When do you stop?

When a member today asked me "when do you know when to stop" A pondering look crossed my face and I thought to myself, what does she mean? When do I stop exercising? When do I stop adding weight? When do I stop sets or reps? When do I stop for the day?

Looking back at me realizing that I was lost in the question and caught off guard, she rephrased and stated "how do you know? When you have the best abs or the best looking legs, how do you know when to stop?"

This is when I realized she meant how do you know when to stop working out, when you have achieved your goals.

I'm sure it's pretty predictable but of course I replied you never stop. Once you achieve a goal, you set your next, and the cycle continues. Many at Chris Fit already have an understanding and appreciation for this. Once you meet one your pushed internally and externally to your next and your next an your next until it just becomes a part of you. Even if you find yourself with the "perfect" 6 pack you always dreamt of or the nicely tone legs and arms, or the heavy pr lift you always wished you could lift, it still continues, there are new goals that follow and keep you moving forward.

Life is a path, it's a journey filled with challenges and achievements. Fitness is just the same, there are obstacles and barriers  challenging  you and trying you all along the way but you always continue to achieve and move forward. Forward down the path to achieving our goals and setting new and heading toward those. So the answer is we never stop, we always continue further down the path discovering more and more of what our bodies can do, or how they can change, and what it takes to maintain them.

We don't stop, there is no need. There is no age that is "too old" to workout, no disability or barrier that causes us to stop, there's no perfect shape or size or strength we can reach and give it all up once we get there. There is just your goals and an your achievements and the challenges in between that pull you further and further down the path through life, toward fitness.

Now remember that stoping does not erase all that you have already achieved, but stoping does put a halt to your progress, there's no continuing down the path you either stay still, or go backwards.
It's up to you to decide if you want to continue forward!

As I mentioned earlier maintenance  is a key goal that many of us do not view or value as a goal. It is just as important if not more though! Even if you are happy with the goal you have achieved in your physical health it takes more to maintain that health. One may not want to add more weight, or not want to change the shape you have, but exercise has more benefits than just what is on the outside as we all know and understand!

Keep moving forward. Achieve your goals, and set new!



Yours in good health,
Lauren Ciurzynski