Why Do You Exercise?
“What is your purpose, intention, and goal when training?
It's a difficult question to answer. One that takes frankness.”
~ Soph White
Each individual has their own reasons for why they purposefully exercise. It might be to train for an event or race, to body recomp (burn fat, gain muscle), to exercise for their mental health, or even to move a little more than they did a month ago. It's important we establish this reason, so that exercise is purposeful and intentional.
We must strive to progress strategically toward something rather than just turn up and ‘see what happens’. But more importantly, it has to be realistic. It has to bear in mind a time frame and the current ability of the individual. It would be inappropriate to set a sub-20-minute 5k run goal to be achieved in 6 weeks, to someone who hasn’t run in over 10 years. Using the same example, a more realistic approach would be to run continuously for 30 minutes without stopping and to reach this goal in 10-12 weeks.
Once we realize our purpose and goal regarding exercise, we can then set small milestones to work towards it.
Outcome (End Goal) → Monthly Goal → Weekly Goal → Daily Goal
Using the flow chart above, working backward were able to create a realistic goal, and set monthly, weekly, and daily targets. Each day has a purpose.
Changing your perspective on movement from dread to joy can have powerful ripple effects on your entire attitude all day.
If we're lucky, for the rest of our lives the future will always hold more movement (whether you call it exercise, a workout, training, …). In essence, this is a practice of choosing not to live in fear and dread of the next move.
That's real. It's not easy.
Shifting your perspective starts with awareness of where you already are.
Why are you moving? What's driving you?
