The One Question To Ask Yourself Before You Try A New Form Of Exercise

Around the New Year, people often dive into resolutions committing themselves to exercising more. Especially following the food-shaming of the holidays, its important to remember that this goal is often influenced by the false notion that you have to earn your food through exercise. As a personal trainer, I know how deeply this pervasive shaming impacts people's workout goals. So if a renewed commitment to exercise plays any role in your January, theres an important question to ask yourself about why youre really working out.

Would I still like this or want to do this if it wasn't going to change my body, my appearance, or my weight? asks registered dietician Brenna O'Malley, founder of The Wellful. While theres nothing wrong with having goals related to your body, OMalley says its crucial to ask this question whenever youre diving into new forms of exercise. The honest answer can help you make sure youre maintaining a relationship with exercise, food, and your body that emphasizes long-term sustenance and happiness rather than a concept of bodily shame and punishment thats based on toxic diet culture.

OMalley says that the answer to this question might not be as simple as you think at first blush. Sometimes we don't even realize that we're doing something with these underlying goals of changing our external appearance, and what were doing might not be as enjoyable or really what we want to be doing as much. When youre answering this question, you might find that the kind of exercise youre doing might be so unenjoyable to you or damaging to your self-image, or both that its doing more harm than good.

Its OK to have wants for your bodys aesthetics I know Im chasing broader shoulders while Im powerlifting as part of my desires as a transmasculine person but its just as important to be honest with yourself about exercise in all its dimensions. When Im powerlifting, I am not miserable the entire time in pursuit of a vague future with an imagined physique. There are many day-to-day aspects of powerlifting that I love like the discipline and the self-reliance, the planning and the consistency and the fears, joys, exhilarations, and adrenaline rushes of being under a very heavy barbell. I cant imagine how miserable I would be lifting every day if I didnt love those things, regardless of what changes the exercise may induce in my body.

Thinking about your relationship with exercise in this multi-dimensional way rather than reducing it only to the imagined effect it will have on your external appearance can help you develop a more self-supportive and sustaining relationship with working out, OMalley says. When exercise gets reduced to the amount of calories it burns, for example, we miss all of the other benefits that come with working out, like mood and mental health benefits, helping to reduce stress, and all of those longevity benefits, and just being able to carry in your groceries. Plus, doing workouts you don't want to [do] over and over again can just make you miserable, which isn't going to be good for your mental health.

If you have specific goals for your body, thats great. But being honest with yourself about these goals by answering OMalleys question would I be doing this workout if I didnt think it would change my appearance? can help bring more actual joy to exercising. Its OK if the answer is no sometimes, of course powerlifters rarely want to do our cardio, for example but if the answer is no all the time, you might want to reassess how youre working out and why.

Finding genuine joy in the process is so important to developing a great relationship between your body and mind, whether that means replacing traditional workouts with jungle gym-style play or grabbing your puppy for a long walk instead of hitting the weight room. No matter how you work out or dont you always deserve to feel valid and real in your body. Asking yourself OMalleys question can be a great first step toward validating yourself for what you want in the future and what you love doing now.

Experts:

Brenna OMalley, RD, founder, The Wellful LLC

source https://www.bustle.com/p/the-one-question-to-ask-yourself-before-you-try-a-new-form-of-exercise-19635666