Skip to main content

Reasons to Exercise: Staying Motivated to Workout

It isn’t easy to stay motivated doing anything, much less sticking to a workout routine. In the spirit of keeping this short and simple today, I’ll just say that in order to keep going you must be committed, not necessarily motivated. Motivation is fleeting the same way that feelings of love and infatuation are. It is the same as any other type of relationship. If you want a really good relationship with another person, romantic or platonic, to last, you’ll have to be willing to humble yourself at times and do things you don’t necessarily want to do. You’ll have plenty of fun times, but there will also be times when you simply don’t want to be bothered. It takes effective communication. There’s some nurturing involved and ultimately you have to decide if a relationship with the other person is really what you want. The same applies to your health.

Effective communication with yourself could be journaling, meditating, using a fitness or period tracking app—paying attention to yourself, overall. Humble yourself to know that some exercises and eating habit changes are not always going to agree with you or you with them. Most important is choosing yourself. It is even easier to stay committed when you’re doing something you enjoy or you’re with someone you enjoy.

Honestly, even though I love the feeling I have when I finish an intense workout, I have a love/hate relationship with it, or at least with certain modalities. Spin, for instance, is something I dread before I get on the bike, talk trash about while I’m on the bike, but feel wonderful when the workout is over. My bread and butter is yoga and pole/exotic dancing. However, I need the cardio and muscle conditioning, so I lift weights and do pushups, too. Health is what I want. Strength is what I want. Because I decided that I want those things, especially since having those things make it even easier for me to engage in the activities that I really enjoy, I engage in the activities that aren’t necessarily at the top of my list of favorites.

At the end of the day, I just want to feel accomplished. Doing squats today makes me feel strong. Doing the camel pose in yoga or a roundabout on the pole makes me feel graceful, flexible, and capable. What have you committed yourself to? 


(Working on my roundabouts)


(Camel Pose)

(Pin for later!)



Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 18, 2019 at 11:15 AM

    Great post! Feeling accomplished is so motivating!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Life as LynsApril 18, 2019 at 4:32 PM

    I've always wanted to try pole, it looks like such a good way to build strength. However, I cant even do a pull up so that's my goal for this year as well as the splits!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That GirlApril 20, 2019 at 8:27 AM

    I never thought about journaling about my workouts. Awesome idea!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ways I Increased My Energy

*This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any of the products I link to I may receive a small commission. I only recommend products I have personally had a positive experience with. Purchasing any of the products mentioned is completely optional. There was a time when I could hardly make it through the day without almost involuntarily falling asleep. I’d wake up morning tired and by 3 PM I'd to pull my car over into a parking lot somewhere, put the sunshade in the windshield, recline the driver seat, and set my alarm to wake me up in thirty minutes. Aside from the fact that I wasn’t and still don't always get the recommended 8 hours of sleep every night, a major player in my lack of energy was due to my weight. I still have some pounds to lose but shedding thirty made a difference. Work and motherhood are enough to tire anyone out, but I couldn’t keep functioning that way. I had to make some changes before I could...
9 comments
Read more

How I Overcome Gym Intimidation

I t’s still hard sometimes. As a matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to visit a spin studio that I’ve never visited before. I booked a spot in class through ClassPass * then canceled my reservation the day before because I was a little intimidated. However, I’m proud to say that I have made a lot of progress in overcoming my fear of group fitness classes and unfamiliar gyms. Let me explain. Gym intimidation is real. As a matter of fact, any place where you feel out of place makes you not want to go to that place at all. Pin for later! I began my fitness journey at home. In past years I always worked out at home. Or maybe I went walking around the neighborhood. I had exercise DVDs. When I lived in an apartment complex with an onsite gym, I visited that gym once. I didn’t see the gym as a fun place and I was not motivated to continue going. I felt like I did best when I took walks and followed the DVDs in my living room. As much as I enjoyed how I fel...
10 comments
Read more

Mindful Eating: Forgiving Extra Calories

Weight loss isn’t easy. I think most people who have tried to lose weight would agree with that statement. It is a simple process for most, but not easy. There aren’t any specials tricks necessary for most people. Eat fewer calories than you burn and you’ll lose weight eventually. However, with so much conflicting information that exists and all of the marketing tactics and fads to get you to buy the next big trend, many people have no clue where to start or why they even want to start. Personal Health Goals I don’t have a weight loss goal. My goal is good health and as a result of becoming healthier, I have shed 25-30lbs depending on what time of the month it is. There was a time in my life in my teens where I used to be concerned with the number. I weighed more than most people, but I carried it well enough that no one believed me when I told them my size. At some point, I shed that mentality and decided that I wanted to pursue health and just feel good. I let go of the ...
4 comments
Read more