Benefits of fitness that no one talks about.
Before university, I had a pretty sedentary lifestyle where the most amount of exercise I’d get was walking to school (~5 minutes one way) or during PE class. The likelihood of me going to the gym or doing any other physical activity was once in a blue moon (more like once every 2-3 months but you get the idea). After graduating high school, I thought enough was enough and I embarked on my fitness journey. It was certainly hard at first and it felt like an uphill battle.
Learn to start by just showing up - it really compounds over time.
Now, the gym is a regular aspect of my weekly routine and it’s become part of my identity. I think choosing to get into fitness has got to be the greatest overall choice that I have made for myself and I advocate for anyone to get involved as early as possible. Yes, my initial motivations were aesthetics-related (as for most people) but as my fitness journey progresses, I find myself seeing many more benefits outside of just looking better - and I know you can too.
In this article, I am going to be telling you the benefits I’ve seen from fitness outside of just looking better because, well, we all know that.
Self-discipline
Firstly, let’s see the definition of self-discipline: “correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement” (source: Miriam Webster).
Think about it: you have to get out of your bed, get to the gym, push yourself as hard as you physically can, and do it all over again the next day. You may not see results for months, let alone as long as you’d like. Oh, and if you stop doing it? Well, we all know what happens there. This is all not even counting the food and nutrition habits that you’d likely have to alter, which I personally found to be the most difficult to change. By enforcing the rules of regularly going to the gym and eating healthier, you are regulating your habits to attain a better standard of living.
You may be thinking “How does this apply to me? Why do I need discipline for?”. The short answer: everything. Some of you reading this may still be in school and really want to ace that class. What do you have to do? Set a schedule, study hard and do this everyday. Others reading this may be wanting to learn a new skill (a language, web design, coding etc.). How do you do that? Dedicate time out of your day to learning this new skill, and do this regularly. Starting to see the correlation?
I can make a whole entire blog post dedicated to just self-discipline and the lessons I’ve learned by incorporating fitness into my life. Let me know through my socials or email if you’d like to see this!
Boosted confidence
An effect of looking better, is that you feel better. It’s similar to getting a fresh haircut, donning a new suit, or incorporating a skincare routine - you begin to feel better off of looking better. The cool thing about fitness is that unlike clothing, being in shape never goes out of style! I’ve personally found that the more consistent I engage in fitness, I have felt increasingly more confident in myself and that has translated into my every day life. Whether it’s convincing people on my idea, making eye contact with the people I am talking to, or just not being afraid to talk to people, fitness has been the backbone of why I can comfortably do these things without feeling continuously awkward or shy.
For those of you who wonder if there is a scientific explanation for this, there is. According to the article by FHE Health, exercise has shown to increase the production of myokines, which have an array of health benefits including improved mood and learning ability.
People Treat you Better
Whether it’s by word of mouth, through media, or maybe even your own personal experiences, you know that fitness is a not an easy lifestyle because it takes a degree of dedication and self-discipline to stick to. People know that having a fit body isn’t easy to get, and therefore tend to have a bit more respect for someone who has been able to attain and maintain that. As they say, first impressions matter and being in shape is almost always going to make that first impression better and will carry forward to how people will continue to treat you.
Even just several months getting into fitness, I already noticed that people starting to treat me differently. I still remember one of my teachers telling my sibling that he could see already see my progress in the gym. This was just one of the several interactions I had where people seemed to show a little more respect and consideration for not only my opinions but also just my presence in the room. Although it could be other factors, I can’t deny that looking different because of fitness very likely contributed to this change in attitudes towards me.
Change in Outlook On Life
Embracing fitness as a lifestyle can be quite drastic - to the point where your perspective on life changes. I’ll be honest and say that I used to hated life. I hated what I saw in the mirror, I hated how others viewed me, and most of all: I hated how I felt that I was never really succeeding in life. Even just several months into my fitness journey, it started to change fast. I slowly saw my body getting better, I started to receive compliments from others who once saw me as nothing more than a loser, and I felt that for once in my life, I was going down a good path. All of this culminated into hope - the hope that I have the potential to be so much more than what I currently was.
My Final thoughts
I notice that people tend to think that the only benefit of fitness is getting muscles and maybe girls. I’m not going to lie - fitness has positively contributed to both of those things. Despite this, I’ve found the above reasons to be more impactful in my life and continue to pay dividends for me.
Look, I get it - fitness isn’t an overnight change. It is a change in lifestyle and one that isn’t easy to get because you have to uproot your schedule, alter your habits, and almost become a different person in the process. However, I hope that the reasons I’ve outlined above have convinced you to consider incorporating fitness into your life. The process is truly life changing, at least I know it has been for me. I plan to write more blog posts about this, so stay tuned!
