Why am I Working Out?

This is a question that alot of people ask of themselves. For some it's for fitness, competition, friendship, fun, health goals, or achievement. For me it's to race. I enjoy setting athletic goals and striving to accomplish them. I like competition. I like to see myself improve year after year. To work on my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. To push myself to the limits.

Since I started coaching, setting goals seems to be a great motivator to keep my athlete working out. Short term goals keep people focused on the now of why they are working out. The next days workout is motivating enough to them to keep the long term goal in perspective. The greatest motivator is a goal. It's not your coach but your own personal goals. A coach is there to help you achieve those goals.

One thing I like to recommend to anyone is to try a race . It's a good goal to shoot for. It doesn't matter if you're slow or have never raced. Just lining up and finishing is a good objective. When I'm at a race it's great to watch people finish. Every finisher has finished for their own reasons whether it's for placing or not. The goal is to finish. It's very motivating to then try another race and finishing with a better placing, just crossing the line, or saying that you did another race. This is a great way of keeping you going out the door for that workout.

Another reason I see for people to workout is friendship. Teaching spin class, I notice that people who have a common goal, such as working out, seem to want to workout. This provides a social aspect that keeps them coming back. Find a partner with the same goals and your workout will be more enjoyable.

To be able to push yourself to the next level is another reason people I train use to set their goal of working out. To be able to run further or faster. The do a 30 mile bike ride. To lose excess pounds. All of these great reasons and achievements. To be able to see how far you can go.