editor Often people’s discussions around confidence somehow stem back to their body image, with many people focusing on losing weight to think that will help them to gain confidence. However, people of all shapes and sizes struggle with their body image, and so this article is all about non-weight related fitness goals to help build your confidence.
Walk A 10K
First up, a great goal to work towards that isn’t weight-related but helps your overall health and confidence is to walk a 10K. Walking is a great confidence booster as it helps to improve your stamina, endurance, it’s great for your mental health and it helps to release endorphins that improve your overall mood. There’s just something about putting on your favourite gym set, putting your headphones in and going for a nice long walk. If you don’t do much exercise, then working towards a goal of 10K is fantastic, and once you’ve completed it, you’ll feel so proud.
Improve Your Flexibility
Improving your flexibility is another non-weight related goal that can be fantastic for your confidence. Whether you stretch at home, do yoga and pilates at home or go into classes, increasing your flexibility also helps to improve your self-esteem and respect for your body, especially in combination with positive and spiritual practices like yoga. Being more flexible also helps to improve our posture, so you will naturally stand and walk with more confidence. Feelings of calmness and serenity also tend to come with flexibility exercises. Overall, becoming more flexible will help you to feel good about yourself and be kinder to your body.
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Start A Fun New Hobby
Another great way to improve your fitness as well as building your confidence is to start a fun new hobby. Going out, meeting new people and learning something new are fantastic ways to build your confidence. Make sure you stick at whatever you choose, as you will have disheartening days when things don’t go exactly as you’d hope, but knowing that you stuck at it and got out the other side will help to boost your confidence. Whether you join a sports team, start a new fitness class, join a walking club or a combination of all, you’d be surprised at how fantastic you will feel as a result. Plus, when you pick something focused on fitness, it will naturally improve your health over time anyway!
Drink 2 Litres Of Water A Day
Next up we have a simple one, which is to drink 2 litres of water a day. When you’re not drinking enough water, a dehydrated body will make you feel tired, lethargic, you will likely feel less strong and overall have less energy. However, when you’re drinking enough, you will have so much energy, your body will feel more fuelled, you may have fewer headaches and your brain function can improve. All of these things naturally give you confidence, as you’re looking after your body and will feel great as a result! This is such a simple yet highly effective change that can really help to improve how you feel within yourself.
Build Your Strength
Another non-weight related goal that will naturally build your fitness is to build your strength. Lifting weights in the gym 2-4 times a week can seriously transform your strength. There are so many guides online that will tell you exactly which exercises to do, start with low weights, perfect your form and then you can gradually build up the weight over time. The feeling you get after a great weight lifting session is like no other, and increasing your muscle density and seeing your muscles grow is fantastic for confidence. It’s important that you eat enough when you’re lifting weights, as you need to fuel your body with energy through carbs and support muscle recovery through protein intake. So, a major diet combined with weight lifting can be unsafe, for example if you become light headed in the gym when lifting weights, so make sure to take this into account and plan pre and post workout snacks and meals in your weight lifting schedule.
You can tailor this to whatever you’re wanting to achieve too. Some people might want to work towards a 100KG bench press, others might aim to do 5 pull ups and others 5 press ups. When it comes to weight training, monitoring your weight isn’t usually accurate (unless you’re working with specialists calculating body fat percentages), as muscle naturally weighs more than fat. So, if you’re wanting to build your strength, using easy to measure metrics like wanting to do 5 press ups is a great way to start, then you can continue your journey.
Make sure you also have a nice and supportive gym set to wear, so nothing holds you back from your workout, which also helps to improve your confidence. Just remember, everyone started somewhere when it comes to weight lifting and the gym, so believe in yourself and you will make great progress.