Posted: 3/15/2007 8:01:58 AM EDT
|
I just started a job at a fitness club for women as the p.m. massage therapist. Well with the job I get a full membership. Including: unlimited tanning, sana, 26 peice circuit, weight room, unlimited classes, and a cardio center (which as a flat screen TV at each station) I've been working out 3 days a week and massaging 2. My hubby mentioned that he could notice a confidence boost in me. I didnt even think that I was acting different. I havent droped a lb yet but it still feels good to know that Im trying. Is this the same for all women? |
Exercise raises levels of endorphins (feel good hormones) in the brain, just like sex and chocolate do. So naturally if you're getting regular good exercise it's going to have a positive effect on your moods. And yes, it does feel good to know you're doing something beneficial for yourself like that, and that's bound to show too.
|
35 mins on that bike 3 times a week.... I'll have buns of STEEL! |
ETA - I have been going to martial arts classes 3-4 evenings a week since last August. I have only dropped 10 pounds, though a lot of my weight has converted from fat. Still, I need to drop another 25 lbs. This is after ~3 years of intense lethargy enforced by on-line college classes. Everything I have is sore (or bruised) on a regular basis, and it feels good! My general mood has improved a bunch, and confidence is up too. |
|
Similar situation with a dear friend of mine I went to college with. She has a baby, still had the baby weight, and after school started working out, and getting back into shape. She said she felt better and had a bunch more confidence, her husband loved it too. He got many benefits in the bedroom!  I could tel she was a lot happier! Kudos to you!!! 
|
Couple of things - it's pretty much the same for everyone, not just women, for reasons already mentioned here. Don't forget that endorphins are pretty close chemically to heroin. "Runners High" is not a new age feel good concept - they really are getting high (and they can go through withdrawl - nothings funnier than a room of ultra marathoners that haven't been able to run for a few days) Secondly, regular excercise raises your metabolism even when you're not working out. It'll leave you more energetic, which in almost all people even a small (almost unoticable) boost in energy will make them happier and more confident. Lastly, don't obsess (or really even look at) weight. Body fat % is a far more valid measure, if you want something quanitfiable, or simply go off of how your clothes fit. If you're just starting to excercise, it won't be that hard to gain weight, and lose a dress size. Weights a really bad measure. |
| I don't know - my husband said the same thing about two months after I took a job at the local gun range (quite the change from a 20-year career as a paralegal). The job was more physically demanding (imagine that!) and I started working out more because of my interest in handgun and 3-gun competitions. Before I saw much change physically people were commenting on my "attitude". I think when you feel better you are more confident and I feel better when I am active than when I play couch potato. |
Wow! I'm a paralegal already and sick of it! Wish there were a range close enough for me to work at!!
|