Getting "back into it" after taking some time off.

I think about physical activity as a chain of sources of inspiration. First, I usually think about what people in my family do. My father runs and swims on a regular basis and used to rock-climb. My mother is a professional horse trainer. My cousin and his father surf, lift weights, and have their own home gym. These are all some of my first sources of inspiration. Next, I think about what my friends do. While most of my family is not really into sports, a lot of my friends grew up playing a wide variety of sports. So, naturally, I got into it too, which has helped me stay physically active. A few notable ones include baseball, basketball, cross country, ultimate frisbee, and track and field. I have had cherished moments in all of these sports and have experienced the satisfaction of hard work and reward for all of these domains. However, I have also experienced moments in time where the sport has either gotten too competitive, or moments where I have had other priorities in life, such as finishing my college degree. Knowing that I, myself, am not going to become a professional athlete, these have been reasons why I quit.

Formerly a cross country and track & field athlete, it was about being the best in the sport that I could be for a long time, and that certainly held me over for a while. But after a certain extent, I also knew that no matter how much or how hard I trained, that there was always going to be someone who was outdoing, out-training, and perhaps was just outright better than I was. For me, it got to a level of commitment where I could no longer see myself balancing that out along with having time to study, holding a job to support myself financially, and having a social life, among a few matters.

So, during my final semesters at college, I'll be honest: I became pretty spacy in my own workouts for a period of time; I didn't necessarily have any specific event or particular sport that I was trying to get in shape for. So, knowing that I was not going to become a "professional athlete", what could I possibly train for? I could still help others with their own workout goals in what they want to achieve. I can share and help based on what has worked on me in past experience, but after doing some self-examination, what, ultimately, is in it for me?

For me, the answer currently lies in "for life".

That means using exercise as part of my physical and mental well-being. However, it also means participating in whatever brings me the most fun and enjoyment; exercise that you can do just for fun. That may come, but it may not. Maybe, that will show up in the form of training for something significant such as a half or full marathon, or maybe it will show up in trying to build more muscle in the gym.

If you take some time off from activity, such as a need to focus in school, I completely understand, as obligations such as academics or spending time with friends/roommates can take over your time. And if it seems hard to "get back into" whatever you had been previously doing activity wise, I also completely understand. Going through that sort of phase myself.

Even for non-training purposes, activity could even be just doing an activity that you like to do for fun, such as playing a game of pick-up basketball or tennis, or just lifting weights and running, for personal enjoyment. As long as it is some form of physical activity, it is most certainly better than none at all.