Lately I’ve been asked this question a lot as it relates to running and overall fitness. I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a hard one for me to answer. Physical activity is just a way of life now, so I can’t imagine life any other way. I don’t need to motivate myself, I just DO it. But since it’s a topic that seems to interest many people, I felt a blog post was in order to help me dig deeper, and maybe help others in the process!

When I was looking for my answer, I turned to Mr. Zucchini Runner, thinking he could provide some insight into this perplexing question. He thought about an answer for a long hard moment, staring into space and finally said, “I don’t know. That’s a good question.”

Looks like he was in the same boat as me…. but then he said, “What about… just not wanting to be overweight? That’s why **I** workout anyway.” And we both kinda laughed. But the more I thought about it, there was definitely some truth to that! I feel better when I’m not overweight (and I was getting close there for a while…)

February, 2011

We both were!

San Diego, Summer of 2011

Once we made serious efforts to clean up our nutrition, and made working out a part of our regular routine, we loved the results! It felt awesome to get out on our own two feet and legs and MOVE. Mr. Zucchini Runner even did a sprint triathlon – he is not a swimmer, runner or cyclist! He would rather play a team sport like volleyball, softball, or even golf or tennis. So while our initial motivation came from the desire to simply lose weight and be healthier all around, today’s motivation comes from the momentum we created 3 years ago. To keep improving our physical fitness and skills, to keep pushing ourselves past our current limits, to be better versions of ourselves today, than yesterday – that is our motivation.

Tempe International Triathlon, May 2013

Our latest challenges have been completing P90X3 at the beginning of the year.

After our first full round of P90X3, February 2014

And most recently, completing PiYo during the harsh summer months of Phoenix!

PiYo has been a GREAT addition to my running routine.

Motivation is different for everyone – it comes from different places, at different times and at different intensities. Sure, there are some days I wake up and I don’t feel like going for a run or doing a workout – so I don’t. But I don’t beat myself up over it. I know I will get out and get moving another day; in most cases the next day or two. It is one thing to be motivated, and another to ignore the signals your body is giving you. I trust my lifestyle these days, knowing that listening to my body is more important than working out every single day. In the beginning, I couldn’t really take that luxury. Because before I knew it, one day off would turn into two, three and four. So in the beginning, I did have to make that extra effort to keep pushing through the workouts. Now I know, that if I workout less – I really need to focus on my nutrition. Nutrition is the key to good health, even more so than physical fitness – but that post will be for another day. 🙂

A special thanks to Bryan at Modivated.com for inspiring me to write this post! Head on over to his site for more motivational stories.

What motivates you?