Friday Five: Five Fitness Inspirations
This week has been a real doozy! I played waytoo much volleyball. Seriously. I played a coed match (and a tough one) on Sunday, two games on Monday, another game on Tuesday, and a coed game last night. Insanity!
Last night, I asked myself, “why are you doing this?” My back was sore, I was exhausted, and I banged my knees up pretty good during the game. “Clearly I’m nuts.” But then I realized the real reason why I can’t say no to joining a new team or subbing to help out another team: I have a renewed love of volleyball. Now that I’m actually in pretty decent shape, I’m jumping higher, running faster, and playing better, I am falling in love with the game all over again! Which leads me to the subject of this evening’s post — my five fitness inspirations.
It’s been a while since the last time I posted to the the Friday Five linkup, but this seems as good a time as any to get back into it! If you don’t remember, the Friday Five linkup is hosted by the lovely Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney. Check out their spectacular blogs for more info! This week’s linkup theme is fitness inspirations, which was fairly easy for me to list this time around, believe it or not. So, here goes:
- Fun! It might sound stupid, but I am really inspired to work out when fun is involved. What can be deemed as fun differs from person to person, but I think it’s an important part of making fitness a regular part of your life. Part of what makes me excited about playing volleyball (which burns a lot of calories, by the way) is that I have so much fun doing it. The same now goes for running, and many of the other fitness activities I engage in throughout the year. I recommend finding something fitness related that you find fun, and finding friends that enjoy it as well and can motivate you to do it more often!
- The element of competition. I’ve said it before on this blog, but I am super competitive. I can turn anything into a competition! If there’s the potential to compete for something — especially if a prize is involved — I am down! Competition inspires me because it makes me want to work harder. If I don’t win, I keep pushing myself to try to win. Some people are intimidated by competition, which is understandable and not uncommon, but it really fuels me.
- Hearing stories of other people who find the inspiration to get healthy. I love hearing about the fitness journeys of others. It is really amazing to see what motivates and inspires others. To me, it’s less about looking at before and after pictures, and more about seeing the happiness and pride of someone who has found their inspiration. I love watching sports films and even The Biggest Loser because I love to watch the emotional transformation. It sounds sappy, I’m sure, but it truly does inspire me.
- Weight loss. I’m not going to lie. I still want to lose a significant amount of weight so that I can be healthier. I know that I’m not morbidly obese, but I also know that I can — and should — lose weight so that I can get back to a healthy weight. I think that losing weight will help alleviate a lot of this back pain I’ve been experiencing the last two years, and that my ankles and knees will appreciate carrying a lighter load.
- Happiness. When I’m healthier, I’m happier. Need I say more?