Because You Love Your Body.....WORKOUT!
As I've said before, the 80's are my jam! As I sit here writing this post, I am wearing my leg warmers while the John Cougar is playing on iTunes. This summer has given me some interesting insights into how women feel about their fitness and the biggest obstacle seems to be their mental approach. Thought patterns are hard to change. A lot of us think that giving ourselves a hard time about our bodies is the only way to stay motivated to do what it takes to get healthy. Yelling at yourself about how fat your are or how out of shape your've become may seem an effective way to movitate yourself to exercise, but the truth is that it's an awful strategy! Not only does it make you feel terrible about yourself, it doesn't work! You may get a couple trips to the gym out of this negative approach, but negative self talk is very demotivating and usually perpetuates a cycle that got you to where you are to begin with. Positive affirmations were such a buzz in the 80's and while just stating a positive phrase won't change your life, it will help change your thought patterns. I have post it notes around my house with positive affirmations written on them. When I am drowning in my families chaos, they help empower me.
It takes effort to make this mental shift. Everyone we teach in class is physically capable of doing a version of everything we have set up for the given workout. What sets some ladies apart from the others is their mental approach. People see someone in good shape and think, "when you look like that, it's easy to motivate yourself to exercise". What that says is that if you've got a body you feel good about, it's easier to motivate yourself to exercise. The problem lies in that people do not give themselves permission to feel good about their bodies UNTIL they're a particular shape or size. I'm here to tell you that thinking is backwards!
You need to start changing your internal dialogue so that you feel good about your body NOW. Our bodies are amazing instruments! The more I learn about how our body and mind work together to create the best possible outcome, the more I am in awe of how magnificent we are! When we take care of our bodies, it takes care of us. Appreciate the body you have now and find the desire to take care of it.
I realize it is not easy. When you've spent years hearing internal negative talk about your body, trying to shift that dialogue takes effort. It is time to change how you think about your body and when you let the negativity go, you will find that all the excuses you come up with to prevent you from getting to get healthy will miraculously disappear. "I have to drive my daughter to her friends, I have a dentist appointment, I have to catch up on laundry, my best friend called...." the list of excuses for why you can't commit to fitness goes on forever! But once you realize change is a major leap and your body deserves the best, those excuses disappear. Because you love your body, workout! You will carve out time dedicated to loving your body. Your body can do AMAZING things! Take care of it! If you have any physical ability to exercise at all, that is a gift. DO NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED! If you can simply walk, that's an amazing gift! ENJOY IT! You are worth the effort. Make the mental shift and love your body right where you are. Schedule your busy life so that you can find at least 3 hours out of your 168 hour week to take care of the body you've been given. LOVE YOUR BODY! Dig deep and dedicate yourself to making that mental shift to love yourself right where you are. Dedicate yourself to choose a healthy lifestyle BECAUSE you've been given a body you WANT to care for. Be excellent to yourself!