Making Fitness Work FOR You

exerciseHaving Scott Tousignant sharing his great guest posts about fitness this week has me thinking…

What helps women make fitness a key part of their lives?

I know what doesn’t. I see more women spurn fitness and a healthier lifestyle when it becomes a “should”—one more thing in the laundry list of “have-tos” that already feels too long and overwhelming. Who needs that?

Transforming fitness and even healthy eating from a “should” into something very different is what I believe creates healthy lifestyle transformations for many of my clients.

What else can fitness be?  Scott has already told you that fitness doesn’t have to be long and laborious and that it isn’t taking time away.  Exercise can be a time-efficient energy and productivity booster.  It can also be a great way to work out that kink in your shoulders that comes from being on the computer all day.  Fitness can be time spent laughing with your kids (children + stability ball almost always = something fun) or a way to incorporate music into your day.  Fitness can be a way to shift your mood or play your favorite superhero (kickboxing anyone?). It can be a way to get outside and play (when was the last time you walked or ran in the rain or came home muddy?). Exercise and fitness can be a gateway to being able to do some things that you can’t do so well anymore—riding a bike or a horse, sailing your boat, even sleeping without back pain.

Instead of asking yourself how you can “make yourself” exercise (because you “should,” ask yourself what you’d like physical activity to do FOR you. What’s the feeling you seek? Energy? Calm? Strength and power? Grace?  Maybe you are looking for a way to clear your head, combat stress, renew your focus? Perhaps you’d just like your knees to stop hurting. Fair enough. What are the juicy, life enhancing things you’d do more of if your knees didn’t ache? That’s something to work for that can be significantly more motivating than a “should.”

Could you shift from a dull boring “should” to activity that’s more fun? What do you LOVE to do inside your body? Dance? Play? Throw snow balls? I had a client who got her cardio in by passionately conducting the classical music she played on her stereo. Another gave up her cardio contraption in the basement to go outside and shoot baskets. What would FEED your soul?

I really hope that Scott’s posts are helpful to you this week and inspire you to consider ways to incorporate more activity into your work day and your life.  I also want to challenge you to think about the mindset you have about exercise and fitness.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. What motivates you to workout? If you are struggling with “shoulds” and creating motivation, does a mind shift seem necessary? Does it seem possible?

Take good care,

Melissa

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One Response to “Making Fitness Work FOR You”

  1. Scott Tousignant says:
    November 17, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Boy oh boy did I ever love reading this post. It confirms yet another reason why I love the work that you do and the approach that you take in educating your fans to live a healthier lifestyle.

    Fitness is something that should be enjoyed. You shouldn’t be doing a certain form of activity just because it’s the latest trend in a glamor magazine.

    Discovering fun ways that you can add more activity throughout your day is key, especially when you are sitting at a desk most of the day. That’s one reason why I do my quickie office workouts. It gets me out of my chair and get my body moving.

    But that’s such a small part of my overall activity. I chase the kids around like crazy. We make up our own games and love playing tag ball in the backyard. We’ve even been playing in the dark lately since daylight savings time ended. This has put a new fun spin on things.

    Simple hikes along the trail with the kids, riding our bikes around the block, catching tadpoles in the ditch… there’s so many fun things that you can do to be active.

    I love walking, biking, and playing some organized and unorganized sports.

    A healthy active lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to follow a rigid structured workout plan where you go to the gym for 45 minutes.

    Structure can be good, but if it involves doing something that you aren’t enjoying, it can cause more stress and harm than good.

    It’s an experience. It’s a journey of self exploration and discovery. When you find the fun in fitness you’re on a path of long term success.

    Weight loss should only be a secondary benefit and reason for fitness. Be active for other reasons instead.

    I’m really glad that you shared this post with us today Melissa. And your questions that you propose are fantastic. I can’t wait to hear the responses.

    You ROCK!

    Scott Tousignant

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