Oh my god you guys we’re coming up on the last days of the 30-day fitness challenge! I can’t believe it, seriously I can’t.
First, I want to congratulate you on making this far, or however far you made it. Working out to get yourself in shape isn’t easy. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication, internal motivation, and above all a devoted commitment to yourself. So, whether you stuck out the whole 30 days, you made it through the first week, or you just popped in and out the entire time I’m proud of you!
In fact, I’m so proud of you that I figured I’d help you continue your fitness and wellness journey by gifting you with something special. However, you have to read to the end of the post to see what it is! I promise it’s something good 😊.
But before we jump into that I wanted to share with you 4 reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid to workout. I feel like there is this weird veil that hangs over the fitness community. That those who are serious about fitness look a certain way, eat certain foods, maintain a certain lifestyle, etc. While it is true that what you eat and how active you are will contribute greatly to the results of your workouts, not living up to that ideal fitness lifestyle doesn’t mean you aren’t serious about your fitness.
Story time
I struggled for years with this feeling because I just didn’t look like those who consistently worked out. Even now, with a steady workout routine and slowly adopting healthier and cleaner eating options, I don’t look like the typical fitness person, and this is because my body and the way it responds to everything is unique to my own personal experience. The same goes for you. And it was because of this fear that I never told people that I liked to workout, or that I enjoyed doing challenging activities such as hiking or going on super long walks.
It wasn’t until the beginning of this year when I started to stop being afraid of letting people know that I enjoyed working out. I started working out at home at a consistent time and didn’t care who saw me. I started taking my dogs on longer walks and didn’t care if the person walking with me wanted to limit the time to 15 minutes or less. Even just recently I started to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to go on hikes, and crazy inclines (a story for another day), and didn’t care that it took me nearly 4 hours to complete it.
This year was a wake-up call for me that my health is my responsibility and just because I don’t look the way a fitness individual “should” look, doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t enjoy participating in fitness related activities. So even though I was scared I started revealing this part of my life to others. Even with my blog, I tried for the most part to shade away from directly talking about fitness just because of that fear. But now, I don’t care.
It’s something that I enjoy to do, and while I’m no expert or I’m not certified as a fitness coach, working out is not only part of your fitness journey, but it’s also part of your wellness journey. Which means that it’s a very important and vital part of self-care. Which means that it’s something important and valuable to me and I want to share that with you. Whether working out is a daily thing for you or not it shouldn’t matter, what matters is that you have the courage to even take your health in your own hands to begin with.
Which brings me to 4 reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid to workout.
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Your health your life
It took me a really long time to understand that I was in control of my health. My eating habits, that’s in my power. My activity level, that’s in my power. My sleep cycle, that’s in my power. My perception of my body image, that’s in my power. Anything and everything that directly impacts my health for better or for worse, is in my power.
Therefore, I should care about how I treat and care for my body, as should you. The first thing you have to do is let go of whatever ridiculous idea you have of what it means to be fit. The skinny slim body, the out of this world stamina, the super toned arms…let it go. Yes, that’s considered fit for some people but for most people it’s not! With things like that there are a number of factors you have to take into consideration. Such as…
- How often these people are working out
- How many hours they spend working out
- Do they workout in the gym or at home
- Are they on a strict diet
- If so what diet specifically
- Genes play a HUGE role in your body composition
- What kind of lifestyle do they have
- How long have they been on their journey
- What their mental, emotional, and physical state was before what you see now
- Who are their friends, etc.
Sounds so silly but it’s things like this have to be taken into consideration because it varies from person to person. Which means that their results are not going to equal your results. But even then, it still doesn’t mean that you don’t love working out or take it seriously. It’s your life which means your health is your responsibility, so don’t let the fear of not fitting the mold hold you back from transforming into the best of you.
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Genes matter
As I mentioned earlier a huge factor that you have to take into consideration is your genes. I come from a family of thick, curvy, and heavenly gifted in all the right places women. I also grew up on home cooked meals, fast food, and junk food. I didn’t grow up around people who necessarily dedicated themselves to working out, or eating a certain way, but I did grow up around people who believed in walking everywhere they went if it wasn’t too far. It is because of this that my body looks the way it looks, and no matter how hard I work out I will never have the super slim and lean body type.
And I’m ok with that.
What matters is that I know that I care for my body to the best of my ability. My body changes in sync with my eating habits, the intensity and consistency of my workouts, and my daily routine of being as active as I possibly can for the day. It’s a change that you can notice but no matter how hard I try I will never be able to completely change my body, and rid myself of everything that is unique and beautiful about myself, because that’s all in my genes.
The same goes for you. You will have the power to transform your body and shape it any way that you want to, but those parts of you that you get from your mama (or just are a part of your genes), you will never be able to permanently change. And that’s ok! It doesn’t mean you can’t work out those areas and make them stronger, enhance their features, and make them healthy and beautiful, because you can.
Those parts of you that you cannot change do not hinder you. They may be an insecurity that you have, but learning how to care for them in a manner which makes you comfortable, happy, and proud of that insecurity will change the way you feel about those parts of your body. So, don’t be afraid to embrace those parts of you and do what you have to do (in a safe, natural, and healthy way) to be at your happiest with those body parts. After all, it’s you who will have to learn how to thrive in the skin that you’re in.
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It shows that you care about yourself
As I also mentioned earlier working out is a form of self-care. Therefore, why would you hide such a beautiful practice? When you engage in self-care you are taking the time to love and care for yourself. There are many different ways to engage in self-care, but the key to it is caring for you mind, your body, and your emotions. And I personally believe that you hit all these areas when you work out.
I was once told that there is nothing sexier than genuinely and unapologetically loving yourself just as you are. When I was told this a long time ago, I didn’t know what this meant because I was not at a place in my life to genuinely and unapologetically love myself just as I was. Now that I have broken those fear chains of working out, I know what it means, and guess what…I couldn’t agree more!
When you take care of yourself there is something so powerful about doing it for yourself. You’re not doing it for anyone else, you’re not doing it because someone told you something about yourself that made you feel so insecure, and you’re not doing it because you feel as though you have to do it when you really don’t want to. Instead you are doing it because you care about yourself and your health, and where loving yourself now will put you 10 years in the future.
You don’t have to fit the ideal mold of what it means to be fit, to be fit and healthy. All that matters is that you are taking the necessary measures to care for yourself and love yourself unapologetically, no matter how you may look while doing it.
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It’s your personal journey
The most important thing that I have to constantly remind myself is that my fitness and wellness journey is my journey. No matter where I may be on that journey, how committed I may be at the moment, or how hard I may or may not be pushing myself, is no concern of anyone else’s. Why?
Because it’s MY journey!
Which means that it’s my rollercoaster to ride, my ups and downs to endure, my own space for experimentation to unfold, and most importantly my own safe space to push myself as hard as I may need to in order to get to the place I want to be at.
The same goes for you. It’s your own personal journey therefore you shouldn’t be afraid to embark on it. Will it be a perfect system and the best experience of your life right off the back? Hell no! In fact, if you’re just starting your journey you will spend a lot of time questioning yourself, doubting yourself, and even giving up on yourself. But eventually you will reach a point on your journey where you just cast all of that fear to the side, and you really start to give it your all.
It will be in that moment when you realize that you have embarked on your personal fitness and wellness journey and it was nothing like you thought it would be, but instead it was better in so many ways. And only you can create that for yourself, no one else can create it for you, and you can’t create it for anyone else. You have to want it for yourself and let that drive be the reason you give it to yourself.
Nothing less and nothing more.
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Now the moment you’ve been waiting for!
With that being said we are about to embark on another journey!
Yes, you read that right, it’s time for another journey. The 30-day fitness challenge so far has been a fun ride but now it’s time to really kick this fitness journey into high gear. Which is why I have created for you a 30-day workout calendar that you can use over and over again, complete with yoga and stretching workout routines!
This calendar is packed with workouts that are going to help you strengthen your body, challenge your mind in a good way, and above all help you create the habit and consistent routine of working out.
Much like the 30-day fitness challenge these workouts are beginner friendly and can be completed by anyone of all workout levels. As mentioned earlier we will also incorporate stretching and yoga into this workout calendar, so you won’t get bored with this routine, and you will be exploring other workouts that are beneficial for your health. It’s a challenge but it’s a good one!
I’m so excited for this next adventure and I hope you will be joining me!
Until next time love bug!
-Xo
Kimora