Stop Punishing Yourself for Health

There you are jogging to the gym at 5 in the morning. The air is crisp and cool. The sun still isn't up yet, and you're so tired you can barely keep your eyes peeled. It's the kind of exhausted that you're feeling in the palms of your hands and the bottoms of your feet.

Yet, still here you are, this early in the morning, trying to force in a fast workout before heading off to the office for a whole day of work. This is the cost of fitness after all. This is the price you have to pay to stay in shape and avoid getting a heart attack like your father did.

Next you change in the locker room, and everybody else there is just a catatonic zombie, like you. You walk out to the treadmills and you find a free one. You get on and you start racing like a hamster caught in in a wheel.

Every mile and each minute that ticks by on the distance counter is agonizing and your mind as screaming at you and hunting for any and every reason to stop... To rest... To go back to bed... Or at a minimum enjoy a calming coffee at that coffee shop down the street... Anything besides this torture!

Why do we do this?

Why is exercise more of a burden. More of a pain, rather than something fun to be enjoyed?

Remember back we you were a child? There was no such thing as"exercise" back then. It was all just play. Whether it is a game of tag when you were five or playing basketball with some friends on the weekend when you were fifteen, moving your body was fun.

What has happened to those days? At what point did it get more about chasing reps, counting miles, and logging exercise routines?

Today I am inviting you to stop punishing yourself for fitness. I want to welcome you in to enjoy using your body again. Play with your kids. Spend a little time with your family members or friends doing something physical like hiking or enjoying a sport.

A good place to begin learning about this is Gold Medal Bodies.

Remember that moving your body is something that should be pleasurable and fun. Sure, you're an adult now, but does that suggest that you need to live each part of your life seriously? Why not blow off some steam, stop punishing yourself with tedious exercise routines and do something fun today.