I’ve been exercising every day for some time now. There are very few days I’ll miss. If I do, they’re mainly holidays or if I’m down with a cold. Not all workouts are a high intensity sweat sesh.
Regardless of what the workout happens to be, I’m dedicated to exercising every day. Every. Single. Day. What I thought I’d learn from doing it is how to get the most out of my body. I thought I’d learn how to improve my performance and streamline my path to my results. Once I started thinking about it, though, I’ve learned a lot more. This habit has been eye opening for me over the years.
The Surprising Lessons I’ve Learned from Exercising Every Day
- Jedi-level stress coping – It may sound backward but placing stress on my physical body helps to remove stress from my mind. When I’m exercising every day, I am better able to mentally prepare for upcoming stressful situations and cope with ones that have already happened. I find that cardio works best for me, especially in the form of HIIT because for those sessions, I can’t do anything but focus on my movements and breathing.
- Confidence – I expected to get more confidence from exercising every day because I’d look better. I also felt like I’d get more confident about actually doing workouts well. Thing is – and this could be a part of the better mental health benefits I just talked about – when I’m exercising every day, I feel better about myself overall. I just feel more confident. It’s like it helps me to be a better version of myself. Someone I’m proud to be.
- Increased productivity – When I do my workouts in the morning or at lunchtime, my productivity skyrockets. On days when I can’t do a full workout because I’m too busy, I take small breaks every hour and put everything into running on the spot, jumping jacks, burpees, push-ups, or other similar movements. Even if it’s just for a minute, I do it, and it fires me up with energy. My mind gets clearer, I’m more alert and I get a ton done.
- Better self-respect – By exercising every day, I’m telling myself that I’m worth that amount of time to dedicate just to me. I could be doing something else, but I’m putting the time and effort into making myself healthier and happier. I’m working on improving myself and making sure I’m in a better place tomorrow. That’s an important form of self-care and self-respect.