What are you reasons for moving your body? Have they changed since you started?
A lot of people workout for an aesthetic reason, normally to lose weight or build muscle (tone). These are the 2 biggest reasons people start to train their bodies. Through the past 6 years of working in the fitness industry these 2 reasons are what I see people training for. I’m not about to tell you these aren’t valid reasons, because they are HOWEVER they are not the only reasons. There are many many more reasons why we should move our bodies with one major overriding reason. I also want to touch upon how aesthetic goals can sometimes create negative relationships with fitness, normally due to the reasons not really being your own.
So why move your body?
Here are a few of the reasons that come to my mind:
- Improve fitness
- Improve CV system
- Gain strength
- Reduce the risk of injury
- Improve bone density
- Increase mobility
- Increase flexibility
- Create better quality of life
- Boost your mental health
- Release endorphins – makes you feel good
- Improves functions within the body
And the overriding reason … IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH. If you combine all of the above reasons and probably some more it all comes together to improve your health. We all want to be the healthiest versions of ourselves to be able to live a long fulfilled life. Your health has nothing to do with your size or weight, it’s about how you use and treat your body.
I workout for this reason, because I know it’s good for me and I want to be the fittest strongest version of me. It improves my mental health and is an hour of my day that is just for me. It is part of my job so I do need a decent level of fitness anyway BUT even so.
This is why I preach enjoying how you move. Finding that training style that works for you and makes you feel epic when you do it. It will look different for all of us but the more you enjoy it the more likely you are likely to keep going. Now if you have a particular goal in mind or you have set a challenge (A 5k for example). You will have to train in a certain way in order to reach it, which is cool as long as you are wanting to do it rather than feeling like you have to. In these circumstances you may not enjoy the workouts but you will enjoy that feeling when you complete it.
Do you workout because of an aesthetic reason?
I purposefully left this out of my reasons up there but it is a valid reason to move your body. A lot of people do, I started working out for that reason and my body has changed shape over time due to fitness. I want you to question why you are wanting to change your body. Is it for you or for society? Are you doing it from a negative place of hate or a positive place?
It is possible to love your body and want to change it. If you hate your body and feel reaching a certain body shape or size will help I’m here to say it won’t. You have to work on your mindset around fitness first. How you look shouldn’t be the main focus either, it takes a back seat and fitness/health goals go first. Your body will naturally change as you go, it is a lot more rewarding to focus on what your body is capable of rather than what it looks like.
So next time you are looking at your reason to workout if it is for a look really have a think why. And if it isn’t making you happy then change your why.
Ultimately we all want to be healthy and that should be enough to get us to move. But for some we need that bit more of a push so there are plenty to choose from. Setting fitness/strength goals always helps to keep a focus if you need it and physically see what your body is capable of. Th rest is just a really fun bonus that goes alongside.
Why do you workout? Let me know
Vicki x
