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Last updated on May 22nd, 2019

How To Maintain Fitness Motivation When Weight Loss Isn’t Your Goal

It’s an unfortunate truth that weight loss seems to be the only motivator for people to hit the gym. We constantly believe that unless you’re trying to be smaller there’s no real reason to work up a sweat. And I wish I could express how wrong that is! Staying active has far more benefits than simple shrinking your size. So, what do you do if weight loss isn’t your goal? How do you keep up with your fitness motivation? If you already love your body and have no immediate plans to change it? You still hit the gym of course ?

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I wish I could say with confidence that people admire the gym outside of weight loss efforts, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

We truly believe that our focus should be on sweating, suffering and giving all we’ve got to be smaller, leaner, less. But to be honest, that’s bullshit.

Hitting the gym, working up a sweat and actually enjoying your workouts comes with so many more perks.

If weight loss isn’t your primary goal, or even on your radar keep the following in mind! The perks of working out below should be far more than enough to keep your fitness motivation. After all, just because you may look better after a weight loss goal, doesn’t mean you perform better.

Working out comes with all sorts of awesome perks as we age. So, unless you want to be incapable, unable and weak- keep rocking your workouts long after you fall in love with your body. Below are some amazing goals and perks of maintaining a regular exercise routine!

Improved Cardiovascular Health

We hear all the time that we need better cardiovascular health.. yadda yadda yadda. Buttt… do you know what the percentage of heart attacks are in YOUNG people are now-a-days (under 60). I don’t know the exact percent but it’s getting alarmingly high.

We’re sedentary, we barely move because we don’t have to. And that means that nothing is flowing, and clogging is easier. You may not want to work out to look better, but how about to feel better? How about so you don’t get breathless walking up the stairs when the elevator is out? How about so that if there was ever a fire, a shooting or any other emergency you could RUN to safety.

We were meant to move and having a great cardiovascular profile is part of that.

Make Your Life Easier

Back in the day prior to my journey to health I was a bartender. I also count’ move a keg or carry two cases of beer. And when I tried, I pretty much pulled everything. Basically, I was weak. It wasn’t fun.

If you need a motivator for why you should workout, how about to stay strong? When you’re strong in the gym, your tasks outside the gym become easier.

Carrying kitty litter, groceries YOUR KIDS doesn’t make you want to cry (which is why all moms should be strong in these exercises fyi). Instead, you’re capable. It’s a wonderful feeling to be strong as you age. Don’t ever take your current abilities for granted.

Prevent Osteoporosis

Alright, you’re young, I get it. So, bone maintenance probably isn’t on your radar because that’s for “older people”, right? Wrong.

How do you think you’ll feel in ten years when you start losing bone mass? Or when you’re scared to fall because you’ll probably break something. If that doesn’t scare you, truly think about it.

No one, wants to feel helpless. And the perk is that the habits we build now can set us up for our future! So, load up, rock some resistance training and protect your body (fitness motivation at its finest). It’s the only one you’ve got and I’m sure you want to be able to still have fun as you age!

Keep Your Muscle

Did you know that we lose muscle as we age? This is actually a natural process believe it or not.

And with this loss of muscle comes the inability to eat copious amounts of food without weight gain. We will start to store those extra desserts or even extra calories around our midsection. It also means tasks become hard, we become weaker and it’ll seem like some parts of our bodies just don’t “work like they used to”. Sound familiar?

Welcome to the loss of muscle mass! But here’s a fun tip: you can still build and maintain muscle through working out! Yup, you can make it, so your body still functions, performs and looks great even as the years climb.

You don’t need to be jacked, you just need to continue to stimulate your muscles regularly. Seems worth it, no?

Improved Mood

No one wants to hang out with a stress ball, crabby pants or pessimist! And thankfully, working out and staying active helps keep you in a better mood!

There’s no need to go to the gym and “suffer”. Go to the gym to reduce some stress, enjoy your workout and stay freaking happy! You’ll have more friends, I promise.

Don’t forget to pin these perks to help maintain your fitness motivation!

The truth is, even when weight loss is the farthest goal from your mind, you should still workout. And working out doesn’t mean going to the gym and killing yourself everyday. It means finding something you love and staying active. It means enjoying stimulating your muscles. It’s what we were meant to do.

Weight loss isn’t the only goal and better body composition isn’t the only perk. Regular workouts (and having the fitness motivation to stay consistent with them) help with a host of bodily functions especially as we age. Rock good habits now and continue to set yourself up for later.

Stay fit mamas xx

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