Everyone has a motivator behind working out. Mine happens to be proving my physical strength is more powerful than my mental struggles. Oftentimes I catch myself thinking, “I am tired. I am not strong enough. I cannot do this.” However, I always circle back to one of my favorite sayings, “you are stronger than you think you are.” This quote helps inspire me to push past my doubts and attack each workout with better confidence.
I had the opportunity to ask a few clients what motivates them to workout. I believe a few of you can relate to their motivators.
There are days when I really feel like “Why am I bothering to do this? I really don’t want to work out. Ever. Again.” But the one thing that can really get me in the door when I REALLY don’t want to be working out is the desire to not end up immobile as I age. Seeing older folks who can barely stand up straight, have limited mobility and/or have minimal energy remind me why I do make the effort to get through the door at FITT. I keep telling myself I want to be able to continue moving around until the day I die, not live for 20-30 years barely able to get up and down the stairs! Also, the desire to eat yummy (read: unhealthy) food motivates me to work out in hopes that the exercise cancels out at least some of the calories. 😉 I also want to set an example to my children (though they are highly UN-impressionable teenagers and older at the moment, I figure maybe something is sinking in!). Lastly, I have discovered that exercising really has the ability to improve my mood. Even when I sort of want to be in a grumpy mood, working out almost always undoes it! It’s like magic. 🙂—Nicole B
FITT-RX trainers and other clients help motivate me. I have never enjoyed a group fitness situation before – especially how sarcastic and hurtful some of the comments were. I am also motivated by what I couldn’t do before (i.e., burpees) to match my age.—Kevin M
I have a lot of motivators to work out. There are the obvious ones of health, aesthetics and that I like to eat good food and drink wine, but what really drives my consistency is my “bad” knees. I know that to maintain the function I would like, I have to keep my quads, glutes, hips and core strong. Finding FITT-RX has been a key component to being able to maintain my consistency, which helps maintain my strength. Some days I’m not able to do as much as others and some exercises are just beyond what my knees can handle, but the trainers are always helpful and ready to provide a modification when I need one. —Courtney W
I was never someone who worked out regularly. I used to exercise in fits and starts. I didn’t have a plan or commitment I’d just “try to work something in”. So quite often exercise just didn’t get done. Years ago when I started at FITT-RX, I committed to regular – at least two to three times a week – classes. I put it on my calendar first and worked everything else around it. They were 5:30 am classes so kinda hard to say I had something better to do! Once I got started I loved the routine and the way it felt to have it behind me as my day began. When the hardest part of your day is over before most people have rolled out of bed, you feel pretty strong. That feeling of accomplishment and the energy I have at 6:30 am motivate me to keep it up. -Mary Y
Fit and flexible enough to hang with all my little ones. That includes blood and extended family. To run, wrestle, skate, ski and much more. I would be sad to not be able to share their joys. —Jim D
I workout to burn-off the crazy. Kidding. Kinda. It does really help me with self-care. But really, I exercise because my body can. As long as I can remember, I watched my grandma struggle with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Some days she could hardly stand, much less lift a weight. So, when I’m thinking about skipping class, I think of how grateful she, or millions of others, would be to do a burpee, squat or move pain free. My body doesn’t hold me back and I appreciate that.-Amanda K
My motivation is “ remember why I started”. For me it’s not wanting to go back to the person who wasn’t working out. I was always an active person and then for some reason I just stopped. I had to get motivated because I didn’t like the person I was not working out. Group fitness classes motivate me to keep going. A class setting is ideal for me because working out on my own I would always find excuses to quit or cut my workout short. I do so much more in a class than I would ever do on my own. -Julie H
What motivates me is to keep up with my wife…don’t want her getting naked and wondering when I am going to get in shape… – R.M.
Wishing you and your motivators the best as we begin the New Year!–Jen Knuth