“WHY” can it be so hard to stick with a new fitness routine?
Truth be told, we could all come up with a thousand EXCUSES not to work out today. And then, we could come up with a million more reasons it would be okay to cheat on our diet…just for today, right?
This post is going to teach you how to determine your fitness WHY, and how to use your WHY to overcome:
I’ll just work out tomorrow…It’s too late to work out…I’m too sore to exercise…I’ll just have one bite…I’ll hurt his feelings if I don’t eat this…I’ll start again tomorrow and be perfect.
Defeating a Common Cycle
Defeating a Common CycleIt’s Friday. This is when you declare that coming this Monday, you will start your workout routine again. Monday comes, and you do great for a week or two. But then before you know it, you find yourself saying, “I’ll start again on Monday.”
If you look back to my early blog posts, the above paragraph was ME to a T. One of the reasons I started this blog was to keep myself accountable to my health and fitness goals – and not give up like I had so many times in the past.
That’s because I had no motivation to continue when times got tough. I didn’t have anything to hang onto, so I started over many times until I discovered my own WHY. And this is what I want to help you figure out.
3 Steps to Discover Your Fitness WHY
Think of your WHY much like you would a personal mission statement. This only works if you actually take the time to do it.
So pull out a pen and paper, take at least 15 minutes of your time to answer these 3 simple questions:
1. Who are you doing this for?
We are driven by both internal and external forces. Are you doing this for you or someone else.
In the end, it has to be you who wants to do this either for yourself or for someone else, such as your family.
2. What are the end results you are striving for?
If you do not know where you are going, how do you expect to get there?
Make your goal Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time bound. SMART fitness goals work!
3. How will your end results change your life?
What is the value of your health and fitness goal?
How will achieving your fitness goal make you feel? How will it affect your overall
life? How will it affect those around you?
How to Use Your WHY
Your WHY should be so powerful that failure is not an option. It should always be something strong enough that you always refer back to your WHY anytime you feel like giving up.
Picture yourself as though you have already accomplished your goal. How does it feel knowing what you have accomplished? How do you look? How do you feel?
Realize that you have two paths when you envision your future self: You can continue falling back into the same old habits, OR you can do what it takes to be the person you want to be – TODAY.
An Example – My WHY
My fitness why always changes, because my why has to something that keeps me going even when I really don’t want to. When I first lost weight, my WHY was based around finally being able to wear a bathing suit comfortably and just feeling good about my appearance for once. Then when I reached that goal, it became more about keeping strength and more svelte figure that I’d gained to live the happiest, healthiest, longest and most fulfilling life I could.
And now that I’m pregnant? My fitness why has changed once again not to only to keep myself healthy, but to gain the proper weight and keep my body in optimum condition, so my baby and my body remain healthy and safe throughout the entire pregnancy.
BONUS
Take out a blank piece of paper. Draw a large T.
In the left column, make a list of your common excuses or situations that often derail you from your fitness routine. In the right column, note what you will do when this situation occurs to make sure it doesn’t happen.
For Example: On the left, too tired to work out after work. On the right, have exercise clothes laid out and ready to put on when returning home from work.
Conclusion
If you are participating in our 7 Day Jumpstart to Fit, please head over to our private Facebook group, and complete the homework from the video. It you are not in the group, please leave a comment below with
your WHY.
Hi Bethany,
I don’t do social media so I am glad you have options outside of that. First congrats on your pregnancy–how exciting! My whys are: 1) me–2 yrs ago I lost 50 lbs. Some changes happened in my life and I deprioritized myself. Why am I on this road again? Because I am hitting a benchmark birthday next year and I want to take better care of myself so I have many many more years in my life. 2) Well, initially, I want to lose the 50 lbs again. It is partially a numbers thing but when I lose that 50 lbs I also want to have a leaner muscle mass so I can do things in my life I cannot currently do (e.g. get back into ballet, hike more, etc.). 3) Is a little harder. I mentioned some of the things I hope to be able to do once my health is better. In the past year I couldn’t lose any weight–even with doing 15,000+ steps a day. In the past I had to pay for trainers in order to reach my goals. If I can put the work in myself this time and keep myself motivated….wow I don’t know what I would say…that I am stronger than I think…that I can do what I thought was impossible. My husband would just like to see me in a skimpy swimsuit. For me I think it is about not being so embarrassed about my body. I think accomplishing this goal would give me so much confidence and that confidence (I hope) will trickle over into all facets of my life in whatever I do.
Hi Ellen, Thanks for sharing! Your why sounds very strong. Like you said in your comment you have to do it because you want to and not just to please someone else. And, thank you. :) Bethany