Train Your Mind to Love the Gym

Working out for me has always been a necessary evil. It takes a lot of effort for me to want to go. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of being a strong female, and once I do get there and start working out the feeling of dislike disappears. I like gaining muscle, I like being lean, and for a long time (6 years) I was even training as a kickboxing fighter. Trust me, I love that stuff. But it’s just hard to keep me in the mindset that I have to be there. I need to take care of myself better so that I can be the badass that I’ve always been.

I’m a single mom, I ghostwrite full-time and I have a book coming out next month so to say that I’m busy is the understatement of the year. So, if anything falls off track it’s usually going to be the gym. I decided recently that I was going to make going to the gym a priority, after all the older I get I notice a difference in my body if I don’t hit the gym. I’m not just talking aesthetically either, I feel weaker and more tired all the time. I don’t like feeling that way because I’m used to being a badass, especially at the gym.

Part of changing my mindset this year was deciding what I wanted especially in regards to the way my body looked and how I wanted to feel health-wise. I realized I didn’t like the way that I was feeling and I wanted to get the strength back that I once had.

Once upon I time I had some quick and powerful punches, my fists used to slam hard into the bag and I dripped sweat every time that I left the gym. But the best part about it was that feeling of being alive. Walking down those gym steps when my body felt exhausted, spent from all the hard work I did inside, I still felt better than I did on the days that I didn’t make it to the gym. I was a beast in the gym and I really wish I would have stuck with it.

So, I went back today feeling tired from not getting much sleep the night before. I walked into the gym with a smile on my face because I know deep down that badass is still there and she’s going to kill that workout. I hit up the weights, lifting heavy as I usually do, and then I finished off on the treadmill to do steep hill climbing. It’s my favorite and it gives my bum a great workout. When I finally finished, I felt wonderful. I had survived the workout and I was proud of myself for making it through without giving up.

The moral of the story is: do it anyway even if you don’t want to. I could have found a million excuses not to go to the gym, we all can find those excuses. We are all better off if we put our health first and get to the gym regardless of what we have to do that day. I know I’ve put the gym to the side and now I’m back there starting from scratch, had I stayed involved I wouldn’t feel as if I was starting right back from the beginning. I have my goals now and I’m determined to meet them no matter what. We have to start putting ourselves first when it comes to self-care and that means getting our butts to the gym. You can thank me later.