The Average Couch Potato and the Avid Gym-Goer, Which is More Successful?
When the average couch potato thinks about exercise, they usually correlate it with hard work, fatigued muscles and gross sweat. On the other hand, when the successful business executive wakes up a few hours before work and hits the gym, they are zooming through the day at mach speed!
Has there ever been a time when you’ve seen someone at the gym smiling while they’re working out, looking physically fit and overall a positive person? This man or woman knows that life isn’t easy, that hoops have to be jumped through on a daily basis and that nothing comes free. When a person exercises on a regular basis, they not only have a mental edge over competition, but they look and sleep better, tend to be sharp and are much happier than the average Joe.
Are goals accomplished more successfully when exercise is a factor?
Magazines, exercise enthusiast and motivational speakers always bring up why exercise is a huge component of success. The reason being is that when that successful person wakes up earlier than work on a constant basis and works out, they are triggering all those endorphins and good feelings associated with working out. These people feel as if they have control over their lives, everything becomes crystal clear, and there is more purpose. When an avid gym-goer wakes up early to workout, they aren’t sure how many miles they are going to run, or how many repetitions of weight they are going to lift, they just know it makes them feel great.
How does exercise correlate with happiness and success?
When a muscle is worked to its full potential, or worked till failure, it is forced to grow. This growth makes it stronger for the next time that same muscle is worked. The process of which the muscle grows is called hypertrophy. Hypertrophy happens when there is stress being induced onto the muscle which creates lactic acid that is pushed into the muscles, which forces blood to that area. At this time, the muscle looks bigger and is fatigued (forced to failure) and the muscle fascia now has stretched the muscle into new territory which provides growth. After the weight is put down, and the individual is breathing hard, the heart rate is increased, and endorphins are made. This individual has pushed themselves through the set, not knowing how many reps or weight they would do, how far or how fast they would run, just setting a goal in the mind that they wanted to achieve.
This continual process strengthens the mind not only inside the gym, but outside in real life situations. This individual is not only physically stronger, but mentally keen. Their mind teaches them to remain diligent, focused on their goal, and when that individual starts seeing results, they get hungry for more. The individual begins to hear compliments from family, then friends, soon enough everyone is wondering how this person became so successful. Who would have known that it all started from just working out for one hour a day?
Related articles
- Are You a Couch Potato Zombie? (5gsandacupofjoe.net)
- SHTF-Oriented Fitness and Martial Arts for a Middle-Aged Couch Potato, by Dimitri G. (survivalblog.com)
- Phys Ed: Meet the Active Couch Potato – NYTimes.com (corporatedroneblog.wordpress.com)
- Couch Potato Nation? (leftperspectives.com)
- Fitness Trackers Use Psychology to Motivate Couch Potatoes (gizmodo.co.uk)
- The Mind-Muscle Connection (themindmuscleconnection.wordpress.com)
- Gym? What’s that? (sarahinspires.com)
I believe that exercise does play a major role in making people feel better about themselves. When I was exercising on a regular basis I felt more confident in several aspects of my life. I felt I was performing well at work, in school, and on top of that, I had energy left over to come home and spend time with my family. I do not know what happen, but I somehow lost that motivation to exercise and I no longer feel the energy boost.
I exercise at least three times per week and let me tell you it is great. I love the way I feel after I exercise, it makes me feel more confident and healthy. It puts me in a greater mood through out the day. The hard part when exercising is actually the “getting up” part and actually doing it, because once your doing it feels great!!!
I go to the gym 5 days a week. I started going regular towards the middle of the Fall semester. I noticed that going to the gym so often really affected my mood and energy level. I found myself lasting longer in the day without hitting those afternoon crashes where all you want to do is sleep. I even felt more focused on school and just generally sharper, mentally. I also lost weight and, for the first time in my life, have muscle in my arms. I’m still a work in progress because though I go to the gym every day, I still enjoy eating like a college student.