I don’t even know how to start this one. So instead of creating many lines of filler words that fitness articles use to make their posting longer, we’ll get straight to the point.
Winning
The only thing keeping you from doing what you have to do and want to do, is your mind. You have to win the war against your mind. The one that tells your to hit the snooze button. The one that tells you to grab a soda instead of a water.
When you keep up with general fitness over the course of months, you naturally begin to fall in love with it.
There are people that get to where they want to be much faster than others. There are many reasons, but to name a few, it could be due to their attitude towards eating foods with far less sugar, their exercise intensity or simply having a little more time.
Hating how you feel is one of the most detrimental types of attitudes to have. It wreaks havoc on so many peoples lives. It leads to depression, low self-worth and worst of all, suicide. Having such low self-worth easily can destroy someones chance at a promotion at work, ruin relationships with friends and family. I’ve had some low lows in my life and I know that there are times when climbing out of the what seems like a bottomless pit seems impossible. You can win though. It’s possible for everyone and it’s been done.
A large reason so many quit exercise is not because they can’t handle the workout or don’t have time. It has to do with anxiety. Being in a gym filled with people you don’t know, using machines that you’ve never seen before and of course, once in a while seeing someone butt naked in the locker room. Most people that quit are uncomfortable, have little training in the past, are anxious about not knowing what to do and complain that they just don’t have the time.
The fight that needs to be fought is the one in our minds. You have to win against your own mind and it’s insecurities. What other people think of you have no bearing on your workout, at least it shouldn’t. You need to hand yourself a win by working out when you don’t feel like it. Instead of hitting the snooze button, get up right away. Winning the battle with your mind will change your life.
The average person that sign’s up for a gym membership usually doesn’t keep up with their workouts for longer than a week. Although I’m not bothering to fact check that statistic, I would bet it’s darn near close. This is how gyms are able to stay open. Keep charging customers that are not coming in until their membership runs month to month or until they finally decide to cancel, or start again next year as part of their new years resolution. Don’t be that person. WIN
Losing
What happens when we lose is simple, we stay in the same place we’ve been for a long time. We stay static, in the place we’re not happy. Why not make a change? Why be miserable? You’re putting yourself through it. You’re letting your mind win the battle. You’re staying up late, you’re waking up late. You’re told what to do at work by someone you don’t respect. You can’t possibly have respect for anyone if you don’t have any respect for yourself. You have the power to make the changes in your life that will bring you into a happier state so why wait? Why keep going through the motions? “In too deep” doesn’t work here. You can always do better. Always.
In the end, there is no one to blame your health but yourself. Now of course there are those with underlying issues that keep them from doing what they want or have to do but it is RARELY the case. So quit leaning on that being a possibility for you. Go see a doctor if you’re not sure.
Time
So many people use the excuse that they don’t have time to workout. I have two kids. Because of this and the inconvenience of having to drop them off at my in-laws so that I can go to a gym, I slowly emptied out my basement and bought fitness equipment. I work out at home. My youngest plays with her chew toys in her sit-me-up and laughs as I do squats. The older one stay with my spouse on the main floor. But that’s my situation. We are all different. Maybe you have three kids, single and live in an apartment and hold two jobs. You can still find 15-30 mins throughout the day to exercise. You don’t have to be the next Mat Fraser, Tia Toomey, Larry Williams or Stefi Cohen.
A friend of mine has very little time in his life outside of work. Luckily he gets a one hour break every day. He uses 40 minutes of that hour to run about 4 miles or do bodyweight exercises. Sure, people can poke fun, but that’s more their insecurities talking. They can continue to breathe heavily all of their lives just getting to the front door of their house from the driveway.
Don’t let your perception of time destroy your health. If you’re not going to get healthy for yourself, at least do it for your loved ones, your spouse, your kids. I’m sure they wouldn’t want to see you gone any time soon, especially if you’re their base of support.
When it’s too late
Don’t wait until you’re laying on a hospital bed after having a heart attack to decide to change your life. Although it would definitely be the number 1 priority, please, don’t wait for something like that to happen.
Worse yet, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people die every year due to illness that could have been prevented by an active lifestyle. You don’t have to be able to run a marathon. You don’t have to deadlift 500 pounds. But exercise itself is incredibly powerful for longevity on top of good rest and diet.
There is someone that lost their parent or grandparent, sister or brother, aunt or uncle, best friend, to unfortunate causes that could have been totally prevented had they looked after their own lives.
My brother died of COVID-19 in June of 2021. He and his mother were hospitalized. He was put on a ventilator. I asked him several times to take better care of himself, eat better, exercise, walk, run, whatever, just get healthier over the years. I hate to say it this way but he thought he was superman and he wasn’t. My father almost died of COVID-19 a year earlier, but thankfully he’s still here.
What do they have in common? They’re obese. All three of them. There are studies that have proven that being overweight or obese triples the chances of hospitalization. My father thankfully got better at home. My brother on the other hand was put on a ventilator and passed away about 3 weeks later. It hurts so much to think that he could still be here if he did something more. He didn’t have any underlying issues. He just didn’t want to give up the foods he was eating, he didn’t want to exercise. He could still be here for his son, my father, and I. It’s tragic.
Don’t wait until something bad happens. Take care of yourself now.
Be Active Daily 