Listen Now or Pay Later

For such a long time, I never listened to my body. In fact, I prided myself on the fact that when my body told me it needed rest or it needed me not to push it so far, I didn't listen and in my determination I pressed on. 

I pushed my body into injuries, exhaustion, adrenal fatigue, metabolic damage, just to name a few. Yeah, I got those extra reps, the extra plates or the higher interval, but I paid a price. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Was it worth it, you ask? Not even in the slightest. 

But hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? If we know better we do better. I believe I knew better and I chose not to do better. I made the choice to push my body farther than I knew it really wanted to go. I thought that was a noble thing I was doing. I was admired by many and people found my efforts to be "inspiring" and "motivational." (To all of those people, I sincerely apologize) 

After dealing with the repercussions of not listening to my body enough times I have reached a point in my life where I DO listen to my body -above all else, I listen to my body. My body knows things my brain can't even fathom and is not capable of knowing without my body telling it. As a result of my own personal experiences, it is now my mission to teach other fitness enthusiasts to listen to their bodies as well.

Look, we only get one body. The whole idea with fitness is to be healthy. And unfortunately, so much is wrong with the fitness industry today and people are being encouraged and taught to do things that are not healthy physically, mentally or emotionally. Unless you are a professional athlete making millions of dollars, why would you push your body beyond what it is telling you is healthy for it? There is no fame or fortune in fitness. Guaranteed, your followers don't care what you have to deal with as a result of pushing your body to a place it doesn't want to go. 

You are the one that has to live in your body. If you hurt it or damage it, you have to deal with that. So if your body is telling you it shouldn't do something...listen to it. Your intuition is the most valuable voice you have.  Your body and your intuition are anything but "stupid." 

Stop buying into these unhealthy fitness messages. Take care of your body.