Why work out?

We all have a dream of becoming this super active, fit version of ourselves. However getting fit is not a simple thing to do; it requires time, sweat and willpower. But it's not impossible. Many people have managed to stay active and healthy, and these are often the people we look up to. But why? Why do we value fit people? The answer is actually simple. It is because being fit is extremely beneficial for you -both physically and mentally- in many ways. Working out regularly and maintaining a good health will make you happier, improve your mental functions, and it will actually give you a longer and better life.

First of all, working out often will make you a happier person. Researchers have concluded that your happiness is affected by several factors like genetics, and other environmental factors. However, they have found that a huge predictor of personal happiness is physical health. This is because of what exercise does to your brain. Firstly, fit people tend to be a lot less stressed than people who get little or no physical activity. Being less stressed decreases nervousness and risk of depression. Furthermore, physical exercise makes your brain release endorphins, which are hormones that produce a feeling of euphoria. These endorphins then trigger the release of other hormones that enhance your mood and create a feeling of well being. 

Secondly, being physically fit will improve some of your mental capabilities. For example, it has been proven that physical activity can actually improve your memory. Dr. Scott McGinnis has discovered that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory have greater volume in people who exercise than people who don't. In addition, being physically fit is likely to raise your confidence, which will reduce anxiety and chances of depression. This will lead to you being happier, which will make your brain work better. 

Lastly, working out regularly will mean a longer and better life. It's already been proven that being fit will improve your quality of life. However, it will actually make it longer as well! Research shows that being fit reduces the risk of getting heart disease and strokes. Another study found that exercise would increase your life expectancy by the same amount of years as quitting smoke would. Moreover, being fit will also make your immune system stronger, which means that you will get less sick. Actually, scientists have found that people who exercise regularly are half as likely to get colds as people who don't.

So, in conclusion, you should work out regularly and maintain a good health because it will make you happier, improve your mental functions, and give you a longer and better life. Firstly, physical exercise is proven to actually make you a happier person. It also decreases the likelihood of you getting a mental illness. Secondly, exercise will actually give you better memory. It has been concluded that physical activity increases the size of the parts of your brain that control thinking and memory. Finally, being fit will drastically increase your life expectancy, and it will also make your life better by increasing the physical quality of it. So shut down your computer, get changed, and go work out. Just do it! 

How to make working out a habit you'll stick to!

If it were easy to get active and work out regularly, everyone would do it. However, that is not the case. Many people get home from long days at work without the ability to summon the energy to exercise. Other people have problems with managing their time, so they simply feel as though they have too few hours in a day, and it's most often physical exercise that gets cut. Whatever your problem is with making it your habit to work out, this post will help you.

Get into the right mindset:
The most important thing when exercising is your mindset. It's a negative mindset that keeps people from obtaining their new and improved habits. But there are ways to keep thinking positively about working out.

• Don't be too hard on yourself:
• If you set too high expectations for yourself, you might not be able to reach them. That's when it all begins to fall apart.
• Don't think of it as "all or nothing":
• If you think to yourself that doing 2 hours of exercise a day is the only way to improve, you are wrong. Literally any physical activity is better than none, and it's important to remember this. Otherwise you'll end up being too hard on yourself. 
• Make it work your own way:
• A lot of people might tell you how you should get fit, or tell you that you're doing something wrong. However, this is about you, and you must therefore listen to your own mind and body. (But that doesn't mean you can't take advice;)). 

Find motivation: 

The reason as to why many people fail to stick to their new exercise plan is lack of motivation. With the right amount of motivation, you can reach almost any goal you set yourself. Here are some tips to keep yourself motivated:

• Set goals that you know you can accomplish: 
• If you set the bar too high at once, you'll feel demotivated once you fail to reach your goal. This will put your mind in a negative mindset, and you will be more likely to quit. 
• Try to make exercise fun:
• If you're having a good time whilst working out, mistakes feel more like challenges to be overcome and not something that will make you want to give up. Give yourself rewards for accomplishing goals, and stay positive!

Keep track of your success:

An easy way of motivating yourself and making your brain think of exercise as something positive is to keep track of your success, and then rewarding yourself for your victories. 

• Use technology to stick to your plan:
• A good way to keep your habits is to download a calendar app where you can put a mark on the calendar for each day that you work out and stick to your plan. 
• Test yourself:
• This is a way of actually seeing your improvement. For example, if your goal was to reach a higher level of fitness, you could do a 3k run. Then do it again later, after having done interval training. 
• Reward:
• The most important thing when testing your progress is to reward yourself for improvement. However you see fit to do so is up to you, just remember to do it. 

I hope this "how to" has been helpful and that is has given you ways of sticking to your plan. Remember not to be too stick with yourself! As long as you are trying you are doing great! 

Fitness Quiz: test your fitness knowledge!

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Fitness quiz!

This is a survey I created to help you test how much you know about fitness! I hope it can help you learn more about fitness in general, and than you for taking the time to fill it out<3
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