Why Do You Workout?

It’s a fairly simple and straightforward question really.

Do you workout to improve your health and fitness?

Do you workout to look better with your clothes on and perhaps even better with your clothes off?

Do you workout for the gram and for validation in the form of “likes” from your peers and followers/strangers?

Do you workout for mentally clarity and cognitive productivity?

Your Reason Gives You Motivation, Your Goal Gives You Results

Whether you’re working out for mental/physical health, vanity, aesthetics, or to build upon your social media presence, you’re adding value to your life. By now, most if not all of us know the benefits that regular exercise can have on both our mental and physical wellbeing. Therefore, we shouldn’t judge someones’ reasons for going to the gym. Instead, I think we should respect them even more for putting in the time, effort and energy into improving themselves for the better.

In my opinion, one of the most attractive qualities a person can have is a strong work ethic and an undeniable willingness to become successful in life. Success ofcourse can mean many different things to many different people. For myself personally, I view success as being independent, empathetic towards others, happy in life, and both physically and financially fit. I don’t ever want to rely on others to take care of me. I also don’t ever want to blame others for my misfortunes. I want to be able to write my own story in life. I want to take responsibility for my actions and learn from the mistakes I make. I want to be successful.

How Exercise Helps Make Us Successful in Life

I’ll be honest. When I first started working out with weights when I was 15 years old, I did it strictly to pick up girls. And to be completely transparent, it didn’t really work. Turns out that even 15 year old girls have standards and some arrogant meathead with little to no personality wasn’t going to cut it. Despite my lack of success with the highschool women, I continued to lift weights regularly because I enjoyed the process of building muscle and was motivated by the results that I was seeing in the mirror. Little did I know at the time that resistance training was providing me with the building blocks needed to become successful in life. Going to the gym regularly taught me how to remain disciplined, focused and self-motivated on achieving my goals. As I became older, I was able to transition my bodybuilding goals towards my business goals. I took everything I learned from following a strict training program and regiment diet plan and applied to building a business and growing an investment portfolio. And it fortunately for me, it worked!

The COVID Comeback Plan

As of today, I am happy to report that the majority of our clients that took time off from their workouts with us due to the temporary closures of their offices because of COVID-19, are now back in the gym training with us on a regular basis. During their hiatus from the gym, many of these clients realized just how important regular exercise was to both their physical and mental health and wellbeing. I’ve had clients tell me they suffered from extreme anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue during the lockdowns. Make no mistake, returning to the gym was no easy feat for these clients. The workouts that were once considerable “bearable” were now considered “impossible” to complete. Weights that were once easily managed for a warm-up set, were now being used as a final working/burn-out set. Lactic acid raised quickly. Synovial fluid dried up completely. Quitting became tempting. But the hunger for success kept them focused.

The fact is that we work with clients who are no strangers to adversary. We have clients that own and operate companies on the TSX. We have clients that work in the healthcare system. We have clients who manage teams of 100+ people on a daily basis. We have clients that work 40+ hours a week and raise a family at the same time. We have clients who have lived through wars and recessions. So as tempting as quitting might be, you can bet that not a single one of them were going to ever give into the idea of quitting.

Final Thoughts

Whatever your reasons are for exercising regularly and following a healthy diet, I applaud you for making the daily conscious effort to do so. It’s not easy to go to the gym 3-5x/week, and it’s much more convenient to order from Skip the Dishes or go out for a meal than it is to make a home cooked healthier option. Work/Life does get in the way. If you’re struggling to get on track with your diet and your training, my recommendation is to create a support system that will help you remain focused on achieving this goal. Whether that means hiring a Personal Trainer/Coach to help hold you accountable, or scheduling a few training sessions in with a friend or loved one on a weekly basis, NOW is the time to do it. Don’t wait any longer. The more you procrastinate and make excuses, the further you drift away from acheiving your health and fitness goals. YOU and only YOU can write your life story. And if you truly care about that life, than you will make the time, effort and energy to focus on your health and your fitness.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance