For Those Who Hate to Workout!

One could say that I've been physically active all of my life.  I started out in dance lessons when I was in 7.  By high school, I had dreams of being a Broadway star. I spent every day after school at the studio in class, teaching class, or assisting others.

Fast forward to college - I decided I needed to focus on getting a "real" job instead of darting off to Broadway.  I continued to dance, but I also became a certified fitness instructor.  I was always battling that extra 5-10 pounds that dancers are always battling. A large part of why I became a fitness instructor was because it forced me to work out, something I was not really good at motivating my own self to do.

I taught for 15 years and at one point, I was teaching up to 10 classes a week.  I truly loved inspiring others to workout, but to be honest, I didn't really like working out.

So, when I decided to stop teaching and focus on my family and my career, my working out pretty much stopped too.  For many years, I didn't workout at all.   And when we joined the YMCA, I would attend classes for a while, then fall off, then go back, then fall off.

Working out was a chore.   And to tell you the truth, I didn't really see inspiring results.  I managed to get, and maintain, my weight to an OK level, but for the time I would put in, I just kind of looked the same.  I never saw my body progress past a certain level.

So, what has changed in my life?
We went on a cruise recently, and I was reminded of a time when I would not have  considered working out on my vacation. That's what vacations are for, afterall, right?  Taking a "vacation" from work.  I would see others working out on vacation and kind of chuckle to myself - get a life, I would think.

On our recent cruise, I worked out every day.  I imagine some people looked at me and thought - it's a vacation for Pete's sake, take a break. But I actually WANTED to workout.  It felt good.  It made me feel better each day.  It really made me feel like I was on vacation, because now, I could focus on doing the things that I loved doing without other mundane distractions.  Working out had become one of the things that I loved doing.

I have to say, a lot of that change in mindset I owe to Beachbody.  The more results I saw from my workouts, the more inspired I became.  The more Tony Horton and Shaun T and Chalene Johnson that got into my head, the more motivated I became - my workouts truly became the best part of my day.  When I felt tired, beaten down, upset about something at work, I just pushed play, and I was once again reminded that "I can do it", "I'm amazing", "I'm an athlete".

And when I looked in the mirror, I saw true results--results like I'd never seen before, results that I thought could never possibly happen to me - muscle definition, toned abs and arms...cuts and rips became something I could now relate to!  And I found that when I worked out in front of a mirror, I could actually see my muscles as I worked out, which made me want to put that much more into my workout.  I knew that the time I was putting in was paying off!

So, I guess I'm writing this for those of you who say, "I just hate to workout...I want to lose weight, but I hate to workout."  I say to you, if you want to lose weight, you need to learn to love to workout.  And it is possible!  Give it some time - it won't happen over night - just like losing weight doesn't happen over night.
You need to "act as if"...act as if you like to workout. Schedule it on your calendar, get some workout clothes and shoes that you feel good in; "push play" on a regular basis; track your results.  And as you start loving the new you, you will start loving your workouts.  You won't want to miss one.  You will find that, no matter how tired you are, or "not in the mood", once your body feels that first stretch, it's becomes like a "Calgon, take me away" moment.

And while you will lose (weight),you will gain so much more!

The very best part of my today:  I now feel strong - in mind, body and spirit.  I feel powerful, like I can accomplish whatever I set out to accomplish.

I'm telling you, it happened to me, it can happen to you