This is the second post in the series – Making Exercise a Lifestyle
Why do you want to exercise regularly? Is it because you want to take your life in your own hands and transform your health? Is it because you want to be stronger? Do you have a fitness goal you want to achieve – like completing a race?
Do you ever wonder how people genuinely enjoy working out?
I used to wonder this exact same thing. What is their motivation? It wasn’t until I found my purpose that I was able to maintain regular exercise.
Firstly, I had to find an activity that I loved. I found this by exploring different activities starting with yoga, then kickboxing, and most recently CrossFit. More on that here. For example, once I was immersed in the Muay Thai gym community, I desperately wanted to learn how to do it well. My motivation to continue to go to the gym every day was backed by my burning desire to learn how to punch, kick, and make some badass combos.
Here are 5 Tips to Find Your Purpose and Workout Consistently
- Don’t make a superficial goal, such as a weight you want to achieve, a body fat percentage, a pant size. These things should be seen as a result of the effort you put in. Essentially, the effect of your cause.
- Ask yourself why. You need to think about not just what you want, by why you want it. Find an inner purpose. When you ask yourself, “Why do I pursue fitness?” you find your ‘why,’ and that gets you through the tough times. The times that you talk yourself out of showing up at the gym or yoga studio or wherever. Some examples could also be, because I want the picture I have of me in my head to match the outside me, because I want to run a Spartan race, because I want to keep up with my kids.
- Schedule your workouts in advance. Use your pre-frontal cortex, the part of your brain that makes you an advance animal, and make shit happen. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
- 80/20 Rule. No one is perfect. Don’t dwell on being perfect because here’s a clue, no one is. It’s called being human. The closest I ever came to perfect with diet and exercise were the months before my wedding. I wanted to look my best and know I did everything I could. I did a really good job, but I was nowhere near perfect. I had a trip to Chicago, worked out maybe once, and I ate the damn pizza, okay! Did I feel bad about it? No. I got back home and started back on my routine. It all worked out.
- Listen to your body. If you feel like you got hit by a ton of bricks when you wake up. Maybe a heavy weight lifting routine is a bad idea. Find an alternative movement that gets your heart pumping or gives you some counter balance like yoga. Perhaps just go for a walk. It doesn’t matter, just move or take a rest day if you need it.
What’s interesting is once you accomplish what you set out to do, you want to see what else you are capable of. Therefore, you’ll start creating new goals and milestones to achieve.
Here’s a secret: The joy is in the process.
This is the second of a five part series – Making Fitness a Lifestyle. Check out the next post – The One Thing To Get You Motivated To Workout (Even When You’re Tired).
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This post is intended for educational, inspirational, or entertainment purposes only. I am not a doctor, the content on this blog is not intended to be substituted for medical advice.
