In my very own humble opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong if a person’s sole purpose for exercising and eating healthy is to look good. In fact, I think a little bit of vanity can be a good thing as it forces us to take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. And at the end of the day as long as we are getting in our workouts and performing consistent cardiovascular activities on a weekly basis then who really cares what our reasons for exercising are.

Where I do however take issue is when obsessive exercising and extreme dieting starts to take over and and controls a person’s lifestyle and everyday behaviour. I’ve seen and heard of this all too often. People tell me that they can’t eat certain foods because they are dieting or that they have no time to socialize because they are too busy training. To me this sounds absolutely preposterous and completely unnecessary. I mean why would anyone in their right mind train so hard and eat so clean if they can’t get out there and enjoy their lives?

Being a recovered gym junkie myself I understand how easy it is to get caught up in a world full of hot bodies that can represent power, confidence and success. However there is more to life to a sexy body and a great selfie. And yet I feel that for as many people in this upcoming generation that are obese, unfit and unhealthy there are just as many people who although may be fit, are also perhaps a little too vain, too shallow, too selfish and just overall too much! And I for one have had enough!

I’ll admit that when I first started working out I did so with the sole intention of achieving a more muscular and better looking physique. I didn’t care about the health benefits of exercise. All I cared about was looking good with my shirt on and even better with my shirt off. I should mention though that I was also a 15 year old male teenager with a severe lack of self esteem along with next to no self confidence. Fast forward two decades later and my perspective on diet and exercise has changed completely. I still want to look good with both my shirt on and off however it is no longer my main priority. In fact it’s not even one of my top 5 priorities as to why I train 6-7 days a week. Unfortunately in a social media world that’s been grossly saturated with bathroom selfies of perky bums, ripped abs and bulging biceps, it’s easy to lose focus as to why we exercise. And for someone who is new to exercising these photos can sometimes end up being more discouraging then motivating.

So for those of you who are having a hard time staying focused and motivated to get yourself to the gym because you feel that you’ll never have that “perfect bum” or will never obtain those “ripped abs” and feel that exercising in general is hopeless and a waste of time, let me explain to you quickly why I workout and how I stay self-motivated to go into the gym everyday and destroy my workouts and push myself to absolute failure even though I know I may never achieve the best looking physique in the world or even look half as good as I would like to and expect to look after all my years of training.

So in no particular order these are my reasons for exercise:

Reason #1 – I Exercise To Better My Business – It’s no secret that I’m involved in the fitness industry. The gym is where I make alot of my connections and meet many perspective clients. The more I exercise the more business I generate for my company.

Reason #2 – I Exercise So That I Can Feel Good – We all know that regular exercise releases endorphins that gives us a feeling of wellbeing however exercise also does much more for me. When I exercise I can think more clearly, I’m in a better mood, I have more energy and I feel overall more content and happy in life. Take exercise away and all these feeling are taken away with it.

Reason #3 – I Exercise Because I Don’t Want to Get Fat – Yep, this is definitely true. I like to eat alot of food and I mean ALOT of food. I understand that if I were to continue to consume the amount of calories that I take in on a daily basis without exercise that I could easily get very big, and not big in a good way. Exercise allows me to stay lean and also allows me to eat as much food as I like.

Which brings me to Reason 4 – I Exercise so That I Can Eat What I Want and When I Want To. I don’t believe in depriving myself of life’s little joys. Unless ofcourse I am preparing for a fitness competition I never stop eating the foods that I love nor do I feel bad when I eat them. If I decide to consume an entire pizza one night, I don’t stress over it as I know that I can use those calories to my advantage in the gym the next day and burn them off. After all, calories provide energy right? ;^)

Reason #5 – I Exercise For Me – Nobody forces me to exercise and I’m sure nobody would care if I were to stop exercising all together. However I would care and therefore I won’t stop. My biggest fear is that as I become older that I will become more susceptible to illnesses and diseases. Now ofcourse exercise alone cannot prevent these issues from occurring however it can definitely strengthen my immune system and increase my odds of fighting off any harmful diseases or infections that may come my way throughout my lifetime.

A larger percentage of our clientele are Baby Boomers who are now either entering retirement or close to retiring and understand just how important their health is to them at this point of their lives. Sure, many of them have put themselves in excellent financial conditions for the future however I find myself asking them what good is all that money if they are dead or too bed ridden to enjoy it?

Whatever your reasons for exercising and eating well are, they are your reasons. My only recommendation is that if you want to remain consistent with both your training and your diet as well as continue to maintain a high level of self motivation that you change your mind set from just short term goals and include some long term goals.

Remember exercising for life is not a sprint it’s a marathon. Don’t let yourself lose focus or get caught up in the hype of perfect bodies and crazy weight loss plans. Stay true to yourself and your health and fitness goals and you will never lose sight or look for reason as to why you exercise.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove