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how I'm choosing to live my best life

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Katherine Moon
Katherine Isabella Moon
Meow, hello there, my name is Katherine, but you can call me Kat; because I basically am a cat. Anyways, I am a 26-year-old, lifestyle blogger, with an INFP-T personality type, from the United States. I love fashion, the color pink, cats, dogs, and spending all my time on my computer. I'm often seen wearing cat ears headbands.
The Kat Life
The Kat Life

how I'm choosing to live my best life

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

The Top 5 Main Reasons I Don't I Want To Work Out

Photo courtesy of Adam Grabek on Unsplash

Whether you're just getting started on your fitness journey, or you're a longtime fitness junkie, you've probably had a few of those days where you just really didn't want to work out. Perhaps even to the point that you absolutely dreaded the mere idea of putting on your shoes or rolling out your mat and getting started. It's okay, I've totally been there; many times. And yes, I've also totally skipped my workout on multiple occasions too; which is totally okay to do occasionallyas long as it doesn't become a habit. Rest days are essential, and it's important to take a rest day or an "active rest day" at least once a week. I have personally set Sundays to be my active rest day, where I'll just stretch my muscles or do some gentle yoga in place of any intense exercise (hence the "active" part), but even though I have my rest day every week, I still have days where I really, really, really don't want to work out through the rest of the week.

But the thing is, even when I really don't want to work out, even to the point that I'm absolutely dreading even getting ready for my workout, I don't like missing my workout. I know that getting my workout in benefits me in so many ways, both mentally and physically. I can go on and on about all of the ways that simply making the time to workout has benefitted me, and how 40 minutes to an hour of movement has made a huge impact on my life. But despite knowing how great working out usually makes me feel, notice I said usually, there are just some days where it's a struggle to drag myself to the mat.

When I do end up getting to the mat on these days, I typically don't regret it, I'll even feel a greater sense of accomplishment that I completed something that I didn't even want to begin. But there are also times where, for one reason or another, I'll drag myself to the mat and end up having a crappy workout and won't even enjoy a second of it; sometimes leading me to feel even worse than before I started. Which is an indicator that I probably should have either taken a rest day or tried something else.

No one likes having a crappy workout, and working out should never make you feel worse than you did before you started. Although it does happen from time to time. But to help avoid this feeling, as well as needlessly skipping my workout, I like to ask myself why I don't feel like working out that day. And when I think about it, it usually comes down to one of these 5 reasons.








5 - I'm actually not feeling well.


Photo courtesy of Anthony Tran on Unsplash

During the winter months, or around certain times in my monthly cycle, this is a big one for me. While I'm generally lucky enough to rarely get much more than a cold in the winter, some seasonal allergies, and the occasional upset stomach, nor are my period cramps too severe, I still have those days where I'd seriously rather just... not.

So what do you do in this case? Well, that depends on you, and how icky you're feeling. In any case, it's never a bad idea to slow it down a bit; maybe try some at-home yoga in place of an intense HIIT session at the gym, or make some modifications to your usual workout if you feel like you can still do it. Or don't be afraid to omit your workout until you're feeling a little better, and let your body rest.



4 - I seriously don't like the workout.


Photo courtesy of Scott Webb on Unsplash

I'll be honest, there are some workouts that I just absolutely despise doing. Seriously, pretty much anything that involves upper body and arms is not my thing.  Trying to do push-ups frustrates me, even on my knees, and my upper body just tires out quickly in almost every upper body workout. I know it's important to work my upper body, but I always dread it. Probably about as much as most people absolutely dread doing intense cardio (which I'll be honest, isn't always my favorite either).

This one is a little bit trickier for me, as I know that I shouldn't completely omit working my upper body. I honestly should be working on my upper body way more often than I am, because the reason I hate it so much is the fact that my upper body is my biggest weakness physically, so it is more tiring. And because of that, I sometimes end up getting in my own head and end up having a bad workout.

So what can you do when you just don't like the workout itself? Well, in the case of not liking to work a certain muscle group (at all) such as the upper body, I'm still trying to figure this out myself. One thing that I've found helps a little bit is to just find a workout format that you like, do the best you can with the moves, and don't feel bad about modifying. For me personally, yoga and weightless pilates moves are the best options for me when it comes to working my upper body. When it comes to cardio, there are a ton of options out there; dance can be a lot of fun, even if you're not good at it (trust me, I'm a terrible dancer, LMAO, but it's fun to try). There's also always the option of going for a walk, or anything you just feel like trying.

Now if you just don't like your workout in general, regardless of which muscle group you're working, just try something new! There is something out there for everyone, so you don't have to stick with something you're not enjoying.



3 - I'm bored with the workout I've been doing.


Photo courtesy of Scott Webb on Unsplash

This sort of goes hand-in-hand with not liking your workout, but sometimes I find that even if I love a certain workout; I just get bored of it after doing it 6 days a week after so long. It's not that I don't like it, it just feels too repetitive, and my mind and body are craving something new. 

So seriously, just try something new! Even if you're following a plan, it's okay to stray from it and try new things. So if there's a fitness class you're curious about, a new workout video on YouTube that sparked your interest, or even a routine that you made up yourself don't be afraid to give it a go!



2 - I'd rather be doing something else.


Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash

On any given day there are a ton of things I'd rather do than work out, but most of the time I'm able to easily set those things aside for an hour and get my workout in with no issue. For the most part, I know that whatever I'm doing isn't urgent, or even all that important; and I can do it later; without the nagging feeling that I should be working out. But sometimes, walking away from whatever it is that I'm doing (or that I suddenly became inspired to start doing right before my workout), is just difficult.

Probably the easiest solution to this problem for me would be to do my workout first thing in the morning before I start my day, rather than at noon; that way I won't have to stop what I'm doing to go do my workout. Perhaps this should be my next personal challenge for myself. But even then, I sometimes wake up super inspired, and I immediately want to get to work at bringing my ideas to life. Or I just have to binge watch a show on Netflix or finish reading the last 15 chapters of my latest pleasure read. Whatever the case, I know that most of the time, whatever it is can probably wait.

Seriously, I think the next episode of the show I'm binge watching can wait an hour or so. And honestly, why watch the whole season (or show) all at once, rather than spreading out the episodes even just a little bit? Yeah, I speak it, but I've watched full seasons in a single night before. Whoops.

But seriously, most of the things I usually put off my workout for really can wait. Even my creative projects. As a matter of fact, stepping away from a project for a little while can actually be very beneficial. Not only to get your body moving, rather than sitting all day; but taking a break is also good for your mind. I actually tend to find that my creativity starts to suffer when I don't take any breaks from a project; and that getting my workout in actually boosts my creativity.

And if you're worried at all that you may forget any of your ideas, just quickly write them down for later.



1 - I'm just feeling lazy. 


Photo courtesy of Sylvie Tittel on Unsplash

Seriously, some days I'm just straight up feeling lazy, simple as that. I know I'm not feeling particularly icky. I don't have anything else to do, and I'm oftentimes not even inspired to work on anything else. Heck, sometimes I can't even be bothered to find a show to watch, play a video game, or pick up a book on these days. Sometimes all I want to do is wrap up in a blanket and mindlessly scroll through Twitter or Instagram. Or take a nap at my desk or on the couch, since I stopped allowing myself to lay in my bed after waking up in the morning before bedtime unless I'm sick.

I often find that these lazy days tend to pop up the most around my period, even when I'm not feeling crampy or physically icky; as well as in the Winter, or when the weather isn't particularly great. Sometimes just the fact that it's cold in my room, and I don't simply don't want to take off my blanket and change into my workout clothes is a factor. Even though I know working out will warm me right up.

So for these days, I just think of Nike's slogan; Just Do It. Seriously, sometimes the hardest part is just putting on your workout clothes and getting to the gym (or rolling out your mat and starting the video).



What are some of the reasons you may end up wanting to skip a workout? How do you motivate yourself to workout on those days where you just don't feel like it? And when you do skip your workout is it usually just a one or two-day thing, or does it easily become a habit? Let me know! 
Thank you for reading, and I hope the rest of your day is wonderful!
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