Jun 4, 2021

Exercise for Success

So, I am constantly being asked,
Why do I exercise?
What keeps me motivated for exercise?
What do you do when life happens, how do you continue to exercise?

I was that person a long time ago where I developed the goal of exercising so that I could lose weight. I wanted to be a certain size, I wanted to look a certain way but then exercise became more to me than that. I had to determine some key things in order to stick with exercise, to stay exercising. I had to look at exercise in a different way in order to exercise for success. I had to:

1. Determine “Your WHY”
   When you find your WHY it helps keep you motivated, it helps keep you determined and focused. Why is that? because when I suffered an injury or when life just happened, I had to go back and figure out
   Why was I exercising?
   Why did I want to lose weight?
   Why did I want to complete a marathon?

   Then I realized that I was doing all of this because I wanted to feel better, I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be able to enjoy life with my kids. So, once I realized my WHY the days that I wasn’t motivated, the days I didn’t want to do the exercise I remembered my WHY. I remembered why I was doing all the things that I was doing.

   So, take a moment and ask yourself, “What is my Why?”

2. Create a PLAN
   I am a believer that without visual, written things we don’t see it. Out of sight, out of mind. When we take time out to truly write out our goals and plan then we are more apt to fulfill our goals.  So, plan out what you are wanting to accomplishHow will you accomplish it?
   What will it look like?
   What is your schedule like?
3. Start from where you ARE
   The biggest problem we tend to make is we look at what others are doing and try to start where they are. We start too fast, we don’t succeed to our standards and then we give up. If you have never ran a day in your life, then start by walking consistently and build up from there. We can’t run before we walk; we can’t walk before we crawl. That’s just saying that you will get there but you must first start from where you are.
4. Take Small Steps
   In starting from where you are realized that in order to get to that goal, dream or vision you must take small steps. Change doesn’t happen overnight; we didn’t get the way we are overnight; it took time. So, realize that this journey will take time it will not happen overnight. You must take small steps. It’s the small steps that lead to the Big Change. It’s not the big leaps that we make in our life that makes the difference it’s the small changes and steps that we make in our lives that lead to the big difference, big change.
5. Develop a Routine and a HABIT
   It’s great to create a plan but what is a plan if you don’t act on it or you don’t create that habitual routine. Habits are developed from doing a consistent routine. Things become habitual when we are constantly doing the same thing in a certain routine or form. In order to incorporate exercise into your daily activity you must create a routine that includes exercise in it.
6. Learn that It’s Not a DESTINATION it’s a JOURNEY
   You must understand that living a healthy lifestyle, particularly exercising is not a destination it’s a journey. When we think about destination and we are trying to get from point A to point B. We drive from point A to point B and we get to our destination. Well once we are at our destination, we either stay there for a little while or we go back to our original point. In living a healthy lifestyle and exercising we have to realize that this is not just about getting to a destination. We are striving to continue this lifelong journey. This journey of being free from disease, journey of wanting to enjoy the one life we have without fear of not being able to enjoy it.

So, ask me why do I exercise?
I exercise 4 success
I exercise because I am on this lifelong journey of healthy living
I exercise because I feel free to be
I exercise because I feel great after I exercise
I exercise so that I can be the best mother that I can be for my girls
More importantly, I exercise for ME

Take a moment and ask yourself, “Why do you exercise?”

By: Felicia. R. Hall @feliciarhall
Felicia is an educator and motivator at heart. Felicia is a Certified Athletic Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Run & Fitness Coach, RYT 200 Yoga Instructor, Educator and a doctoral candidate. She is a small-town girl who loves running, nature and helping others become the best version of themselves.