Lose the bull**** and find your fitness
How many times have you said you’re going to do something, only to keep putting it off, to procrastinate or make an excuse as to why you haven’t done it yet? We’ve all been there. And it’s usually because it’s something that we believe is going to be hard to do, or we’re just not really that interested in doing. But, when it comes to your health, it should be a priority. It’s time to lose the bull**** and find your fitness.
Why?
You have one body – unless you’ve discovered a new medical phenomenon that no-one else is yet aware of. So, you have to take care of it. This is it. This is your one shot. It has been proven in numerous scientific studies that exercising regularly will prevent illness, keep your body stronger and more resilient to disease, will alleviate the onset of aging and help to mitigate your risk of injury. We owe it to ourselves to give ourselves the best chance of a vibrant and capable lifestyle, especially as we get older.
How?
Mindset
If exercising just doesn’t come naturally to you or fills you with dread, you’re going to need to play some mind games with yourself. Setting yourself mini challenges can help; small, easy-ish hurdles that do not appear insurmountable and put you off before you even start. Bargain with yourself; little rewards if you do something you’ve said you’re going to do. Stop lying to yourself and lose the bull**** excuses. You know deep down what is going to be best for your mind and body, and if you don’t, reach out to somebody who does so that they can help you. Whatever it takes to get you moving, do it.
Find your fitness
Likes and dislikes
Exercising becomes far easier when you enjoy it. That being said, when something is difficult, it can take some perseverance and repetition before we reach a point where we can enjoy it. Therefore, don’t give up on something the first time you try it because you can’t do it, or think you can’t do it. Work out the difference between a challenge and a dislike. Do you not want to do it because it’s pushing your limits and is hard, you or is it because it bores you? When we can cut to the chase and be honest with ourselves, we’ll arrive at a place mentally where we’ll be ready to take on the competition that’s going on between our minds and our bodies.
Choose your battles wisely
You can’t take on everything. Life gets in the way and if we try to do too much, we’ll end up stressed and ill anyway. Not the effect you’re looking for with your exercise routine. There are some days where you should take on the mental battle (and it will be a battle) and drag your backside out of bed to do whatever your choice of workout is. And there will be other days, where you will need to accept that it’s just not going to happen. Work with your mind and body to learn when you’re fooling yourself and when you do actually need to take a break. Get to know yourself and fully understand how you are going to find and manage your fitness journey.
Written by Becky Barrett