Workout Motivation

Hello beautiful readers! Today I want to talk to you about my workout motivation. My personal fitness journey has been… I’ll go with inconsistent. Yet I've always been interested in running, and in the year after I graduated from college I began a regular exercise routine for the first time in my life. It consisted of a combination of running on the treadmill and aerobic YouTube videos. Nothing too extreme, but I was pleasantly surprised to find benefits to working out that I wasn’t expecting. 

Unfortunately, after moving to Portland I was swept up in a whole new world of “adult” life and responsibilities. Working out no longer seemed as important. I found it more difficult to fit into my daily routine, and I also learned that once that routine is broken it is really hard to get back. However, recently I’ve found my motivation again! I’ve purchased a gym membership which has helped me continue running, and I am also pursuing a new interest: yoga. Here, I want to share my top 5 reasons for working out, the things I remind myself of when I’m deciding between going to the gym and watching a Mad Men marathon.

1) Mood Boost

Working out regularly lifts my overall mood, and energizes me. I've been going to the gym directly after work and I walk in feeling sluggish from a long day sitting in front of the computer, and walk out feeling motivated to be productive with my evening. Honestly, sometimes just moving and stretching after sitting all day fells AMAZING and clears my head.

2) Stress Relief

It also is the absolute best way I have found to relieve stress. I can use my workout to channel my frustration into a productive activity, or forget about it for an hour. I have also had strangely relevant and helpful epiphanies while running. It somehow puts things into perspective and makes solutions more clear.

3) Feeling Proud of my Body

Here I'm not only talking about appearance (although let's be honest, toning up is a definite perk). I'm talking about knowing that my body is capable of accomplishing difficult challenges. It means I can go on a strenuous hike with my friends with the confidence that I can finish it out. It means I can challenge my body because I have worked to strengthen it, and that strength gives me pride in myself and my accomplishments. 

4) Confidence Boost

One of my favorite things about working out is setting and meeting fitness goals. For example, when I started working out I had a hard time running for five minutes (sad I know). But after a lot of work I can now run for 20 minutes, which considering my humble beginnings, is a little mind blowing for me. When I began working up to 20 minutes it seemed nearly impossible but I proved to myself that I could do it, and once I finally did I felt like I could do anything. That confidence motivates me to continue working out, and that attitude helps me conquer goals outside of the gym.

5) Skill Building

At this point in my fitness journey I have come to view working out as a hobby of sorts, one that just happens to improve my body, mind, and overall health. As I practice this "hobby" I begin learning about my body, and through that knowledge I begin building physical skills. I have especially noticed this aspect of working out when I started focusing on yoga. In yoga I have been building my flexibility and balance which I view as skills to hone and strengthen, just as I would any other. Feeling myself becoming more flexible, or being able to run faster and longer motivate me to push on.

I hope you now feel more motivated to get to the gym and benefit from everything working out can offer! I believe making the decision to be fit truly is the best decision you can make for yourself. What motivates you to stay in shape?