Nichole Wood

The majority of people who seek out my help either want to lose weight, or gain muscle. When either of those goals are done in a healthy and sustainable way, they take time to complete. I tell all of my new clients that the first 3 months of training are the hardest. Things feel new, you don’t have the confidence yet, and you have yet to see progress, so you are forced to just “trust the process”; or quit.

Since none of us here at PEX are quitters, here are 4 immediate benefits of a workout that you will feel each and every time you workout! Paying attention to these little things, especially in the beginning, will help keep you going when motivation is low.

Change in mood

As Elle Woods once said “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.” So if you’re having a day where you want to shoot your husband, try working out instead. I have yet to find a problem that a few medicine balls slams doesn’t cure. Or at least make slightly better.

Tight muscles loosen up

We have all experienced tight muscles before that aren’t necessarily injuries. A slight ache in the top of your knee when you walk up the stairs. A knot in your shoulder blade you might feel when you drive. Often times the remedy for these types of aches and pains is to move more to properly align your body. Dynamic and static stretching, resistance band work, and mobility flows are great options for this.

Increase in energy

If you don’t have time to nap, try a workout instead! If you can do both, more power to you. Moving with no set intention other than to wake you up a bit is game changing. 15-30 minutes on the bike, treadmill, or ideally outside in nature will allow your mind a break from the day to day grind, raise your heart rate a bit, and give you that little boost of energy to combat the afternoon slump. Bonus points if you can leave your technology at home.

A sense of accomplishment

Have you ever been in that mood where you really, really don’t wanna workout but you know it will make you feel better? Have you ever given into your desire to skip and ended up feeling worse about yourself for it? Have you ever pushed through your desire to skip and just got it done anyways? The feeling of following through with doing what you say you want to gives you a sense of accomplishment to keep going. Even if you showed up and only gave 60% of what you normally do, you still showed yourself that you want to, and are willing to put in the work to achieve your goals. String enough of the days where you get it done together, and you have successfully created a habit!

With that, stay strong, stay motivated and don’t quit! The results are waiting for you on the other side of effort.