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Can fitness be a hobby [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Dec 20, 2017 10:00:00 AM

Can fitness be a hobby

Can fitness be a hobby 

This question is a debate which you may have. Can fitness be a hobby or is it an obligatory mundane task to perform? In this article, you will see that it will be all of the above to you at some stages of your life.

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What is a hobby

 

To consider whether fitness is a hobby you have to define for yourself what fitness and hobbies are to you.

 

A hobby is usually defined as something you do in your free time and enjoy. I would like to add that it also involves some kind of skill or personal development. Sitting on the couch and watching television is something you probably enjoy but does not make you better as a person.

 

Fitness also means a lot to different people. You might consider a brisk long walk on Sunday with the family as your weekly fitness depending on your age, gender, and eventual health. Others might say that is not even close to their definition of fitness.

 

So first thing to think about whether fitness is a hobby, chore or way of life for you is how you define these terms and how others define them.

 

Why you take care of your fitness determines whether it is a hobby

 

Based on what my clients say and what I read whether fitness can be a hobby highly depends on perception.

 

If fitness is something which you regularly do voluntarily, out of your own motivation and enjoy it it is most likely a hobby.

 

If you take care of your fitness because you have gotten a bad diagnosis or you feel fat and unattractive it is a lot more likely that the starting point if your fitness plan is a chore. For you to make success more likely try to think more about the benefits you will have once you get fitter rather than the time you have to invest to get there.

 

How to stay motivated

 

What can also help you to see fitness as a hobby and less as an obligation is to see the privilege in the fact that you can still move freely. If you have all your fingers, hands, legs and your brain functioning in the way which would be considered as "normal", you are already better off than many others.

 

Another approach which I learned is to shift your mindset from working out to recharging your batteries. Your sessions in the gym should challenge you and let you leave with a feeling of accomplishment. If you leave the gym beaten down, overwhelmed and exhausted it will become a chore. A workout should put more into you than it takes out if you. Keep the madness to maximum tests, races, and competitions if you want to do it.

 

Working out with a purpose and seeing fitness as training will also help hugely to stay on track. Training towards a clear goal will make progression meaningful and trackable. You will be way more likely to turn fitness into your hobby when you have fun and meaningful milestones to reach.

 

Time management

 

One of the biggest questions I get is how I do it all. Writing a blog, traveling the world, having two children and exercising five times a week.

 

Once these pillars of my life became meaningful, prioritized and interesting goals to pursue I got more crafty to achieve them. I sleep more than I used to as it makes me more productive. I learned how to use journals and Evernote to be more productive when I am traveling. I optimised my gym time to get the most work possible done in the least amount of time by using supersets.

 

You can do these things to and get a bit more crafty once you think positive about the goals you want to achieve. That's where creativity lives.

 

Conclusion

 

Most things start out as a chore or obligation before they turn into a hobby. Especially when there is a lot of skill involved. Think of this list of hobbies

 

  • Dancing
  • Nature photography
  • Youth coaching
  • Woodworking
  • Cooking
  • Gardening
  • Animals
  • Volunteering
  • Traveling

 

All of these are the most frustrating when you start. You invest a lot of time with little to no result. Once you stick with them it becomes easier and the results at the same time increase.

 

My fitness path started with my wife threatening to leave me as I had become unattractive. Since then I shaped up and in the not too distant future, I might even turn the chore which became a hobby into an income source. What about you? Where are you on your fitness journey? Let me k is in the comments.

 

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Topics: Fitness