How to get Motivated for your Workout
Talking about getting fit used to be one of my very favourite pastimes. There was nothing I liked better than a proper girly natter with friends (preferably over a bottle of wine and a big bowl of pasta), going over latest fitness fads and diets. “I really need to start a diet tomorrow.” (slurping up some more carbonara sauce); “A friend of mine is on a diet at the moment – apparently you can eat as many potatoes as you want on it.” “Really? That can’t be right…”; “What’s this dance thing that’s all the rage – zumba – have you tried it? Is it any good?” “I don’t know, I hear it’s all about shaking your stuff. Meant to be a good workout though.” “Hmmm, maybe I’ll try running.” Etc. etc….
Lately, we’re invited to get fit “because of the Olympics.” I must admit, this reasoning surprises me a little, I suppose because when I look at an Olympic athlete, I don’t see a level of fitness I could conceivably ever attain. Wherever you draw inspiration from though, the key is that it gets you motivated to make exercise a part of your regular routine. The inspiration that got me from talking to walking, as it were, was suddenly waking up to the fact that, if I wasn’t fit at 25, when on earth was I planning on getting that toned body I’d always wanted? When I was married, with kids to feed, laundry to do and a full-time job with a bunch of other responsibilities? Doesn’t sound likely, does it?
I’d also, I must admit, grown a little tired of the attitude a lot of single girls in their 20s seem to take; being either to sit about endlessly bemoaning their singledom in a Bridget-Jones-without-the-humour kind of way, or galvanizing into an exhausting life-style of rushing from bar to bar, man to man, night after night, desperate to find the next boyfriend that would stick. I’d taken a rather different attitude on becoming single: I’d realised that this was a time I could concentrate all my energy on ME. The notion was intoxicating. Now, I find I have to fight my tendency to become a bit of a fitness Nazi, I feel the urge to yell “put down the ice-cream / vodka! get to the gym! these are your golden years! stop wasting them! you’re in your 20s for goodness’ sake – you’re in no way in danger of becoming a cat lady. quit moaning and work on your own awesomeness!”
In all seriousness, though, at whatever age and whatever your relationship status, I firmly believe that making your mental and physical health a priority for a period of time each day is of paramount importance. It’s ok to be selfish sometimes. Not only will you look and feel great, you’ll be setting an example of health and fitness to those closest to you. I certainly know that, if I ever am a mother, it’ll be much easier to bring up my children to be aware of the importance of a healthy diet and adequate exercise if I already have such fitness patterns in place for myself.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.