We've talked about the mistake of relying on workout motivation to stay consistent with women's workout routines. It can be tough, but once you get yourself into a groove, you have the exquisite benefit of enjoying the results of all your hard work. Results are where it's at to keep you coming back for more. It's the equivalent of a gold star on the graded homework that took you hours to complete. You put in the effort and you got the reward. The even cooler thing though, is that the rewards you earn just keep on coming! Women's fitness is the gift that keeps on giving in a multi-faceted way. Let's take a look at a few.
Aesthetics You get to actually see the progress you've made through good nutrition and strength training. Clothes fit differently and you look leaner and toned.
Strength You notice strength in everyday activities like unloading groceries, mowing the lawn or moving furniture. Your muscles feel firmer and you enjoy logging new records on your lifts.
Endurance You actually enjoy taking your dog for long walks again. You realize for the first time in a long time you haven't lost a lung while climbing the stairs.
Energy You wake up and feel more alive than ever! You get through your busy day with zero stops on the couch to recover, all while avoiding the mid-afternoon craving/binge/crash cycle.
Confidence This is the most surprising aspect of women's fitness to most of my clients, and in my opinion the most transformative. All of the sudden you are excited to try skiing again because your balance is so solid. You embrace activities that you'd have outright dismissed just months before because you felt defeated in your old tennis clothes or didn't have the slightest bit of overhead strength to throw axes at your best friend's bachelorette party. Apparently that's a thing now. In my day you just wore embarrassing accessories and collected condoms.
These are the results I wish I could bottle up and hand out as samples. I truly believe that if you could get a taste of what being healthy feels like, you'd be instantly hooked and begging for a lifetime subscription. Alas I can't do that for you. All I can do is tell you what it's like for me and for the clients who've been generous enough to trust me. So my advice for you is to take a long hard look at what you've been doing. Is it working? Are you indeed getting the results you're after? If not, you probably don't have much motivation and it may be time to adjust your goals. Consider lowering the bar on some of you goals for a little while. Make sure each one is attainable in real life. 20lbs in 20 days? Probably not so realistic, but 20 servings of vegetables or 20 minutes of exercise in 20 days are targets most people can hit.
Once you've bagged those, you'll likely be motivated by that accomplishment to accomplish even more, whatever that looks like.
Results can manifest as literally anything. Why not harness their motivational power to launch you into massive success and not only attain your goals, but surpass them entirely? You're in charge of the process, so collect those gold stars and enjoy the satisfaction of wanting to do the work because you feel so good doing it!
