Exercising has almost always come easy to me. I enjoy it. Yeah. It's something I like to do. I know that many people out there feel the same way, but many people feel the complete opposite way, too. Regardless of which side of the spectrum you're on I think that it's easy to fall into an unhealthy place with your relationship with exercise.
The relationship that you have with yourself is the most important relationship in your life. If you don't have a good relationship with yourself then there's a good chance that the rest of your relationships will suffer. Taking care of yourself, talking to, and treating yourself like you would your best friend, dog, partner, etc. is so important and key to blossoming that relationship. Fitness and exercise is just an extension of that.
I've been lifting consistently since November of last year but in May I started lifting 5 days a week. I'd get up at 5 a.m. everyday and hit the gym. I was consistent. I'm a very determined person when it comes to my workouts. So I'd go. Everyday. At that point it wasn't an issue. I was loving it. But as summer ramped up and I started biking, practicing yoga, and just being outside more in general I started to get tired. Trying to fit in all of my lifting, biking, yoga, and regular life plans was getting to be too much.
I was desperate to create more space in my life but I didn't want to give up the things that I loved. I took some time to think things through and realized that cutting back on lifting made the most sense. So that's what I did.
I'm now lifting 3 days a week. I'm so much happier with my decision. It's motivated me to push harder than ever before and has given me the chance to do more biking and yoga. Now I'm able to do it all in a reasonable manner which motivates me more and decreases my risk of overtraining and injury.
It's just what I need for this season of my life.
I truly believe that everyone should get out and move their bodies. Walking, biking, running, swimming, skiing, dancing, hiking, canoeing, etc. There are so many options and there's definitely something out there for everyone.
It's so easy to get caught up in the pressures that are all around us involving exercise. Having the perspective of it being a positive influence in our life and doing it out of love for ourselves - not hate - can shine a light on the good that it can bring. Anything can be seen as bad if we let it and sure, it's easy to slip into an unhealthy place with our workouts. But, when we're able to recognize the problem and flip it into a new experience it has the chance to give us a new outlook on the relationship that we have with it.
I want to encourage you to take a look at your relationship with exercise. Is it one that stems from a place of love or hate? Do you truly enjoy the activities that you're doing each day? Are you willing to try something new?
Answering questions like this and really diving into why we do the things we do can increase our mindset, actions, and life in so many ways. It'll challenge us and help us grow in ways that we didn't know we needed to grow in. And it's all a beautiful, exciting thing.
Ask the questions. Take the chance. Learn. Experience. Have fun. And grow.