Some days after work are really hard to convince ourselves not to drop down on the couch for the night, and instead, hit the gym or that exercise class. That’s where your determination should kick in (or where you call that accountability friend you have on speed-dial).
But what if you really, really, really dislike working out..AT ALL?
As with anything in life, you have to be in it for the right reasons. You can’t expect a positive outcome with a negative approach. Not meaning you’re a downer, just that you may be looking at it from the wrong perspective. For example, by looking at exercise as a punishment because you ate something “bad”, or because you aren’t happy with your appearance, is the negative scenario. This negative approach already associates exercise with negative (or as a punishment), before you even begin the activity itself. Meaning, you shouldn’t exercise because you “need to lose weight”. Looking at exercise this way already sets the stage for failure. We don’t want that!
So, how do we turn it into a positive, even if those statements are true? I DID eat that extra piece of double chocolate cake & my doctor is hounding me about exercising more.
- Start by looking at exercise differently. Exercise because you LOVE yourself and want to live a healthy life. Exercise for “you time” and happiness.
- Be realistic with any goals you may have. Don’t expect to lose weight consistently every week you check that scale. It is normal to plateau. It is normal to even temporarily gain wait when you first start a new workout (check my blog post on that if you want to know why). Make the goal to get healthy. Don’t let “lowering numbers on a scale” be your reason for exercise..that will come anyway.
- Keep searching for, and trying different, activities until you find one (or more) that makes you so pumped you can’t wait until the next workout. (Tip: you get a major shortcut to happiness when you start moving in ANY type of exercise because of those feel-good hormones, called endorphins).
- Switch things up. Pick different activities you can rotate through your schedule weekly, monthly, or any time you start to feel burnt out. Maybe you walk on Monday, take a spin class on Wednesday, and swim on Friday. It’s definitely okay to change activities. As long as you’re exercising, it counts!
A small change in thought process can play a big part in changing your outlook on exercise. Our ability to move and exercise is a gift.. You don’t have to be athletic, you don’t have to be coordinated. All you have to do is move. Walk. Take the stairs. Step outside of that comfort zone and for crying out loud, try something new! You can do it!! I have faith in you!
Sincerely,
Miranda Contreras-Bulgin
Owner & Founder of Studio MB
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