The “Click” Moment of Exercise

The click is sudden but when you get it, it empowers you.

I remember talking to my co-worker who was the same height with a similar body frame to mine, over two decades younger, and 20 pounds lighter than me. I told her I wanted to lose my belly fat but that I’d never return to the same weight I was at her age. I knew it was an unrealistic goal because I was approaching 49, and I thought it was impossible at my age.

What I didn’t say aloud was that I fantasized about returning to my youthful energy and former weight, and I was desperate to fight the odds and determined to defy middle age.

I knew the first step to lose any weight — was to try. It seems simple in theory but applying myself to stick to a regular exercise program or routine is a daunting task. The road to “get there” is a familiar haul, and I’ve driven that road back and forth dozens of times. Whenever I didn’t see results right away, I lost interest, motivation, and I’d eventually quit.

The horrible truth of approaching 49 meant the big 50 was around the corner. My life was more than half-over — my body was slowing down, and the fragility of aging terrified me. But instead of accepting the downfalls of middle-age — it fueled me to try harder.

I needed to prove that it’s never too late to better your health.

I was wobbling on the high end of the healthy weight category for my height, age, and gender. I knew that if I didn’t improve my exercise and eating habits, I’d tip the scale over to the other side and continue to gain weight, feel crappy, and continue to live life with low energy while struggling to keep up with the demands of raising my 10-year old son.

The most logical thing I knew to do was prevent tipping the scale — by driving myself in the other direction. It meant the right direction — the scarier, bumpier, more arduous road that leads to sweat, cursing, and tears.

The road that I knew, in theory, would lead to progress and results if I stayed focused and kept driving.

I didn’t know how to start, but I knew that every fitness achievement, challenge, or goal I’ve witnessed through people succeeding in their own lives started on Day #1 with a simple plan.

How I Started on Day #1 and Created a Simple 3-step Plan

1. I announced my fitness goals, so they became real.

I posted and wrote about my fitness journey on Facebook, and my first challenge was to stop eating junk food, increase my daily water intake, and walk briskly for at least 10,000 steps daily for 9 days. I went from couch surfing, Netflix, and seldom exercising — to moving daily, eating less, and drinking more water and lost 6 pounds in 9 days.

When you share your fitness goals — it becomes real. It was no longer a hollow promise I kept to myself that I knew I could break easily because nobody else knew it existed. Because I announced my goals, it also enabled my friends and followers to cheer me on and encourage me to reach my goals.

2. I created a self-mantra that matches my personality and followed it.

I created a self-mantra to follow to stay consistent with exercise — “Try, Mary, Try!” I used it regularly throughout my Facebook posts to show that I believed in it and followed my philosophy. I shared my progress, successes, and failures. It prevented me from becoming a fraud.

When I created a self-mantra that worked for me — it helped me achieve my goals. I started believing in myself and inspiring others to believe in me when I followed through on my self-mantra by showing others I was trying. I kept persevering even when I broke down and binged on donuts or missed a workout — I’d pick myself up the next day, start clean, and try again.

Ideally, your personal mantra would be created from your deepest values or what you want to achieve, and then condensed into a word that inspires self-awareness, confidence, and positivity. — StephanieLee, Vitals.Lifehacker.com

3. I became accountable to fuel motivation, purpose & inspiration.

Because I was posting about my journey regularly, it forced me to take responsibility for my health and become accountable to others. It gave me an extra push to achieve my monthly fitness goals.

Accountability was a significant factor in succeeding with my fitness goals. When people saw my goals, I tried harder to achieve those goals. It fueled my motivation, gave me a sense of purpose and direction, and I inspired others to reach similar goals.

The Only Three Things

These were the only three things that I did differently this time to lose weight and better my health, and it was the first time I tried any of the above. I learned to take action, control, and responsibility for my health.

Every fitness journey starts on Day #1 and leads to extraordinary things.

When I took my first 10,000 steps/7km over two years ago at the start of my fitness journey, I didn’t know that eventually, I’d be able to walk 40,000 steps/28km in one day. I didn’t think it would lead me to challenge myself and my friends to “walk a marathon” this summer. I didn’t know that I’d find the courage to enter the international 2020 Ms. Health and Fitness Competition. I placed 4th in my group phase and become the only Asian and non-white contestant who made it to the Top 5 round in my group.

When I continued to exercise and built it into my daily lifestyle, I became stronger, achieved my fitness goals, and challenged myself to do more physically demanding exercises.

With regular exercise, you see progress and results through fat loss, stronger muscles, increased physical energy, endurance, or flexibility, which gave me inner strength, confidence, and happiness.

The click moment!

I realized that practice, consistency, and perseverance were the keys to building success. The theory was real, and it clicked. I’d proved the theory with exercise each time I mastered a fitness skill or goal, such as walking 1,000 steps further than the previous week, learning a headstand, the crow pose, crossing monkey bars, doing push-ups, chin-ups, or 69 consecutive cartwheels.

To master a 19-second crow pose, I practiced every day for 5–10 minutes a day over 60 days. To master a 30-second crow pose, I kept practicing for another 30 days. Day 1 of my crow pose seemed impossible to hold for longer than a millisecond, but as I struggled and passed each day, I knew it would lead to progress and that I’d eventually hit my 30-second goal by sticking to the practice. Today, over six months later since I mastered the pose, I still need to practice every day to maintain a solid, steady 30-second crow or better my time.

These achievements were all physical things I couldn’t do and initially thought were impossible before starting my journey.

The click moment is a game-changer. I knew what I needed to do each time I struggled to master a new exercise goal or a personal challenge in my life — because I proved the theory.

“In theory, there is no difference between practice and theory. In practice, there is.” — Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut

Exercising empowered me to believe in myself and gave me a daily dose of energy and self-confidence that no one could take away from me — unless I stopped practicing.

The click moment is an incredible rush, satisfying, and self-empowering. But to reach the click moment, I needed to earn it myself — one day at a time.

If you want to discover your click moment, start on Day #1 and create a plan.

1. Announce your fitness goals, so they become real.
2. Create a self-mantra that matches your personality and follow it.
3. Become accountable to others to fuel motivation, purpose, and inspiration.
4. If you miss a workout or cave in with a sugar binge — let it pass.
5. Forgive yourself. Keep trying and pick it up the next day.
6. Practice, consistency & perseverance lead to progress, results, and success.
7. Prove the theory with regular, consistent practice and persevere — until it clicks.

Have you ever heard of a “keyboard jockey?” A keyboard jockey is an individual who spends more time typing on their computers about how to do something than actually practicing it in the real world.

“…in order to learn something, or get better at it, you need to go out into the “field” and practice it.” — Steven Handel

Once you get the click moment, embrace it, shine & share.

Once I discovered the secret to success, I wanted to share it with others. I created a Facebook Fitness Group to encourage my friends to exercise, keep them accountable, cheer them on and encourage them to achieve their personal fitness goals.

I shined with renewed confidence, and I wanted others to shine too.

How to Let Your Light Shine: “‘Let’ is the operative word; living a life of health and vitality that others can see is the easiest way to be an inspiration. Be seen living healthy — don’t hide what you are doing, tell people about it every opportunity you get.” — Chrissy Chequer, Certified Exercise Physiologist, 49th Degree Fitness & Nutrition

Today, I’ve maintained my 20-pound weight loss, and I reclaimed my youthful energy — at age 50! I defied the odds and proved that it’s never too late to better your health — through practice, consistency, and perseverance. I’m stronger and braver now than I was at age 25, and the fragility of aging doesn’t slow me down or terrify me — it empowers me to keep trying. “Try, Mary, Try!”

About the Author:

Mary Chang is an award-winning short story fiction writer, memoir writer, blogger, and fitness enthusiast. Fueled by cartwheels, laughter, and encouraging people to shine. Read her blog at www.marychangstorywriter.com.