If you know anything about Lioness, you know that we’re all about training for more than just burning calories or working up a sweat.
Training is so much more than that.
Your HEALTH is so much more than that.
Lifting/training for performance has taught us that life is so much more than what you look like. The impact it can have on you as a person when you switch your mindset from ‘training to look good’ to ‘training because you genuinely love it’ and because you KNOW it makes you feel good is life changing!
The Journey to Training with Purpose
Don’t get us wrong – we weren’t always the girls who preached training for performance. Us coaches are definitely guilty of obsessing over how many sessions we got in one week, how many calories we burnt every single day and constantly checking the mirror to see how we looked.
But f*ck me, we are so glad that we have been able to push past that. Now, the real truth is that it didn’t happen overnight. BUT it did happen and if we can do it – we all know that you can too.
4 Reasons To Train For Things Other Than Aesthetic
1. Your Mental Health Will Thank You
Health is so much more than just what you ear & how hard you train. Yes – these two factors are important but they work alongside so many other things such as the environment you choose to be in every day, who you surround yourself with, the way you talk to yourself & what you do for your “self-care” just to name a few…
Training becomes a way to relieve stress, build confidence and resilience.
2. You Wake Up Damn F*cking Excited Every Day
If you haven’t realised, we are also heavy believers of finding a form of ;movement’ or ‘training style’ that you ENJOY. If you’re lifting mediocre weights just because someone told you to, and you dread going into the gym every day – then the likelihood of you actually adhering to your training routine is very unlikely.
Movement can be anything – walking, running, yoga, gymnastics, sport of any kind, powerlifting, CrossFit, calisthenics – literally ANYTHING. But please for goodness sake, choose something you genuinely ENJOY. That way, it won’t feel forced and is much easier to progress in and continue doing.
3. You Love The F*ck Out Of Yourself & Your Body For What It Can Do, Not Picking It Apart For How It Looks
When you train for performance, you learn to love your body for what it can do, not just for how it looks. Do you know how powerful it feels to go from wanting to exercise to look “skinny” to training because you love pushing yourself and getting hella strong? The answer is f*cking POWERFUL.
When that happens, it shifts your entire perspective on overall health. Training and nutrition are blessings – a way to care for our bodies, and fuel our bodies to recover optimally.
4. Training as a Form of Meditation
Training can also easily be seen as a form of meditation when you choose to completely immerse yourself into your session, focusing your mind on nothing but the present moment and the task ahead. It’s a mental break from daily stress.
Making a conscious effort to move in a way that you enjoy & taking note of how you feel before/during and after can also be the difference between mindlessly moving & mindfully moving. Mindfully moving can then carry on into other areas of your life such as noting how you feel around certain people or in certain environments.
So, Which Reason Resonates Most with You?
Now that you’ve read 4 reasons for training beyond aesthetics, I want you to ask yourself: Which one resonates with you the most? Will you go into your next training session with a new perspective or appreciation for what your body can achieve?