If I asked you right now, “what are your fitness goals? Why do you want to be fit?” – would you know the answer?  A lot of people don’t, and that’s okay.  Figuring out the answer to this question though, is going to be vital in your training journey and help you to stay on track.  This may be the biggest reason why so many people fail to make it past the 3-month mark; if you don’t know why you’re doing something, then you are more likely to fall off the rails.  This is when investing in a personal trainer or kinesiologist is helpful – not only can they help you identify what your goals are, but they can keep you on track and remind you of your why.  They can also help you in those moments where you feel like you haven’t accomplished enough.  Maybe you do want to be fit, strong, lose weight etc. But why?  Really understanding the “why” behind it is going to make things so much clearer. 

Finding Your Why

Many clients that I see want to lose weight and “get toned” (sidebar: getting “toned” is not a “legit” term, but I know what you mean).  After asking them why, they often say something along the lines of, “I’ve got a wedding coming up and want to fit into my dress”, or “I want to lose ‘X-number’ of pounds by my birthday”, or “I’m going to Hawaii and want to look amazing!” – but, hardly anyone ever answers, “weight lifting is new to me and I want a good challenge in my life, I want to feel like I’ve accomplished something”.  Although there is nothing wrong with attaching your goals to an upcoming special event, this can unfortunately be short lived. Eventually, the date/event will pass – do you still want to weight train? Most people would say, “well no, it’s really hard” – and true enough!  Weight training is exceptionally difficult and quite frankly, it hurts!  Breaking down muscle fibers doesn’t exactly sound like fun.  But, at the end of the day, the benefits outweigh the short-term hardships:

• Decreased Heart Rate and Blood Pressure
• Weight loss
• Increased self-confidence
• Decreased depression and anxiety
• Increased muscle and bone growth
• Improved sleep, posture, and energy levels

Not only that, but there’s a huge reward in knowing that you are increasing the chances of being independent when you’re older!  Walking up and down stairs or getting on/off the toilet are both super useful things to be able to do on your own when you’ve reached old age. Considering the deeper reasons as to “why” you want to weight train might be worth a moment of time.  It’s okay if your reason starts off being “I want to lose weight for my wedding” – but setting yourself up to think about after your wedding will help you make lifestyle change that can last a lifetime.

Find the joy, be kind, and we’ll chat again soon,

xo

Melissa

Questions? Email me: melissa@cordessa.ca