Working out involves WORK.

“It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.” Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in ‘A League of Their Own’

It was a gorgeously sunny and summerlike Sunday afternoon this past weekend and I thought to myself that I should go lay out in a park somewhere. I deserved to go relax in the beautiful weather and be lazy.

But then I remembered that I am trying to build the best body I can for myself and that I won’t be able to achieve that lying in the sun reading a magazine. So I went to the gym and I had a great workout and I felt glad that I went afterwards. And then I sat outside in the sunshine and drank a protein shake. A win-win.

But the gym was the last place I felt like being during that beautiful weather. As I dragged myself into the basement level gym with no exterior light, I thought I’m crazy for being there. I should be outside enjoying nature! Luckily there were other people in the gym who “gymspired” me with their dedication to working out. And looking at their big muscles didn't hurt either.

It’s not easy to keep up a fitness regiment. Often times it is extremely difficult to put in the work. Not only is working out tiring and strenuous, but it also takes you away from doing other things that aren’t working out. The “fun” things in life, if you will.

You have to put in the work in order to reap the benefits though. Whether it be something as simple as biking to work, opting for healthy food instead of fried or hitting the gym even if you feel like going to happy hour instead, sometimes you have to take the road less traveled. They call it working out because there is work involved, after all.

Not to say that you can’t find fitness activities that aren’t enjoyable. It’s even possible that your workouts might become slightly addictive over time (goodness knows I look forward to mine).  But in order for that to happen, it is important to find the right type of workout that suits you. Find something that keeps you interested and invested, but something that isn’t too simple. You need to challenge your body in order to see results.

You’ll feel good knowing that you put in the work when you look amazing in that new bathing suit or when you take the stairs without being winded or even when you are just lying in the sunshine.