What's Your Workout Mindset?
How you think about exercise affects how you feel about it AND how you feel about your body
If you're working out because you "have" to because you "need" to get in shape and lose weight and look differently, and you force yourself to do workouts you actually hate because you think it's what you need to do to get fitter and change your body, it's going to be really hard for you to stick with it.
Most of us have been there. We get started because we think we "should" or we're supposed to, and those of us who keep going do so because we realize there are SO many more benefits than changing how our bodies look.
We start to:
improve our health metrics at our annual doctor visits
feel stronger
be able to do more things outside the gym, like go up stairs without getting out of breath or opening jars without help
become motivated to get better at certain exercises
use exercise as social time, inside or outside the gym
enjoy working out because of all the other benefits it brings to our lives
I've seen it with many clients.
Those who work out to improve their balance, to promote overall health so they can avoid taking medications, to get stronger, or to get better at activities or sports outside the gym tend to enjoy working out more, feel more confident, and stay more committed to their fitness routines.
Those who are solely focused on a weight loss outcome, no matter what it takes, tend to get frustrated more quickly, have more negative self-talk, dread coming to the gym, and have difficulty sticking with a workout plan.(This is why I always emphasize BEHAVIORS instead of OUTCOMES!)
How we talk about exercise and our bodies impacts how we feel about exercise and our bodies.
A2018 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychologyshowed that the language that fitness instructors used in group classes impacted class participants' mood and feelings of body satisfaction.
In the study of 200+ college-age women, participants were split into two different workout classes.The workouts were the same,but the instructors in one group used appearance-focused comments, like "Blast that cellulite" or "Burn off that cake" while the other group's instructors focused on the functional benefits of the exercises, like getting stronger and engaging different muscle groups.
The participants in the class focused on function had a more positive experience in the exercise class, felt better about their bodies, and felt less self-conscious during exercise.
As someone who teaches classes and trains clients, those study results just validate what I see all the time.
It's not easy to shift your mindset from appearance to function when it sometimes feels like the entire world is just focused on looks and aesthetics.
If you're in a place right now where you're trying to change your body and you're working out because you want to look a certain way or weigh a certain number, I encourage you to find an activity you enjoy.
Find a workout or a class at the gym or any physical activity because you like it, not because you think it's what you "need" to do to get a certain result. Doing something because it brings more enjoyment to your life and makes you feel good will help you stay consistent.
From there, you might find you want to try other things that will help you get better at that activity. Maybe you love Zumba, and then you branch out into yoga because you need to stretch after all that dancing. Maybe you love pickleball, and then you hire a personal trainer to help you improve your skills and stamina. Maybe you enjoy running, and then you start to incorporate swimming to train your endurance with lower impact.
Or you might just find one thing that you like and stick with that. That's ok, too.
Working out, exercising, fitness, training -- it looks different for everyone. And we all look different doing it. The more we can focus on how we FEEL doing it and what it adds to our life, instead of what we're trying to lose, the better we'll feel about ourselves and our fitness long-term.
