The 8 Emotions of Exercise Part 6: Anticipation

The views expressed in this article are the author’s opinion and do not necessarily reflect

the views of Body Twenty Global

Hopefully by now, after reading the previous five parts to this series, you’ve got some great

insight into understanding your emotions with regards to your exercise journey as well as

other areas of your life. If you’re looking forward to a great article, then you’re feeling our

featured emotion as we speak! Are you ready?

Emotion #6: Anticipation

Seeing the famous Lucas film logo appear on the massive IMAX screen followed by the even

more famous words, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” had me so filled with

excitement I could hardly contain myself. It was 16 December 2015 and for the first time in

over ten years, Star Wars was finally back on the big screen. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, my

anticipation levels were through the roof.

Its sad that we can’t feel the same feelings of anticipation toward our exercise though.

Imagine you were as excited about your exercise routine as I was about The Force Awakens?

It’s not the same because an exercise routine demands so much of us. We know that it

probably won’t be a pleasant experience. Perhaps exercise is more comparable to a Michael

Bay film than a Star Wars one.

Expect the Worst

Did you ever go to an exercise class and think, “I’m ready for today’s session. All the

instructor is going to ask us to do is a bit of legs and a bit of cardio, I’ll take a shower, and I’ll

be ready to take on the rest of today.” Except it wasn’t “a bit of legs and bit of cardio”. It

was MURDER! The instructor took it to a new level today and pushed your body like you

were being punished for something. Your lungs and your legs were burning all the way

through and you feel as though you’re not going to be able to sit for a week!

If you expect your workout to be easy, you’ll be unprepared for those really tough sets your

trainer may give you. It his/her job to keep pushing you and making things more difficult. If

you always expect the sessions to be extremely tough, it’s a win-win situation. If it’s as

tough as you expect, you’ll be mentally prepared for it, and if it’s not as tough as you

expected, then you’re lucky enough to get an easier workout for the day.

Expect Results

Quick fixes and quick results with regards to exercise goals either don’t work, are bad for

your health, or are illegal. Exercise goals come very slowly, and only if you’re exercising

regularly. You will have moments when you’ll feel discouraged because you your hard work

doesn’t seem to result in proportional results. Be patient. The results will come if you keep

going. If you’re struggling to reach your exercise goals despite working hard on them, we at

Body Twenty would love to assist you by doing continuous assessment of your body via our

revolutionary X-Body technology, providing you with the best physical training money can

buy, as well as referrals to our very own dietitian. If you would like some tips on how to

form regular exercise habits, check out our previous blog articles entitled How to Fall in Love

with Exercise: Part 2 and What Kind of Perfectionist are You?

I trust that this article has been helpful to you as you grow in your exercise journey. If you

have any questions or concerns about your emotions, let me know at daveroeb@gmail.com

and let’s set up a meeting to chat.

Be sure to look out for part-7 to this blog series on the eight core emotions next week. In

the meantime, let us know what you thought of this article. If you have any suggestions for

future articles, drop us an email at moreletavillage@body20.co.za. We’d love to connect

with you.

Keep Growing

Dave Roebuck