Right Reasons

Fitness has become a huge part of my life. I remember way back in the day when going to the gym was nothing more than the biggest chore and while there are days where it does still feel that way, I have found the right workouts for myself to make it more enjoyable. Now, this post is not going to be about giving workout tips (because really I have none) or telling you how often I go to the gym (because it isn’t that often), but rather about my own journey and motivation when it comes to keeping fit. I will start with the obvious, workout fashion! Somehow that gets me going more than any pre-workout ever could. I have the perfect outfit for working out and I feel amped to go. Weird? Maybe, but it gets me going. After obviously finding myself the right outfit comes finding me the right workout! Now I am not the treadmill, elliptical, stair master, etc. kinda girl; I know you must be thinking, “so…what do you even do at the gym then?” Well my go to workout is anything dance oriented- zumba or dancing to Diljit Dosanjh in my living room. There was a time I would drive myself to the gym, hop onto an elliptical for about 25 minutes and get off feeling like I just put myself through the worst 25 minutes of my life. I obviously did not want to feel that way post a workout so I decided I needed to find myself a workout that although might feel like hell but I could still do and have a smile at the end of it. Dance and biking are that kind of workout for me. Dancing not only helps me break a sweat but also helps me relax after a long day at work. As for biking, I will always be truly thankful to my friend Jen who motivated me to hop onto a bike; I never realized how much something I did leisurely as a child actually could be a killer workout. So we have the right outfit and the right workout, now what? Well now comes the right reasons! I am someone who has been called skinny my whole life; which I have yet to understand as there was a time where baby fat was my best friend. Now constantly hearing things like “why do you workout? You have nothing to worry about”, “you’re going to disappear if you keep working out” or “you’re so lucky, you can eat whatever you want” always made me wonder if people thought they were doing me a favor by letting me know I was skinny or making it seem that I did nothing to actually contribute to the way I look. Sometimes hearing these things does make you wonder, why am I working out? And trust me there are days I do but at the same time my reasons for working out might be very different from the next persons and I’ve learned that that is okay. I know I workout because it makes me feel good and that is why finding the right workout for you is oh so important. Working out for me is a way of coping with the stress from work while also feeling like myself. Whether your reason is weight loss, toning or simply working out for the heck of it, know why you’re doing it and don’t let anyone make you think your reason isn’t good enough. Hearing comments from other people is never easy and not letting it influence how we feel is even harder but with that being said, work on finding the right reasons for anything you do. Now because I don’t want to end on such a preachy note, I started this post off talking about the right fashion so I think I’ll just reel it back in to that before I sign off. My go to work out outfit is usually leggings and a tank paired with my favorite Nike runners. Keep scrolling to see some of the outfits I might rock at the gym and also comment below on what motivates you to keep active.

❤ sharmz