Step 11 – You Have to Work Out
You just have to work out, there is no other way. If you want to be a good girlfriend, wife, mother, boyfriend, husband, father – you have to work out. People think that all this fuss about healthy living, working out, personal trainers (who suddenly became so popular) is just some kind of hype the only point of which is having a nicely shaped butt. Well, It’s not. I recently wrote on Just Like NY that working out is essential for healthy living. I’m not an expert on that yet, but I’ve been listening and reading smart people who know better (I highly recommend this interview with Tony Horton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT-f3UtHnKs&list=PLKJe4QFOQXK7FjotZmmcC9Uw8po_U8IJ2&index=16) and everyone says the same thing: YOU HAVE TO WORK OUT!
Is it all about your body? No, it’s about how your physical activity influences your brain, how it changes your mood. Exercise changes the brain chemistry and determines your behavior. I truly stopped believing that people who don’t work out can be happy, can align with their abilities, or can be in peace with themselves. Exercising changes the whole biochemistry of your brain, which is why it’s also important to change your workout routine once in a while – not only to develop different muscles but to activate different sections of your brain. You all can see the difference before and after work out – you feel skinnier, energized, you are willing to work and you’re definitely more confident.
The problem with working out is that people think it has to be very hard and painful. This is a myth. It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to go to the gym if you don’t like it. You don’t have to run, swim or doing abs work out if you don’t like it. There are thousands of ways to exercise nowadays, so chose your own way and start with taking small steps. You don’t have to work out for a full hour – I never do, 45 minutes is my maximum. I currently work out with Polish trainer Ewa Chodakowska and her program “Killer”, but I started with “6 minutes” program. Just do one 6-minute set at first. It’s only 6 MINUTES! Is that a lot? Do the same thing the next day, and the day after that add another 6 minutes. Or start with just dancing to your favorite tracks in your own apartment. The most important thing in working out is not spending long hours at the gym – it’s consistency. If you already have a gym membership, go and do 3 different routines for 10 minutes and then go to a sauna (if you can). It’s better to work out 30 minutes 4 times a week than go twice a week for 2 hours. It would be amazing if you did something every day – I haven’t reached that point myself yet – but maybe one day it will happen. The most important thing is changing your mindset – instead of thinking: “Oh lord, I have to do it again, 40 minutes of nightmare”, try instead: “That’s great, I have 40 minutes only for myself, I don’t have to work, respond to any e-mails, take phone calls, all I have to do is think about my body and sweat it out. I’m privileged that I can focus only on myself”. And this is how I make myself work out. I like fitness and I love swimming, but according to Horton I should add something else to that, maybe I will come back to squash that I love or run once a week. There are so many options that whenever I hear someone saying: “It’s too difficult”, I am tempted to use this word starting with B and yell: Bullshit!
Do yourself a favor and start an affair with your body. It will give you a lot of satisfaction, I promise – and there won’t be any unanswered texts after a hot date to bother you.
