Can Fitness Feel Good?

Our world seems to be obsessed with the idea of fitness and losing. We want to lose weight and feel great. Lose the fat. Lose bad habits. Lose clutter. And in the end we hope to feel good.

The fitness industry has tried to reach these demands by providing workouts that promote loss and building. Bootcamps claim to whip you into shape and help you get fit. There are fitness challenges that reward people for how much weight and inches they have lost. Cross-fit and similar formats like powerlifting and strongman gyms, challenge people and push them to their limits. Weight-lifting and bodybuilding motivates people to crush their goals and to keep raising the bar literally. Cycling classes want you push harder and sprint faster. Swimming groups encourage more laps and yardage. And marathon training programs want you to run longer. These are just a few of many methods that people use to get fit.

It is healthy to have a consistent workout routine and important to have strength, flexibility, mobility, and endurance. Sadly, “over-exercising” can have its drawbacks. An injury can happen from any of the above formats without proper technique or even when we are tired. There are fitness influencers who advertise products and really push the use of unnatural substances and supplements. Many of these substances can be harmful and are not FDA approved.

Another drawback that is not talked about enough is the fact that over- exercising leaves us feeling depleted and drained. This is the opposite of feeling good.

Why is it so important to feel good?

Some people may say that it is selfish to want to feel good. That is just a flawed message and we should make an effort to change that narrative. When we feel bad it is hard to be productive and accomplish our goals. We feel tired, drained, and uninspired and that makes it hard to want to do anything. Instead it is easy to slip into the vices that we were determined to lose.

I know that when I was feeling bad I needed my coffee (sometimes several throughout the day to get going) and then a glass of wine to wind down felt fine. Around the time that I went back to college I discovered Netflix. When I wasn’t working and studying it became a ritual to partake in personal Netflix and Chill marathons. This included takeout meals and snuggled up to more munchies than I would like to admit.

I’m not hating on relaxing, winding down, Netflix and chilling, or even coffee. Coffee is still my lifeblood, but I no longer depend on my uppers and downers to exist.

After awhile I noticed that this cycle weighed me down. I felt sad, depressed, and physically heavier. I also started to develop physical health issues that started to interfere with my life. This is when I decided that it was time for me to change.

The change didn’t happen over night. In fact it took me years from the point I discovered “Netflix and Chill” to get to the space where I felt ready to heal. That was 6 years ago and I just started making sustainable changes only a year ago.

Is it really okay to feel good?

I realize that I just talked about what happens when we feel bad, but is it really okay to feel good? We already know that when we feel bad our bad habits seem to accumulate and build upon themselves. This can make it hard to dig ourselves out of that towering mound of bad habits. The good news is that good habits can accumulate the same way that bad habits do we just have to make the decision to change.

Good habits do not happen over night they take time and effort (the same way that the bad habits took some time.) There are little, easy steps you can take that will uplift you and help you to feel good. Again, there is no magic wand that can change things instantly, but the little things really do add up and can make a big difference in our lives with practice.

Positive Affirmations have power that you can tap into all year long.

Positive affirmations are positive statements that can help you to challenge negative thoughts that can be self-sabotaging. These positive mental statements can re-program our thinking patterns so that over time we may start to think and act differently. With positive affirmations you can fine tune your brain for success.

Have you ever gotten ready to workout and felt an avalanche of negative thoughts storm your mind? Have you ever said statements like: I’m so out of shape. I’m weak. I’m tired. Is this over yet? This is hard.

I know that I have said things like that more times than I would like to admit, but repeating these kinds of words can be damaging because they create a habit of thinking negatively and this can be discouraging. After awhile we start to internalize and believe these harmful words and thoughts. What would happen if you replaced those self-defeating thoughts with positive and uplifting thoughts? Would it feel better?

A very powerful way to utilize affirmations is to say them while you do your workout. This adds action and conviction behind your words and will help you to feel good and reach your goals.

Here are some positive affirmations for you to use during your workout today:

1. Exercise always makes me feel good.
2. I love learning and the improvements I notice make me feel a sense of achievement.
3. My body and mind deserves this gentle, loving attention.
4. After I’ve been active, I sleep better, feel calmer, and my mood improves.

Here is a fun, feel good hula hooping workout to do with your shiny new affirmations:

Can Fitness Feel Good?

I used to think that I could only get in shape if I was pushing myself as hard as possible and eating cleanly. It turns out that fitness can feel good and that rest and recovery is just as important.

About a decade ago I managed a local swim shop. I also coached swim team and one of the mom’s of a family I coached came in to purchase a new swimming suit. She homeschooled her kids and told me that she wakes up at 4:30 in the morning to get her workout in before the day begins. I was amazed by how vibrant, energetic, and enthusiastic she was especially since she was the mother of 7. I asked her how she found the motivation to stay active in the midst of her busy life. She said instead of thinking of her workouts as a chore she started thinking of her reasons why! She also phrases her workouts as something “she gets to do.” She said,” I used to always say I have to work out, but once I started saying I GET to work out. Everything changed and I started looking forward to my workouts.”

Here are 7 Fantastic Hula Hooping Workouts you can do at home.

Count your blessings.

My favorite way to practice affirmations is to count my blessings. I like to write down at least 5 things that I am thankful for in the morning. Here are some of my favorites.

1. I am thankful for my health.
2. I am thankful for my life
3. I am thankful for a safe home.
4. I am thankful for my body’s ability to heal itself.
5. I am thankful for my family, friends, and my cat.

Do you see how I fit 3 blessings into number 5. Even on your darkest days there is still something to be thankful for. It is hard to feel bad when you are feeling thankful. Spend some time counting your blessings today. I bet you’ll be able to find more than 5!

For more feel good workouts, tutorials, and challenges please visit my hula hooping website:

Bee Varga The Hula Hooper

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!

❤