Why Exercise Doesn’t Need to Feel Like Punishment
Many people, especially when they are first starting up at working out, feel as though exercise is some form of punishment.
It is difficult, painful and uncomfortable, and must be something we deserve because we slacked off and ate badly and put on weight – right?
Wrong!
Exercise is not Punishment
We need to completely overhaul people’s opinions on exercise. It’s not a punishment for bad behaviour or a way to cancel out binges or lazy days. And it shouldn’t be viewed as a way of gathering good points so we can be naughty later.
Picture your exercise regime like walking up a hill. Every day you get a bit higher up the hill, and the view gets better and the plants greener and lovelier.
When you exercise like this you aren’t just looking at the end result – you are getting rewards every day. And you are in the moment, enjoying your workout as it happens.
If you view exercise as punishment, then you are thinking of yourself not at the bottom of a beautiful hill, but at the bottom of a deep, stinky hole. In this picture, you are battling to get out of the dark hole (which you dug) just trying to get to surface level again.
When you exercise like this, you are hating yourself and the process of exercising. There is no reward during the process, but only some light right at the very end.
Stop thinking of exercise as a way to move from a negative position back to level, but as a way to move from a level position to higher and better.
A Good Way to Hurt Yourself
‘Punishing’ workouts are more likely to be one-off, unplanned and intense – pushing your body or muscles to the limit while you pound out anger at yourself for letting yourself get this way.
If you go in viewing it a punishment or as a way to quickly compensate for unhealthy behaviour, your exercise regime is likely to be less structured or consistent. It is also more likely to cause you injury, and it really won’t have lasting effects.
It is better to completely separate the act of exercising from your psychology of good versus bad or naughty versus nice.
It isn’t something you do to punish yourself – it’s something you do because you care about yourself.
A Positive Mindset Around Exercise
Exercise isn’t a punishment for letting your body go – it should be seen as nourishment for a healthy body that will last you for decades to come. If you hate your exercise, and also if you view yourself negatively for needing to do it, you won’t be able to stick to it.
Exercise needs to be a positive experience and a gift to your body. Find something that you enjoy, do it with a friend, add a puppy or some funky music – whatever you like.
You should look at this as a celebration of what your body can do, and a way to improve.
Your reward comes from looking back over the last few weeks and seeing the improvements in your reps or the amount of weight you can lift, or the tally of calories you’ve lost through cardio.
Tell yourself that you deserve to exercise because it is good for you. And you are worth it.
You don’t need to go full throttle to get results
You don’t need to push yourself to your absolute limit to get results or to feel like you are getting somewhere. It doesn’t need to cause you pain to have the effect you desire.
Some forms of exercise, like high-intensity interval training or programs like boot camps are an excellent way to get started and see quick results, or to kick your current exercise routine up a notch when you feel your results have plateaued.
But you don’t need to sign up for something high intensity if this kind of regime doesn’t feel like the right match for you. Quite simply, your mindset doesn’t need to be about punishing your body to see results – there are other things you can do.
The beauty and power of healthy exercise is in finding what works for you, and everyone has something that is perfect for them, their habits and their lifestyle
Small changes in diet and activity make a big impact
You can try something as simple as walking several times a week. A client recently came to into my service, and he had lost 40+ kgs just by pounding the dirt alone. Some slow steady walking only – no killing himself.
Try adding one dietary and one activity change to your regime every week from the suggestions below. When you feel like you have got a handle on your latest addition, add the next, or bump up the difficulty or frequency of what you are already doing.
Simple Positive Changes
- Drink 2 litres of water every day
- Fast one to two days a week
- Eat nothing but vegetables two days a week
- Go completely sugar-free for one day (then add another day, and another…)
- Walk for 15 minutes every day after lunch or dinner (then increase this to both!)
- Try a new exercise with a friend every week
Slow and Steady
If it has been a long time since you exercised, starting at full throttle is a very good way to burn out quickly and give up without seeing any results. If you are very unfit, it can also be a very good way to do yourself an injury.
If you tell yourself that it has to be all or nothing, then you are more likely to elect to do nothing.
In truth, something is better than nothing. Just get started. Just do a little and do it as often as you can. Then start to push yourself a little more each time.
Results aren’t instant in this kind of exercise regime, but they are effective, and much more likely to be permanent.
Let me know if you need a hand to get moving. Paula
