5 Tips For the Woman Who “Hates Working Out”
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Do you HATE working out?! Do you fail to be consistent with honoring your body with movement because of this hate you have for working out?
If this is you, then you’re in for a treat! In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I have a few tips to share with you for overcoming this fitness hate that helps you be more consistent.
So if consistency or simply just STARTING are a struggle for you, I have a few other podcast episodes I think you would really benefit from…
Episode 124: 3 Reminders if You’re Struggling to START
Episode 149: 3 Reasons Why You Can’t Stay Consistent + What to Do About It
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you. But I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tune. If you're ready to embrace a real, let's get it. Let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode of the Embrace Your Real Podcast. A few weeks back when I did a question box as to what your biggest struggle is on your health and fitness journey, I got an overwhelming majority of people saying that the reason that they can't stay consistent or their biggest struggle is that they hate working out. So today's episode is talking to those women. Do you hate working out? Do you fail to be consistent with honoring your body with movement because of this hatred that you have for working out?
If this is you, then you are in for a treat. In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I have a few tips that I want to share with you for overcoming this fitness hate that can help you be consistent on your health and fitness journey. But before we do, I have to share this super sweet review. It comes from it Tim Tams. She says, "Obsessed! I found Julie's podcast recently and cannot stop listening. All the content is encouraging, positive, and really does reaffirm the idea of embracing your real. Thank you for posting such inspiring and helpful content."
Thank you so much. If you haven't already left a rating and review, first of all, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts so that you never miss an episode. And if you have any Apple device, an iPad, an Apple phone, a MacBook, you can type in Apple Podcasts and you can leave a review. It takes less than 30 seconds, but it really does help the growth out for this podcast. If you haven't already, or if you haven't done a review in a while, I would love to know maybe a newer episode that you have really just felt spoke to you.
I would love to know your aha moments, or I would love to know in general what this podcast has done for you or how it has impacted your life. Be sure to do that. I appreciate you more than you know. Let's dive into the episode. Number one, realize that nothing is wrong with you for not enjoying fitness. Everyone is passionate about different things. And if fitness isn't a passion, there's nothing wrong with you, and It's not something that you need to force yourself to be passionate about. Step one to hating fitness less is to realize that it's okay to hate it.
You don't need to force yourself to love it, but you do need to figure out how to have a better relationship with it, because moving your body is such a huge part of living your healthiest and happiest life. Which leads me to number two, ask yourself what kind of movement do you hate least. Being consistent with something is really hard when it's not something you enjoy doing. So let's say you've accepted that you simply just do not enjoy anything fitness related.
Now it's time to figure out which type of fitness you can least tolerate, which type of movement can you tolerate the best. And I want you to do that and don't force yourself to do anything else because of something that you see somebody else doing, or something that's a trend, or what's all over your Instagram Explore page or your Facebook newsfeed. And once you remain consistent with that, then maybe your fitness will evolve into something more. But for the time being, just focus on doing that one thing that you can tolerate the most.
Whatever form of movement that is, don't judge yourself for it. Just get yourself to be consistent with it. Number three, stop waiting to be motivated. We can't expect ourselves to always be motivated. It's not always going to be there. I can tell you, I am not motivated a lot of the time to work out. If you wait for motivation, you will be waiting forever. You're not going to reach your goals through motivation. Sure, you might wake up one day with more motivation than you've had in a long time, but the next morning you could wake up with zero.
So if you're depending on your motivation, you're constantly going to be taking one step forward and one step back. Maybe even two steps back, and that dance will just continue. You need to let go of the idea that motivation to move your body is what needs to drive you, which leads me to number four. If moving doesn't motivate you, then what does motivate you? I'm not consistent with moving my body because I'm always motivated to move. I'm consistent because I know and I focus on how I feel after I move my body.
I know that if I move my body, I will feel energized, confident, and productive. If I don't move my body, I will feel so blah, and I will have a blah day. So you need to identify what your motivators are. More energy, more confidence, more strength, the ability for you to continue to live a happy and healthy life for other people that you love, your family, your friends, the hobbies, the things that you are involved in. Focus on those things instead of the actual motivation for moving your body. And number five, meet yourself where you are right now.
Don't expect to knock out a hard CrossFit workout if you've never lifted weights before. Don't expect yourself to go on a three mile run if you haven't ran in months or years. Don't expect yourself to have the best workout you've ever had if you've taken time off of working out because of life circumstances. I need to remind you to start small. Take baby steps. If you've never lifted weights before, start with a lightweight and only do about 15 minutes. Once you'll feel stronger, then go for 20, then 30, then maybe eventually start picking up heavier weights.
Or if you haven't ran forever, start with one mile. Go as slow as you need. Walk as much as you need and celebrate every step forward. Just get yourself going. Get yourself consistent. Don't focus on how little you're doing. Focus on the fact that you're showing up for yourself consistently. The more consistent you are, the stronger you will get and the more you'll be able to do. So until then, just meet yourself where you are and let that be your starting point.
If consistency or simply starting are a struggle for you, I have a few other podcast episodes that I think you would greatly benefit from. Episode 124, three reminders if you're struggling to start, and episode 149, three reasons why you can't stay consistent and what to do about it. I will be sure to link those in the show notes, so be sure to go tune in there. I hope that this episode encouraged you, empowered you, inspired you to just get up and move. Remember that movement truly is medicine, and it's all about finding the movement that you love the most.
If you have someone in your life that you feel like would benefit from this bonus episode, I just ask that you share it out. I would love to hear your aha moments, so be sure to screenshot it, post it up on your story, tag me, Julie Ledbetter. Also, be sure to tag Embrace Your Real account. If you aren't already following that Instagram account, be sure to do so. It's just Embrace Your Real. We have a ton of just golden nuggets from the show on there, so that you can get them in a quote format.
I know for me, there are certain times I'm listening to something and I'm like, "Oh wait, what was it again?" So typically some of the most standout quotes and overall themes that we have in the show, that is where you're going to see those quotes on the Embrace Your Real page. Be sure to follow that if you aren't already. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I'll talk to you and your next episode.
All right, sister. That's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so, Julie A. Ledbetter, yes it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought.
The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.