For those days when you just don't feel like working out...

Sometimes you really don't feel like going to the gym. It happens to me too you guys!! It never ceases to amaze me how a workout can transform my mood completely, and usually getting going is the hardest part.

I was inspired to write this because this morning was one of those days. I woke up super tired because I got home from Argos Cheer practice really late last night. On top of that, my stomach started feeling bloated and I just did not feel very good. I knew that staying at home wasn't going to make me feel better though, so I might as well go the gym as planned and hope it would help. I rode my bike to Fit Factory, did the class, and felt better almost right after the class started!

Scenarios like this happen to me all the time and so I wanted to write this as a reminder that you are not alone; we all have days that we don't feel like going. 

Days like these are the days you NEED to go to the gym because you will probably feel better after. That said, it's very important to listen to your body and make mental notes of the different types of fatigue you feel. For example, for me I can tell when I am just feeling lethargic versus sleep deprived (ie. I need sleep, not exercise to recharge). It takes a bit of trial and error to really get in tune with what your body needs and when. Another example is sometimes I'll feel sick or tired and try to push myself to do my workout anyways, and then I make a mental note of whether it made me feel better or worse in order to make adjustments accordingly.

Your mood is also a super important state to be hyper-aware of. For example, if I'm in a negative mood I stop and think and realize it's probably because either I haven't exercised yet, and/or something bad happened to make me feel sad. In those cases, exercise will definitely be the cure!! The hard part is that being in a negative mood makes me not want to get active. But I KNOW from experience that if I can push past and just get moving, then I will feel better afterwards. 

As a final thought, even the fittest people have fat days, get bloated, and feel crappy sometimes. I used to think that if I was skinny/fit, my life would be perfect all the time. Well that's obviously not true!! On that note, it never gets easier but you will get better and stronger which is way more rewarding anyways :)