Last Updated on May 5, 2017 by Michael Brockbank
It can be quite difficult at times to stay motivated for health. I’m not just talking about physical fitness here. You also need to pay attention to the mental side of things. Breaking personal records may deliver far more benefits than just being able to lift a certain amount of weight. Here is why I relish in trying to surpass my own abilities.
Getting More from Personal Records
Having personal records to beat is a way to gamify health and fitness. It’s a way to keep the mind engaged while trying to surpass your own abilities. This is a measurable process as you can see results as they develop.
Instead of focusing on losing a certain amount of weight or being able to fit in those jeans from two years ago, try to beat your own personal bests. Here are a few benefits you’ll gain from doing so.
Motivation to Continue
Setting personal records gives you static goals to reach for. When you break them, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. This will easily feed into keeping you motivated to break the record yet again. And then again.
I’ve seen a lot of people give up on health and fitness because they can’t reach a certain weight or it’s taking too long to slim down. That’s why I suggest focusing more on obtainable goals. By training yourself to break personal records, you’re actually doing far more good to your body.
Each time you achieve a goal, you’ll feed into losing weight and improving your overall strength. This is important as it will vastly increase your life span, make you resistant to injury and reduce the healing time of any injuries you do sustain. It’ll also greatly impact your ability to fight off being sick.
Self-Confidence
Part of having motivation to continue is having self-confidence that you’ll succeed. Even if the goal is small, any victory is still a victory. This contributes to strengthening your sense of worth, which then builds your level of confidence.
With each achievement, you feel better and better about your health and fitness. This is aside from the overall physical feeling you’ll have when you begin to strengthen the body. You may even notice your sense of confidence affecting other aspects of life. For example, your career may be greatly affected by a growing sense of confidence from breaking fitness records.
The reason I like breaking personal records over trying to lose weight is that the confidence boost is far easier to achieve. Instead of being upset with myself that I only lost one pound the past couple of weeks, I can focus on the idea that I broke my speed record for walking more than three miles in one attempt.
Self-Esteem Boost
Esteem and confidence can kind of go hand-in-hand. Often, those who have low levels of confidence also have low self-esteems. When you start surpassing your own abilities for health and fitness, it’s easier to start believing in yourself.
For instance, I was only able to do eight push-ups when this website started. I was in some seriously rough shape. Now, I broke my record a couple of weeks ago with 20. In hindsight, I bet I could have done a few more. And yes…this has played greatly into boosting my self-esteem.
Like confidence, self-esteem will play into other areas of your lifestyle. Whether it’s gaming or your interactions at work, having a better view of yourself creates a positive environment. As a result, you may find better opportunities seemingly thrown your way in personal and professional ways.
Continued Physical Progress
When your focused on breaking records, you’re putting effort into physical progress. This contributes to many different benefits such as being able to do mundane chores around the house. I can’t tell you how hard I geeked out when I tossed a 50 pound bag of dog food in the shopping cart with less effort. I felt like freakin’ Hercules.
And that’s often the point of fitness and health that a lot of people really don’t put into perspective. It’s more than just having muscles or looking good when you take a selfie. Health and fitness is a way to improve most areas of your life whether it’s picking up heavy items at the grocery store or stamina when working in the garden.
As you continue to break personal records, your development will constantly be improving. Even if you only break a record by a single repetition, it’s still one more than you were able to do before. Which means your body will continue to get stronger over time.
Improving Brain Power
Another benefit of fitness that a lot of people don’t consider is that of improving your brain power. Studies show that exercise and physical activity enhances the brain’s ability to think and reason. Cognitive processes, memory development and even your emotions can all be modified through proper health practices. Does this mean an hour on a treadmill will make you as smart as Albert Einstein? Probably not. But it will affect your mental capacity.
Exercise isn’t the only thing that can improve the power of the mind, either. In fact, things like blueberries may stave off Alzheimer’s disease as well as other mental afflictions. It’s just one more reason to pick healthier foods to snack on other than Little Debbie cakes and Oreos.
What will improving the brain’s processing power contribute to in life? Everything from personal decisions to choices you make in your career. With the ability to become more clear-minded and logical, it’s easier to make the right choices in almost every aspect of existence.
Health and Fitness Is More Than Weight Loss
A lot of people only focus on losing weight when considering health and fitness. In reality, it can greatly change your lifestyle for the better. It’s not just your physical attributes that are enhanced. It’s also your capacity to think and reason. Set a few personal records for yourself and relish in your own abilities to achieve your goals.
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