Need Some Instant Gratification? Workout Today!

-Dawn Wolfe

It’s hard to fit long-term goals into a daily and weekly routine. Between work, keeping up a home and family commitments, many of us feel as though we're treading water just keeping up  with our immediate priorities!

So how do we make sure we're making time for something that has long-term payoffs in the midst of days filled with immediate demands? Concentrate on the instant gratifications that are part and parcel of an exercise routine. That's the suggestion offered in this article in the March 2013 issue of Womenshealthmag.com.

The article lists five instant rewards we get from our indoor cycling class or other workouts:

1. Boosted productivity & brainpower;
2. Making healthy connections; i.e., making friends in class, because social ties make us happy and are also good for our health;
3. Glowing skin;
4. “Hotter” intimate time
5. Better sleep

The instant rewards above are great – and great motivators – but this is just the beginning of the list. When we make time for working out a high priority, we also reap the following instant rewards:

1. A feeling of accomplishment (Part 1). No matter what else may have gone wrong or well in a day, completing a workout means you've done at least one unambiguously positive thing;
2. Taking charge. Making time for ourselves and making our workouts happen is a way to begin, or strengthen, a habit of being in charge of all of those immediate priorities.
3. A feeling of accomplishment (Part 2). Every workout is a bit easier than the one before; every time we go to an indoor cycling class or do another workout we're able to do a bit more. Even if it's a small improvement, we do improve – and tracking that improvement day by day leads to a great sense of accomplishment!

What other instant rewards to you get when you make your fitness a priority? Head over to our Facebook page to list a few and see what others have to say as well!