Starting your workout routine

I’ve always been that small, skinny girl who is… weak. And honestly, that’s not a good thing.

I get tired easily, crash badly in the middle of the day, and struggle to carry heavy things at work (I work in video production). Being skinny doesn’t automatically mean being healthy or strong.

When I turned 30 this year, I read that muscle mass starts deteriorating from our 30s - and knowing that I’m already weak I don’t want to become a feather by the time I reach 50s 😾 so I finally made the conscious effort to start exercising

I knew it wouldn’t be easy — but damn it was really difficult.

🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ Starting is hard. Maintaining is harder.

We all know starting exercise is difficult, but staying consistent is a whole different battle. I used to huff and puff in class, wonder why I was putting myself through this torture, and feel so tempted to give up.

But I knew that if I stopped, I’d remain weak forever.

So I changed my mindset. I would tell myself, it’s ok if I can’t do it, just showing up is enough.

Even if I couldn’t keep up with everyone else, at least I showed up again. Because honestly that’s the truth, you just gotta keep showing up and showing up even when you don’t see any improvements until one day you finally get better.

One class became weekly classes, weekly became bi-weekly, and now I try to exercise three times a week.

🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ You don’t magically get fit.

I’ve been physically weak since I was a kid. I barely passed NAPFA, so of course this wasn’t going to be easy.

But I noticed something: every time I finished a class, I felt a small sense of happiness. Moving my body made me feel a little more energised, a little stronger — like my body was slowly waking up.

🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ Some days, you won’t feel like leaving the house.

There are days when my body just wants to stay in bed and not move at all. But I’ve learnt that the hardest part is simply stepping out of the house.

Once I do, I almost always feel better. So on those days, I don’t aim for a “good workout” — I just aim to leave the house. Because it can get really hard to even leave the house, I would try to psycho myself that leaving the house is a win. And almost always- the moment I leave the house, I’ll be able to do my best at whatever workout I was doing.

🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ Do not compare yourself to others.

All my friends are running marathons, doing HYROX, climbing mountains, etc and it’s easy to feel like a loser for being physically unfit.

But I start from a very different place.

So I track my own progress instead:

• transitioning from slow flow to full flow classes

• moving from 0.5kg weights to 1kg weights in barre

• from jogging only 2 rounds to 6 rounds around the park before I get out of breath

These small wins tell me that my body is getting stronger — quietly, slowly, but surely.

I also noticed that my period back aches have become less painful; and I become less tired in the middle of the day.

Soooo here’s to everyone who’s ever felt intimidated to start:

It will always feel daunting to start.

Our brains are very good at imagining how hard something will be, and that alone can stop us before we even begin.

But I’ve learnt that doing something, even something small, is kinder than doing nothing at all. It doesn’t have to be a proper workout. It can be a slow walk, a short stretch, or simply leaving the house. In a world where being “fit” looks loud and intense — long runs, heavy weights, extreme training — choosing to start small can feel embarrassing. But starting small is still choosing yourself. And that choice, repeated enough times, quietly becomes strength.

#exercisemotivation #yoga #pilatessg #exercisetips