As a personal trainer and nutrition coach, I spend a lot of energy trying to convince people to develop healthy habits. I’m always excited when people exercise and start to change their eating habits, but for some it stops there. Today I want to talk with you about why you should move past just exercising and move towards learning how to workout.
[If you’ve just started your health journey and/or feel overwhelmed, don’t let this stress you out. Save it for later! Keep going, friend!]
I’m not telling you to reinvent the wheel or bite off more than you can chew. You don’t need to know as much as I do or spend lots of time researching physics or the science behind which exercises make the tabata protocol most effective.
I am saying that it’s your body, and no one knows it better than you. No one has more at stake than you to keep it healthy. By learning how to exercise, you will no longer be a lost puppy if your bootcamp class is cancelled or if you’re away on business without your favorite workout DVD.
If you know how to exercise, you can still reach your goals when life happens- like a family member gets sick, you can no longer afford your Zumba class, or you go through a busy season at work. Or, ya know, you’re a mom! Here are some awesome reasons to motivate you to pay a little extra attention in class or during your latest P90x sweat-sesh!
Why You Should Learn How to Workout
Take Ownership
It’s your body. Only you know how your body feels. You know how it moves. You know what hurts and what movements you feel safe performing. Become more familiar with it. Take notes on what exercises really make you feel the burn. Learn which exercises work your trouble zones so you can push yourself towards your goals.
By taking ownership over your workouts and your body, you can work around your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, and really enjoy your workouts! Working out with friends or in group classes is fun, but not everyone can or should do each particular exercise. Become more independent and know what’s best for your body. Independence boosts confidence!
Go By Your Schedule and Your Time Frame
My favorite thing about being able to exercise on my own is getting to plan my workouts around when they work for ME. You no longer need to plan your workout around a fitness class, your gym’s hours, or your trainer’s schedule.
Some days you don’t even have time to drive to the gym, and on these days you can still blast fat and get those much needed endorphins at home. If you know a few exercises and proper form, you can combine them to fit into that 10 minute time frame you have for yourself on busy days. No more skipped workouts, and no more disappointment while looking in the mirror.
To Protect Yourself
If you’re working with a certified personal trainer or group instructor, you’re [most likely] in good hands. The truth is, though, if you’re in a fitness class, your instructor can’t watch all of you at once. He or she might not have time to correct your form or notice you’re doing the movement in a way that could hurt you. You might need a tweak on an exercise to help alleviate pain, activate the muscle more (AKA: get more bang for your buck), or prevent an injury. By relying on exercise DVDs or large fitness classes, you’re missing out on all of this necessary individualization.
By learning how to workout, you can work around any old injuries, skip or modify exercises that hurt you, or find an alternative exercise that’s even more effective. Like I said, it’s your body, and knowing how to protect it is a really valuable skill!
Because Life Is A Workout
Even if you’re a desk jockey, life is a workout. You carry groceries, lift and carry your kids, bend over to pick things up off the ground, etc. You squat, lunge, row, pushup, and twist, although they’re usually in the form of walking up stairs, picking up toys, or vacuuming!
To dominate the obstacle course that is life, you need to be strong, in good shape, and know how to move in the right ways. More people get hurt carrying things or picking something up off of the floor than they do during a workout. Learning good form and being in better shape will help prevent injuries from daily activities, as well as make them easier.
To Ward Off Discouragement
It’s easier to find discouragement than motivation, so we need to protect ourselves from it! For me personally, an injury from a car accident was a big setback, and it brought a lot of discouragement. I completely quit exercising for awhile, and without knowing proper form and certain exercises, I would still be sedentary. I was able to tweak my workouts, learn what exercises aggravated my injuries, and which ones made me stronger and healthier. Thankfully, I was able to press on towards my goals.
I talk with so many people who at one point were extremely motivated, started a crazy-intense workout regime, and then got discouraged and quit- it was either too hard or took up too much time. By knowing your limits, your fitness level, and what’s realistic for you- both physically and time-wise, you can find something that will be doable long-term. And that’s really what works best for weight loss!
Nothing Beats a Personal Trainer
Oh man. I can’t say this enough! I wish everyone could have one, at least for a few months. The individual instruction, feedback on your form, and personal workout plan is unmatched! It’s also great accountability and helpful to have someone to answer your questions. However, not everyone can afford one or fit it into their busy schedules, which is why I created The Fit Tutor.
Why The Fit Tutor Works
With The Fit Tutor, you get specific instruction on over 100 different exercises, as well as a modification to make each easier or more challenging. You start off watching all the videos, but soon you learn how to do each exercise. You’ll eventually only need to watch the videos for new exercises or when you want to increase the difficulty.
You feel more confident, and use the site mainly to get awesome workouts, use the Workout Creator, and for nutrition coaching. You learn what exercises really work for you, and the ones you like and the ones you don’t. When you’re at your in-law’s for Christmas you can still sneak in good workout, even though you don’t have room for your DVD player and have no idea where the nearest gym is.
It’s empowering, confidence-building, and we’ve had countless success stories! Many of our women say this is the longest they’ve ever stuck with a fitness regimen. And that makes my heart happy. I want to help women to learn how to workout so they don’t need to rely on someone else to get healthy and to get moving. To simplify the overcomplicated and intimidating world of exercise.
What are you waiting for? There’s no better time than now to take ownership of your health! Check out The Fit Tutor’s list of workout programs, and consider accountability help you work towards your progress!
All you need is a pair of dumbbells! :)
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