Exercise has always been an important part of maintaining our health. Over the past 2 decades, the fitness industry has boomed.

People are exercising more by going to the gym, setting up home gyms, and using the outdoors as their playground.

It is important, however, to identify what role exercise plays in your life?

By doing this you’ll be able to establish what is the Best exercise for YOU!

Discovering the Best Exercise for YOUR weight loss!

In order to determine what is the best exercise for your results, STOP and take some time to TRULY ask yourself:  “Why do I exercise?”

Why do you Exercise?

Is it to lose weight? To eat more? To stay in shape? To clear your mind? Take some time and identify what your motivation is for exercising… what is YOUR root reasoning for exercising?

There are millions of fitness models, celebrities, or personal trainers who share their stories and lives on social media. Often times we use their image as motivation for what we want to strive for.

These images create a false sense of reality. It appears easier than it is. The journey seems short and attainable. They are cut, fit and look phenomenal.

The reality is, the journey is not easy. It is long. It takes a lot of hard work. Not from exercise, but from working within to ensure you are exercising for the right reasons.

When you dig deep and uncover the REAL reasons why you want to exercise, you will find your long lasting motivation that will carry you forward faster and better than trying to follow someone on Instagram.

A lot of these social media people have dedicated all, if not a good part of their life, to looking the way they do. So unless you plan on doing the same, I highly recommend not striving for the same goal, but to strive for that real reason deep within.

And besides, some people are more genetically gifted with metabolic system and their figures to be able to sustain such an image.

You can still achieve amazing health results, that will make you FEEL the way those people look, if not better. And isn’t that what you’re really after? To feel confident, Energized and healthy? Physically Aligned?

The biggest myth about Losing Weight

So, while exercising is a part of our culture and a way to better our health! It is a common myth that in order to lose weight, you must exercise. This is simply not true. You will lose weight much better if you focus on the food and drinks you put in your mouth. Period.

Exercise is a catalyst to speeding up the process. But exercise alone will not get you there. It is impossible. You’re better off mastering the art of eating better than to spend hours in the gym, or attending fitness classes.

Try this on for Size:

Your body is a machine. It has working parts. It has gears, and requires fluids and fuel to function, that fuel being food. And like a machine, if you put dirty fluids and fuel, in your machine it will not work properly.

If you make the machine work harder and longer every day for several times a week, what will happen to the machine?

Chances are there will be damage to the inner workings of the machine and eventually it will stop working.

Sadly, this is not that different from our bodies. The main difference is that our bodies are AMAZING machines. The Best and most complex machine there is when you think about the power of the brain and human kinetics. And they can tolerate dirty fluids and bad fuel… for a period of time. Years or sometimes several decades.

This is why we talk ourselves into these bad habits. Because there is no immediate reaction to our actions. Or perhaps these reactions have become part of our reality. Feeling bloated. Low energy. Lethargic. Foggy brain. Unable to think clearly. Fatigue easily. Do these sound familiar to you?

The body will not, and cannot sustain this type of lifestyle. In fact, the machinery will not work efficiently… it won’t work well… it will eventually start to decay from the inside. That means developing conditions, diseases and health problems that come out of “nowhere.”

Exercises alone will not fix any of these problems. No matter how much you do. Or how many variations of exercise you try. Whether it be CrossFit, Pilates, resistance training, running, cycling… it doesn’t matter.

Have you ever felt like…

Perhaps you’ve had the feeling that you exercise so much but you are not getting the results that you think you should be?

Why do you think that is? What is the missing link?

If you are focussed too much on exercise making you healthier, then you got it all wrong.

Recognize that even with a lot of exercise, your body can still struggle with weight, low energy, feeling heavy and generally unhealthy.

Find your motivation for WHY you exercise. It will not only help you realigning your mindset, but it will help you to see where you should be focusing your energy.

I think it’s safe to say, for most, that we exercise to lose weight… to get fit… so if that’s the reason we need to think again and dig deep. In order to lose weight (properly), we must master our eating habits.

So, what type of exercise will get you moving?

Sports, activities, working, taking care of chores around the house etc. There are many who believe that their work or their chores are considered exercise.

Unfortunately, for most of those activities, that is not true. And a good way to figure this out is to identify those activities and determine if they consist of repetitive movements.

Gardening, or washing floors are examples of activities that require repetitive movements.

The problem with repetitive movements is that the muscle, tendons and ligaments wear down that regular movement. Injuries can start to develop. Things like rotator cuff strains or tears. Carpal tunnel syndrome where your wrist and forearms become painful with use.

So consider which activities in your life, fill which category. Work? Or exercise?

Here’s what Michael Henri’s interpretation of exercise is:

“Exercise is a way of improving my ability to prevent aches and pains. To prevent injuries. To maintain a level of strength and endurance so that I can meet the physical demands of my life.

I do not want to be the strongest man. I do not want to be the fittest man. I want to enjoy myself when I exercise and I want that exercise to improve other areas of my life.”

So on the topic of exercise, I’ll leave you with one last question. What kinds of activities do you enjoy doing? Is it walking? Is it cycling? Lifting weights, swimming, playing tennis, playing basketball…

Think about your top 1-3 choices. Take some time to identify what you ENJOY doing. Not what you think you SHOULD be doing. This will result in giving you the best exercise that you can stick with so you can reap all the rewards and benefits.