I’ll be the first person to say that going to the gym can be boring. You do the same handful of movements and stick to the same handful of machines each week and do them over and over again until the end of time. At least that’s usually what happens to me when I go to the gym. Even if I decide to switch things up and try out new routines, the cycle of boredom just starts all over again and I find myself in the same predicament. The reason this always seems to happen is because going to the gym for the sole purpose of looking better doesn’t provide you with a very constructive goal that you can work towards obtaining. With no goal to work towards, going to the gym can begin to feel more like a chore than something exciting and motivating.
A few days ago, I saw an ad that Nike is running to promote their new Metcon 3 training shoes and it made me rethink my entire relationship with working out.
“Stop Exercising. Start Training. A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Courtesy: Milled
This isn’t just a catchy slogan, it’s actually an amazing mindset to have when you’re trying to improve your body and see what you are physically capable of achieving. By changing your perspective from “I want to look better,” to “I want to run a half marathon,” or “I want to enter into a competition,” you’re switching your mindset from something that is abstract and arbitrary to something that is concrete and obtainable. Here are a few of the positive effects that go hand in hand with switching from exercising to training:
1. You see your body in an entirely new way.
When you begin training for any kind of competition or race, you are pushing your body to make that faster time or lift that heavier weight so you can be the best athlete you can be when the day of your event finally arrives. You begin seeing your body not as something that is just going to look better in a bikini but as something you can push to do things you never thought you were capable of doing. Training allows you to have an amazing relationship with your body that you might not experience with exercising.
Courtesy: WowAmazing
2. Training is goal oriented.
If you really want to see changes in your body, set a goal! I can’t emphasize this enough. If you know what you need to do in order to reach the goal that you’ve set for yourself and are able to work towards that goal each day, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Not to mention, having an obtainable goal is the best motivation you could ever ask for. You’re no longer running on the treadmill just to get your cardio in for the day, you’re running on the treadmill so that you can finish the half-marathon you signed up for in February. It changes your entire outlook on life.
Courtesy: Pinterest
3. It’s so much more fun.
I never knew how enjoyable training could be until I started going to CrossFit two years ago. You join a community of people who are all setting goals and working hard each day to reach them. You push each other and root for each other, and it quickly turns into something that is so much more than just exercising. Regardless of what you decide to train for, try to find a community of people who are all working towards the same goal. I promise you, you’ll be surprised by how much better you’re able to perform when you have other people around you motivating you to do your best, and you won’t believe how much fun you’ll have doing it.
Courtesy: CrossFit Omagh