How much should we push ourselves?
Once we start our fitness journey there are so many doubts that show up. It's hard to know how many days we should workout, how long each workout should last, or even how many reps we should do, to really start seeing results.
Everything is new, so it's inevitable to not have many questions. There is one question that I had at the begining of my journey and still have. How hard should I push myself? When is it enough?
One thing I've learned is that, it's important to keep my relationship with exercising as healthy as possible. I enjoy working out. It's a gift I'm able to give to myself. That's why it's important to listen to my body and know when I've reached a limit.
Our relationship with exercising
I think the first step is finding joy in exercising. I know that at the beginning it might be a hard hobby to implement into our lives. Especially if we didn't begin at a young age. Once exercising becomes a part of our daily lives we begin to have a different approach towards it. I've personally experienced this transition.
At first it was all about looking better, but then it turned to all about feeling better. The thing that mostly motivates me to get up at 6:00 am in the mornings and go workout, is the feeling I have after each workout. Also, the feeling of getting stronger is something I will forever strive for. There's so many positive attributes that go into exercising that I could talk about endlessly. The important thing is that each of us find the way to love the process. Which includes having a healthy relationship with exercising. Enjoy giving back to our bodies.
Knowing our limits
When we start our fitness journey, most of the time we feel very motivated. This motivation can set high standards which might affect us later on. Feeling motivated is the easiest time to be consistent with the gym and eat healthy. But motivation isn't what keeps habits in our lives. There will be days that we don't feel motivated, that's when commitment steps in. This being said, it's best we help our selves out.
We're all on different stages of our fitness journey. Someone who is beginning might not have the same condition or strength as someone who has been committed to their journey for 2-3 years, and so on. Which means, the person beginning shouldn't have the same expectations for themselves as people who have more experience. To really enjoy the process we need to set realistic goals for ourselves.
This means, we should know where we stand with our fitness journey. The answer to the initial question is, no answer. Everyone should know how hard they should push themselves, depending on their own circumstances. I will say, it's important that we don't compare ourselves. We're all on different paths and trying to figure out what's best for us. ;)
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