Work it – It’s all about your focus
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So we all like working out to lose weight, maintain weight, look good and keep our tummys tight, but how many of us do it simply because it makes us feel good?
Sure it may be a happy side-effect… ya know, the endorphins and all that science that proves that excercise makes us feel better, but for most of us, it isn’t THE reason that we work out.
The more I started thinking about this, the more I realized…it SHOULD be! Why shouldn’t the main reason we work out be that it makes us feel better about ourselves? Let the fitness level and lowered body fat be the happy side-effect!
Once we start switching our focus to the positive energy that exercise brings, our increased fitness level and tighter body will come with it.
According to Heather Hausenblas, a University of Florida exercise psychologist, “people who don’t achieve workout milestones such as losing fat, gaining strength or boosting cardiovascular fitness feel just as good about their bodies as their more athletic counterparts.” Hausenblas study is published in the September issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.
“You would think that if you become more fit that you would experience greater improvements in terms of body image, but that’s not what we found,” she said. “It may be that the requirements to receive the psychological benefits of exercise, including those relating to body image, differ substantially from the physical benefits.”
The study analyzed all previous (from June 2008) studies on the wide-ranging effects of exercise on body image. From the 57 publications, the researchers found conclusively that exercise buffed up the way people see their bodies regardless of the actual benefits.
“Negative body image has grown to almost epidemic proportions in the past 20 years, with as many as 60 percent of adults in national studies saying they don’t like the way their bodies look,” Hausenblas said.
With all the money spent on diet pills and cosmetic procedures, Americans are always looking for new products designed to change their body size and shape.
“Body dissatisfaction is a huge problem in our society and is related to all sorts of negative behavior including yo-yo dieting, smoking, taking steroids and undergoing cosmetic surgery,” she said. “It affects men and women and all ages, starting with kids who are as young as five years old saying they don’t like how their bodies look.”
While the physical benefits of exercise are well-researched and understood, the psychological advantages (reduction of depression or confidence in body image) of exercise have been less explored.
“While the frequency of exercise mattered for boosting body perceptions, there were no differences for the duration, intensity, length or type of exercise, the study found.”
I find this study so interesting because it really does drive home the fact that exercise, if we allow it, will make us happy! So why is it that so many people make it such a negative thing? It’s their focus.
Too much focus on exercising to lose weight or “having to lose this last 5 pounds,” or “not wanting to be fat anymore,” or “being able to fit into skinny jeans.” Stop making it all about your looks! STOP the fat talk. START letting the reason you exercise be that you want to feel good about yourself. Not only will those endorphins start working for you, but before you know it you’ll have the body that better represents your mind-set: healthy, strong and beautiful.
Spread the word.
6 Responses to “Work it – It’s all about your focus”
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