Finding Your Passion for Exercise

finding-your-passion-for-exercise

Do you see people all the time touting their overflowing passion for exercise? Is it really possible? Can someone actually be passionate about training and working out?

The answer is yes! Today, we’re talking about finding your passion for exercise and some food for thought to help light that spark within you.

Why Exercise?

The first question to ask yourself when you’re trying to find your passion for exercise is why. Why should you exercise? What’s the point?

Well, there are many reasons you’d want to exercise regularly that go beyond looking a certain way.

Perhaps you want to be able to run around with your kids for as long as possible. Maybe you want to feel confident in your body. It might be that you simply want to feel better overall. 

Your “why” has to be strong, and it has to come from you. Not from people you see on social media. Not something a coach told you once in high school. Not from outside pressure of any kind. If it’s shallow and doesn’t matter to you, you won’t stick with it.

So, figure out why you want to exercise. Then, it’ll be easier for you to find your true passion for working out that helps you stay consistent and motivated.

finding-your-passion-for-exercise

Practicing Self-Love

When you think of exercise as a kind of punishment or something that you have to do against your will, of course, it’ll seem challenging to find any sort of passion for it. But, when you think of exercise as a form of self-love, you can start to reframe how you experience activity. 

Self-love is often confused with treating yourself or letting yourself off the hook. But in reality, self-love is being accountable to your future self and putting yourself on the hook for the things you want.

Eating sugary foods and skipping your workouts week after week only make your future self more and more unhappy. Instant gratification often doesn’t outweigh the benefits of sacrificing those small pleasures for a greater goal. 

To help find a passion for exercise, think about how proud you’d feel to be the person you actually want to be. That means focusing on your future, not what will feel good right now. 

Passion isn’t about feelings or gratification. It’s about sacrifice and pushing for something more than what’s right in front of you. 

How to Exercise Sustainably

So, what are some actual steps you can take to find more passion for exercise and create a sustainable routine? Here are some tips.

finding-your-passion-for-exercise

Don’t Rely on How You Feel

The way we feel about something doesn’t matter as much as we think it does. Sure, our emotions are excellent barometers for when things need to change. But beyond that, they shouldn’t always be trusted.

The truth is, you won’t always feel motivated or excited to work out. You’ll probably more often feel like eating ice cream on the couch after work. So, pushing past “not feeling it” is the only way to exercise in a sustainable way.

People who are passionate about music or art don’t always feel like putting in the work. It doesn’t always feel good. But, for a passionate person, it’s better to go deeper than your feelings. The process is more important than the way you feel. 

Don’t Make It Too Ambitious

There’s no need to spend hours and hours at the gym every single day to find your passion for exercise. In fact, a more sustainable approach is doing workouts you love and doing them little by little. 

All you need is around 30 minutes to get a killer workout in, and fun exercises like dancing with your friends or kickboxing with our amazing OOMPH community can be all you need. 

So, if you hate lifting weights or running 5Ks, stop doing them! There’s no need to make your exercise routine too ambitious. Find workouts you love and create a schedule that’s realistic and manageable. It’s all you need!

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Pushing past discomfort to find a passion for exercise is no easy task. But it’s the challenge that’s so rewarding. Trust us. Your future self will thank you.

finding-your-passion-for-exercise


1 comment


  • Amee

    Bought your books – and I am two weeks in at the gym – playing around really and hooked onto a twice weekly boxing class (which I am loving!) In two weeks I have lost six kilos and am feeling so positive and happy! Only on chapter one….. so a long way to go! But wanted to say thanks!!


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