Why the Gym Helps More Than Just Your Waistline

Working out and being fit is important for not just your waistline, but also your confidence.

*Connect Your Workouts to Your World – Why Hitting the Gym Helps More Than Just Your Waistline. *

Everyone has those days; the bad hair days, the bad skin days, the days where none of your clothes seem to look right. You have a day that starts that way and then your confidence plummets. Your performance at work that day stinks (and you’re grumpy). Your workout that night tanks and every rep feels like you’re moving through sludge. Why do you hit the gym at all, you wonder, if you feel like you still look like a beached whale?

Simply put, if you didn’t, it would be much worse.

Working out and being fit is important not just your waistline but also FOR your confidence. It’s important for your ability to problem solve, be capable on your relationships and be a good person overall. Why? Not because of your slimmer waistline or toned thighs.

Working out does more than just help you reach your body image and weight loss goals.Working out lowers cortisol (a stress hormone that contributes to belly fat and anxiety). Working out lowers adrenaline (in the long term, burning it up like a candle that needed to be lit but not excluding it from lighting in the future). Working out provides confidence in one’s self; why? Well, let’s explore that.

What is the workout “high”? It’s the inexplicable feeling that you get after doing an incredible workout. We’ve all been there too (like the lows listed earlier). We’ve all had the treadmill “10 kilometers” or “I went for an hour!” feeling. We’ve all had the super-human feeling of a high from a marathon exercise session where we can’t explain why we could do more than a cardio session, yoga class, and then wanted to lift.

So how does this tie into confidence? It’s simple really; it’s the basic known fact that when you feel good, you feel really good; this translates to confidence in other areas of life such as career satisfaction, relationship happiness, and financial stability.

When it comes to career satisfaction, working out can help.How? Why?

Career ambitions are directly tied to confidence, as is working out. Remember that “high” you had from a great workout? How did you feel when your boss complimented you, when you nailed a big project, when you got the signature from a huge client? It’s all the same to your body; the rush of adrenaline, cortisol, and then the satisfaction from success are all similar to the hormonal and emotional rush you might get while on the treadmill. When you complete a task professionally, your confidence is boosted just like when you complete a task in the gym. However, the hormones involved are the same- so if you work out before a big meeting or presentation, count on reaping the benefits of the upped confidence and hormonal shifts in your favor to ace that meeting!

When it comes to relationship satisfaction, working out can help.How? Why?

Similar to the above career scenario, when you take care of yourself and your career, it flourishes. When you don’t, it dwindles like a plant that one forgot to water or the cashmere sweater one forgot to dry clean. Relationships require cultivation and confidence; cultivation is important to maintain and grow a bond between partners but confidence is required to make that bond worth its weight in salt. When partners work out, independently or together, they reap the benefits of the confidence boosting habits stated above. This leads to more honest conversations, more open communications, a better proven ability to manage grief, hope, faith, love, finances, and more that are encompassing a relationship.

When it comes to financial stability satisfaction, working out can help. How? Why?

Did you see the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”? Do you think the main character was a confident person? Yes, he was. Too much so, really. But how does working out tie into financial stability? Simple- it is the rational decision to take control of one’s life. Like fitness and wellness, financial stability is something relatively in our control (once we know our budget and income). Once one realizes something is in their control, confidence comes into play. Financial stability, like relationships and careers, requires a confidence that can be brought on by a balanced life, which involved working out and stress relief.

Working out provides an outlet that had been proven to reduce stress hormones, which regulate other biochemical factors in the body, which regulate impulsive actions with one’s career, relationship and finances. When you workout, you provide yourself a base of care- that results in a base of hormonal stability, good decision making, and a confidence boost that you can control on your own.

Let’s take an example from a normal day:

Monday #1: you go to 7 am Power Yoga; work from 9 am -5 pm; cook dinner and relax.

Monday #2: you skip yoga to sleep in; work from 9 am-5 pm; order food because you feel like it’s a “lazy day”.

If your dream job manager came up to you that day on the street and asked for your resume, how would feel on Monday #1 versus Monday #2?

If your dream partner asked you on a date, how would you feel on Monday #1 versus Monday #2?

If you had to do your taxes or meet with a financial advisor, how would you feel on Monday #1 versus Monday #2?

Exactly. Monday #1 will always lead into a more confident meeting, whether it be with your dream job, relationship or finances.

You might not even be able to explain it; the science is there hormonal and chemically to back up the result. Today, we are here for you to connect that working out leaves you nothing to lose- your health improves (obviously), your confidence in decision making improves from this shift in hormones that comes with working out (which leads to better decisions). This can all lead to a happier, healthier life expanding to career, relationships and finances.

Does this sound bogus? Try it. Tell us your story. Let us know how consistently working out changes your life on every level. We welcome the feedback!

JAGGAR International

JAGGAR International is the ultimate resource for the discerning, ambitious woman. It seeks to inspire and motivate young women into their careers, to help them build self confidence and go confidently in the direction of their dreams. It seeks to mentor young women and seasoned female executives in the pursuit of success and entrepreneurship.

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