As the New Year approaches, many of us will be making resolutions for 2016. In fact, more than 50 percent of Americans will make a New Year’s resolution with the most frequent resolution being to lose weight. The end result is gym envy.
Gym envy is part of the reason that only 64 percent of people pursuing their weight loss goal succeed. With the goal to lose weight comes exercise, with exercise for many comes the gym. Whether it is lifting weights, running on the treadmill or taking yoga, we all experience gym envy.
Gym envy is where you are comparing your ability to someone else in the gym. It can be completely random. You get a treadmill and there is someone running next to you, do you peak at their stats? How fast they are running, how long they have been on the treadmill, how many calories burned? I sure do.
True gym envy is when you see the person whose body you think you can achieve. That person is already at your goal and you wonder how did he do it? So you look at what type of workout that your gym dream does each time you see him. Oh, he seems to love squats maybe I should add those to my routine. Or she really loves yoga with TRX, maybe that will work for me. You say to yourself, “I’ll have the same body in no time.” Oh the lies we tell ourselves.
Gym envy can be very discouraging because you are not focused upon your own body and what you are capable of doing. I mean you are 40 years old, do you really think that you are going to achieve the body of that 30 year old who is the subject of your gym envy? Doubtful.
Your focus in 2016 to achieve your weight loss or get fit goal should be “slow and steady wins the race.” The problem is American culture is about immediate gratification. So we all want to be like the hare; quick to our goal. Or worse, we lack discipline to be consistent. The first few weeks may only be 10 minutes lifting weights and that is fine. If you can, consistently do it for three months. Why, because otherwise you would be doing nothing. Don’t worry about your friends who work out 90 minutes a day or that hottie you have gym envy about, just be you.
Remember gym envy kills; it kills your motivation, makes you set unrealistic goals and makes you feel the progress that you are making is not enough.
If you make a 2016 resolution that finds you in a gym, make sure that you make a second resolution; the journey is about you and you alone.
