Free Fridays: Overdoing it.

24 October 2025

I woke up groggy the other day and was feeling tired all morning.

“It’s because you exercise too much. You’re overdoing it,” Fadza The Know It All said.

We looked at each other and started laughing at that sentence.

Because never in my life did I think I’d hear words like that about myself. Me? Too much exercising? LOL. My loved ones know how much of a chore it was to get me to exercise. Fadza would train daily for marathons and I’d just wave bye sleepily from the bed. The company used to do Badminton nights for everyone and I’d just come after… for the vibes. In school, I hardly did PE because “Sorry Cikgu, saya period.” Every week period. 😂

And now? Now, I can’t go through two days without wanting to book a pickleball court. Sometimes, I even play twice a day – morning session and evening session. I even play open-play sessions (playing with strangers in mini leagues), it’s crazy. But it’s just so fun and addictive – sweating, endorphins, good vibes. You’re killing two birds with one stone – exercising and spending time with your friends.

A few months ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead with sweat patches out and about. 😂 Now I’m like yummm sweat.

And then, I heard my knees make funny sounds.

I was like uh-oh… am I overdoing it?

“Yes, you are,” my trainer Jay said, without hesitating.

I was doing pickleball morning and night, then strength training with him in the morning, then pickleball in the evening.

“Your body needs to recover too!” he reminded me.

I didn’t listen. I felt good – I was eating well, I was exercising a lot, I was losing weight. Until that one day, I just felt so tired. My brain wanted to play but my knees felt so heavy. Then I was like ok ok… time to tone it down. Time to listen to my body... my knees are giving in. I wondered how athletes train hours everyday - I guess they’re made different. #andtheyrenot37

So I sat down with Fadza to structure our week. Now that we are starting work again (a story for another time), we need to balance work, play, and family. We put blocks in our calendar and promised each other to stick to it, no matter how tempting it is to make exceptions.

What surprised me was how calm I felt after putting structure to my days again. When you have the luxury of time, it’s too easy to go hard on your hobbies, but too much of anything is never good. You lose yourself because there are no frames or boundaries.

I told myself pickleball is only for X days, strength training is for X days, work is X days, studying (another story for another time) is X days, full Mom mode is X times onwards, visiting parents and inlaws are X times, Quran time is X time, sleep is by X time – then my week got clearer. I felt clearer too. I had space to think again without chasing one high after another. I sleep at 10ish now and wake up feeling so good. My priorities were re-established – no matter what, I was Mom first. The rest had to follow around that.

It might be so obvious to you, but honestly, I lost my structure after being unemployed for a while. Was a good reminder for me to get it back into my life.

“Wanna join pickleball at 3pm?” A text from my friend showed up the other day.

Saw my calendar - it was my Mom mode block.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” I replied, without any gloomy hesitation.

GROWTH, GUYS.

So here’s a PSA for you to structure your week, if you haven’t. When we have the flexibility of time, it’s too easy to overdose on the good things – and then wonder why life feels so hectic and overwhelming.

Structure is the solution - because even fun needs a curfew, for it to stay fun.

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Before you go…

Tummy before and after training for a month!

I got a lot of DMs on this on Insta, and I don’t know what to say except these photos don’t lie! I made a lot of lifestyle changes in my life - eating better, controlling better, and really putting in the work in my exercise. After four kids, the tummy is inevitable - so if you have a Mom tummy, you can reduce it too!

This guy is Jay, my trainer who helped transform my friend Tim. Tim recommended Jay to us and we signed up immediately, because we had free time. Little did we know it would help us lead healthier lifestyles, not just about exercise but all aspects like food and sleep. And that has opened up so many positive things in our lives, starting with our positive mindsets.

I decided not to gatekeep him. You can have him too - give him a call: Jay +6019-273 5006.

His insta: @jayfitonakaulu

For yourself or a loved one - or both of you to get stronger together.

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Before you really go…

Let me know you’ve read this. Comment “I’ll sleep at 10pm” on my latest post at @sincerelyvivy.

See you there! :)