my massive crush and future husband attended. So I joined the crowd of people who would run stadium stairs and do push-ups and mountain climbers, dripping sweat (from the heat) and drool (from drooling over my hubby to be). I got the T-shirt, two years in a row, and, in fact, I got the guy.

Third Time I Caught the Fitness Bug: Starting FBG was a huge boost to my fitness endeavors. I had dabbled, obviously, but having to write about my adventures made me have more adventures! It’s hard to have fitness fodder when you’re not working out. So I really started trying out DVDs and working out even more regularly, but I really, really got the bug when I got a personal trainer for the first time. It rocked my world and my bod in a major way. I was so hooked, and seeing so much progress in my strength was encouraging.

Looking for My Fourth: The last three years have been more about fitness survival mode than anything. I’ve had two kiddos and have had to de-prioritize my fitness a little. It’s not that it’s not a priority, because it is. I joined a gym and get there as often as I can. Whether or not I get a workout in is another story. But even writing this makes me miss that burning desire to feel the burn. It makes me miss the fun that is working out hard. Hmm. I might be feeling another fitness bug catching…

Like Jenn, it’s been a journey. And I know that for me, it’s totally normal for my fitness love to ebb and flow. I’ve fallen off the wagon and hopped back on. So when I’m between major fitness love affairs, I keep the fires burning, stay as active as I can in the meantime, and wait for that spark to turn into another roaring blaze, which it totally will.

Do you find your love for exercise ebbs and flows depending on your priorities? —Erin