The last place I worked as an employed staff, my co-workers, who were all females, once in a season decided to take fitness to another level. So, five of them out of nine enrolled in a very expensive gym center and took permission from our boss to resume work a bit late on the gym days.
When I found out the huge amount of money they paid for the enrollment, I couldn’t believe my ears—it was almost equivalent to their salary for a month and it was on a monthly basis. Each time they came back, they would show us videos of the kind of things they did there, and funny enough, it was all dancing they were doing. So I went on to suggest to them that they could use our not-regularly-used hall every morning to do the dancing by themselves, and go on to get some fitness videos on YouTube to follow. It would be fun for them since they were many, and it would help them cut down on that expensive cost. But my simple advice ended up earning me the “you’re too stingy” look.
I’m one of those people who believe that keeping fit shouldn’t be extravagant or that going to a gym center must be the only way. Just like me—sometimes I find myself doing some press-ups in my house before or after bathing. I do it in a way that makes it seem like I have a gym instructor close by, taking counts of the number of press-ups. Anytime I fail to meet up with the number and fall down, I laugh at myself so loudly as if I’m in the company of friends, and I go in again to meet up with the target. This gives me so much satisfaction, even though I don’t do it on a daily basis.
The other fitness thing I do is going for a walk and making sure I sweat a bit by the end of it. I’m someone who doesn’t go out often due to the fact that my kind of hustle is within my living area. So whenever I have the opportunity to walk a reasonable distance, I don’t shy away from it. I even encourage some friends to walk with me when returning from church instead of using the very common public motorbike.
I go out at least twice a week to buy fuel for my work, and I love taking the shortcut through a somewhat bushy road. I love it so much—it feels good walking on a lonely road that has crop farms at some sections and bushes also, that feeling of walking in a natural enveloped road. I usually sweat from the to-and-fro journey, and I embrace it so much because it’s one of the means through which I exercise my body aside from the work I do.
I’m not saying that going to a gym center is bad—it’s good. But exercising is very much interesting when we adopt simpler forms that cost less. These personal and simpler forms of staying fit even give room for meditation while engaging in them, compared to the crowded places.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to #KISS writing idea.
Photo used is mine