Pick a Competition… Any Competition!

Are you in a workout rut? Have you recently run Town Lake and lumbered your way around the Mopac loop without passion…almost on autopilot? Have you gone to a fitness related class and gone through the motions but not truly pushed your limits? Have you checked your progress beyond how tight your skinny jeans are fitting…after the dryer? What is it that can generate your passion to improve, perform, succeed? First question is, can you truly get anywhere if you haven’t set any intention of where you are going or why you are going there?

When it comes to fitness I have found that the biggest motivators have always come in mini or major performance goals. I personally love physical challenges. Taking on a new sport, signing up for a race, trying to break my own lifting records, you name it. No matter what your fitness level, we can ALL benefit from training toward a specific goal. I have found that when you train toward a performance goal and take your focus off how you look…your willingness to push yourself toward that goal, yields bigger physical results than judging yourself on every little physical imperfection.

Bottom line is we do that extra rep, push harder, and don’t miss our training when we know there is a finite timeline or opportunity to be the strongest, fastest, leanest we can be prior to an event. It truly motivates you to stay on task and make your fitness a priority because you know it will directly reflect on your outcome. When your goal is just this nebulous idea of looking like a swimsuit model in the future..you find out it is very hard to stay committed to this somewhat undefined and many times unrealistic goal (photoshop).

My challenge to you is this….sign up for something. Whether it is race, a team, a fitness challenge, a powerlifting meet…whatever your passion is…compete. No matter if you are competing against an actual opponent or your own personal best, it is worthwhile. Competition is a beautiful thing..you will find out you are capable of more than you imagined..whether it is physical or mental, whether you succeed or fail. Competing has the ability to unlock passion and performance in you, that you didn’t know you had. The hot body is just the icing on the cake.

 

About Krista: Krista is a personal trainer at Austin Simply Fit. She draws her training style from many elements of sports and fitness, but the foundation of her training is built on strength and conditioning.