It's time to stop

I know this sounds a bit dramatic but... let me be real and cut to it. Should you stop working out? Well yes...Or more precisely you should stop the kind of workout you're doing if any of the reasons below apply.

You dread the workout ahead
You're not seeing results at all or anymore
It's causing you physical pain

Let's take a peek at each on of these reasons and see if we can flip them around.

If You dread the workout

Getting into the consistency of getting your body the exercise it needs is hard enough. So how do you think you're going to succeed and keep that success if you are doing workouts that you hate? If you despise the machines then why are you doing machines? Take them out and put in something else.First off, learn how to take your heart rate. Once you can do this accurately either with a monitor or manually. you'll be able to learn how hard your body can and needs to train in order to get results. No you won't have to take your heart rate all the time, soon enough you will get to know your body. Though our bodies naturally want to take the easy way out so it's good to fall back to it every so often.

What to do instead of cardio machines? Look within! What do you enjoy?

Take a class (the options are endless these days) bring a friend and make it more fun!
Go hiking by yourself, with someone else, with your dog, with your neighbors dog..just pick a tough trail and get your heart pumping!
Try something out of your comfort zone, try a self defense class, sign up for a mud run, get a group together to play tennis, volleyball, soccer, or boxing, you get the idea. It doesn't have to be a league just get people together on a regular basis to have fun and work it out!
Try out different online workouts there are so many. I will be writing a post about my favorites soon.
Teach kids! Teaching kids sports especially young ones is quite a workout, a lot of high energy is needed to really make it a success so dig deep and you'll be sweating in no time.
Kayak, roller blade, do a bootcamp obstacle course at a nearby park if they have them near you.

It takes some self reflection and you will figure out what you like (or used to like) to do. Don't forget to pray and or meditate about it as well and it will become more clear or add prayer and or meditation into your workouts!

If you're not seeing results anymore

An effective rule to live by when it comes to workouts is every 4-6 weeks totally toss out your workout and begin anew!If you are adamant about the style in which you train then at the very least change the rotation or change the location. For example if you enjoy running, cardio kickboxing, yoga and want to keep doing similar workouts in these areas then take them to the beach, or perform them on a different safe surface area. This will work your stabilizer muscles in a different way completely and the same exercises you have been doing will all of sudden feel much different. You see, you're muscles get used to doing the same exercises this is called 'muscle memory'. It's great and helps us to achieve great levels of fitness however, the more you confuse your muscles the more results you will see as they will have to work for it instead of just going about the same old thing. Have you ever gone for a run around a track and compared it to a cross country run on the trails? It's night and day.

I love hiking trails so much to take in and they are so peaceful. Best thing we ever did was get our dog Charlie as it gave me some MUCH needed quiet time in my life.

If your workout is causing you pain

Having an injury does not in any way mean that you must stop exercising. However, it is detrimental that you understand your injury from the beginning so you can work around it and help to promote healing to the injured area. Whether it be a sprang, broken bone, torn ligament or fracture, once your body has begun healing and your doctor gives you the ok, there are plenty of ways to keep up with your workouts while you heal so don't just give up!

Other things to consider:

The time of day you choose to workout; make sure it's the most effective time for you.
Your overall energy level of that day.
How your meals have been leading up to your workout.
Your health. If you have the a virus or infection don't over due it, your body needs to heal.

So now that you're NOT going to stop working out how can you keep yourself going and get motivated? I'll have more posts about this coming soon but for now start with ACCOUNTABILITY. Without accountability it can be hard to be consistent. I have learned over my many years of training clients that many people need to be held accountable for their exercise and healthy lifestyle. Here are a few ways to set this up for yourself to succeed:

Get sponsors and train for a charitable event / cause. Everybody wins here!
1. Higher an exceptional personal trainer. If you are paying for their expertise you are less likely to slack off.
2. Tell others what your goals are! Include your family and friends in this, allow them to support you. Put your pride outside of this there's no need to do it alone.
3. Sign up! If you belong to a gym some request that you sign up for a class ahead of time - DO IT! You're less likely to opt out of it last minute.
4. Commit with a close friend and keep each other accountable. I recommend you choose a friend that won't let you get away things easily. He or she may need to give you a push some days!

So, no you shouldn't actually stop working out but you should make your workouts more enjoyable. Rotate your workouts in a drastic way. Keep them fresh and new and challenging! Be honest with yourself when recovering from illness or injury but don't let it stop you. We were given one body-only one! You are the one responsible to take care of it so I urge you to do everything you possibly can to do so!