The Auto-ethnography of Fitness

As a person who has struggled with physical appearance, the only way in which I could get out of that state was by joining fitness. Being able to join the gym and start working on myself has helped me for the better. Fitness is the ability of being able to perform physical activities and stay fit and healthy. Since I have dealt with my physique, which then led to my unstable mental health, I can proudly say that I am content in how I feel about myself because I joined fitness.

Throughout my whole life, at an early age, I always thought I had to have a better physique. I wanted a body image that would please me and I’d be happy with. I tried many things, such as eating healthy, going on a calorie deficit and even worked out at home. But I came to the realization that none of this worked. I started to doubt myself and the fact that I wouldn’t get to where I wanted to get. Then, I started to think about the gym. I wasn’t really ready to go to a gym because I thought of it as a commitment and how I had to focus really bad if I actually decided to go. So I did. I went to the gym and decided to make a better version of myself. This is where it started to get hard and difficult for me to commit to fitness. I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t as consistent as I thought I would be. I became angry at myself because I thought to myself how I wasn’t ready for anything, I wasn’t ready to make a change in myself. At this point I wanted to give up but I decided to not. I did stop going to the gym but that didn’t stop me from living a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy. As the days passed by, I was happy with myself but not as much as i thought I should be. This is when I decided how I needed to take responsibility and tell myself I’m the only person who I need to rely on in order for me to make a better version of myself. Consistency is such an important role that plays in fitness, because for me, it’s what kept me going. Being able to go to the gym and having a routine made me feel as if what I was doing had a purpose. One of my best friends decided to help me and join me during this journey. She was the person that sort of gave me a push into working on myself and improve my mental health. I realized how much of an impact fitness has ones mental health. I can say this because for me, it impacted it in such a dramatic way. I recall moments in which I felt anxious and even felt depressed because I would see other people and thought to myself, “How do they have these perfect bodies”, “How do they do it…”. All of these questions I would ask myself but never found the answers to. My best friend and I decided to go to the gym and have a routine planned out so it would help us have an organized fitness life. But while I was at the gym, I would feel very insecure and sometimes even felt as if I didn’t belong there. I thought how all those people that surrounded me have their ideal body image or how they would judge someone like me by going to the gym. The feeling of judgment kicked in as I started working out. I felt as if all eyes were on me judging me as if why was I working out. This made me want to stop what I was doing, I wanted to quit on working on myself but realized how other people’s opinions shouldn’t affect you. Working out was a reason why I wanted to become a better person and be happy with how I looked. And so I went and continued working out with my best friend.

This image shows my friend Dayanna working out and trying to improve on herself. We both have the same routines because we both think having a similar routine would help us both to keep going and keep ourselves motivated. Working out with my best friend plays such an important part in my life because therefore, I do not feel alone. I realized working out made me feel the most happy. The following quote is very meaningful because it states, “I’ve been consistent with my fitness because I’m obsessed with how it makes me feel. Exercise makes me happy. It makes me feel confident. (A look at My fitness Journey and How it changed Me 25, September, 2020). I believe everyone should start their journey in fitness because not only did it changed me fro the better, but it made me become a new person. My best friend and I both noticed changes in ourselves.

I came to the realization how much of an impact fitness and workout out in general has in your life once you start taking it seriously. Not only is it good for you to have the ideal body image you want, but it helps reduce the risks of common health diseases such as heart conditions and even diabetes. Ever since, fitness has been so important to me and I consider it to play an important part in my life. It has changed me for the better and made me believe that anything is possible if you are consistent and rely on yourself only if you really want to see a change.

Works Cited
A look at My fitness Journey and How it changed Me 25, September, 2020
https://medium.com/in-fitness-and-in-health/a-look-at-my-fitness-journey-how-it-changed-me-4a4099b25d
Bri Healthy, A Reflection on my Fitness Journey 13, March, 2018
https://brihealthy.com/2018/03/fitness-journey-story/

Transcript of the Interview

Interviewer: Valery Arteaga
Interviewee: Dayanna Casares Valdez
Location of the Interview: My house

Interview:
Interviewer: “How long have you been going to the gym for?”
Dayanna: “I started going to the gym at the beginning of senior year and all this time I’ve been going but not as consistent”.
Interviewer: “Has fitness improved you mentally, physically, and/or both?”
Dayanna: “ I would say it had affected me in both ways in a positive and negative way, but mostly positive way. I have loved myself more ever since I started working out.”
Interviewer: “Do you think people who are struggling mentally, have to try working on themselves by going to the gym? Why?”
Dayanna: “I believe a lot of people go to the gym to try to better themselves and feel good about themselves and their bodies. But not everything has to be based upon your appearance. You should become a better version of yourself because you want to, not to please others.
Interviewer: “How do you stay committed on Fitness?”
Dayanna: “It has been very hard for me to stay committed to the gym because i’m not going to lie, I do get tired a lot but in order for me to focus, I make a routine. Routines oftenly help me keep myself organized and even more motivated.”