3 Ways to Practice Patience in Fitness
By Genevieve Cunningham
Getting fit is hard work. It's not just physically demanding, but it's also mentally and emotionally demanding. It takes so much dedication and patience, and waiting for those results to show up can feel like torture! So what can we do to make the experience better? How can we lower the stress and enjoy the process a little more? If you're in the midst of a fitness journey, take a look at these tips for practicing your patience to help keep motivation alive.
Set Smaller Goals
The bigger the goal, the longer it's going to take to meet that goal. Does this mean to abandon all big goals? Absolutely not! Keep your big goal as an endgame. But set some smaller, more easily reached goals along the way. You want to lose 50 pounds? Great! But go ahead and celebrate when you've lost 5. These smaller goals can make it seem like a million little successes instead of a long-term project without any results.
Find an Exercise You Love
Part of exercising patience is learning to love the process. A lot of people hate exercise and only do it begrudgingly to get results. But if you want to enjoy the weight loss process, then it's crucial to love your movement. This can certainly be a challenge, but all it really takes is some trial and error. And in some cases, it takes massive trial and error. If you don't love your workout, keep trying new things until something sticks. Ask friends for advice. Check out the brand new class at the local gym. The more you love your exercise program, the easier it is to stick with it through the hard times until the success finally shines through.
Get Really Into Food
This obviously doesn't mean that you should get really into your Oreos or fried foods. It means that you should learn what your body likes, and then get into the preparation process. Take a healthy cooking class! These are not only informative, but they're also a ton of fun. Taking the right kind of class can arm you with knowledge -- about what to eat, what to avoid, how to cook it, and how to pair it all together. While you'll still be excited to see results when they happen, your mind will be busy and focused in the meantime.
Patience is hard! And when you're working hard to get fit and aren't seeing any changes, patience can be harder than ever. But if you can learn to relax just a little and enjoy the process, it all becomes easier. Use these tips to practice your patience and you'll be loving the results of your hard work before you know it.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Glendale, Calif.