Outside and in: How Being Fit Can Improve Much More Than Your Physique
Lots of people think about exercise as being a purely physical thing. While there’s so many mental health benefits of exercise in terms of the endorphins they provide, it’s worth pointing out the inspirational journey that can occur within each and every one of us. Let’s show you how being fit can inspire you in so many other aspects of your life:
A Greater Dedication to Your Appearance
Achieving fitness and the body you’ve craved can inspire you to make other changes to your appearance. As you make over your body, you may get inspired to look at other aspects of your overall health.
These could include dental care, where having a smile makeover can make you feel like you’ve got the edge. A healthy body often leads to a desire for fine-tuning other components, such as teeth and hair, and naturally, then spills over into more fashionable choices. But it’s not just about the aesthetics…
The Confidence Boost
A fitness lifestyle can significantly boost your self-esteem, not just because of the progress you’ve seen yourself make and the accomplishment, but the self-assuredness that can be like becoming a whole new person. This self-assuredness can spill over into other aspects of your life, whether it’s pursuing new hobbies, personal relationships, or even work.
Look at something like Brazilian jiu-jitsu, where you are constantly having to push yourself out of your comfort zone. When you are doing this on a regular basis, you begin to realise that actually, this is the worst it will get in terms of conflict, which means that 99% of other things in life are an absolute breeze! This means you’ll become more optimistic and determined, which will become a major part of you. You will become more empowered to confront all types of hurdles with greater strength, whether it’s mental or emotional ones.
The Connections You Make
It’s not just about the social connections that can be a formative part of fitness classes or communities, but also about the connections you draw between exercise and other parts of your life. Because maintaining fitness involves developing positive habits like setting goals, managing your time, and discipline, these become a part of your life in every other area, so you then become more organised, goal-oriented, and ultimately more determined.
As every type of physical activity is a stress reliever, this can enhance your ability to take on life’s pressures where you may have once shied away from them. We should all be working to reduce stress, especially in the lives that we lead. And of course, another connection that people make is that when you hit a plateau in exercise, which is par for the course, you start to look at how you can fine-tune your body (and mind) to get a new PB. This means reducing your sugar intake and consuming the things that will complement your fitness goals, which ultimately means greater health and well-being in the long run.
Being fit is not just about a physical transformation, it’s a journey that completely changes you inside out. Fitness is undoubtedly a powerful catalyst for many people’s changes in life, and it can certainly get you fit and healthy, but it will do so much more.