My pandemic epiphany: I loved becoming a fitness junkie

Ammar Kalia reflects on his transformation after years spent seeing his body as a receptacle for beer and cigarettes

In this new series, Guardian writers reflect on what they've learned in lockdown. Share your experience in the comment section

Ever since my gym teacher stood, arms folded, laughing at my inability as a four-year-old to tuck myself into a ball and perform a somersault, exercise has been a foreign concept.

Team sports were an orgy of disappointment - of realizing I was the weak link leading us to yet another defeat - while individual endeavors were equally dispiriting. Running made me feel like my lungs were about to explode, I never learned to ride a bike, and swimming made me realize you could sweat underwater and almost drown in the shallow end of the pool.