How to Exercise for Self-Mastery, Disease Prevention, and Lasting Happiness

My Dirty Little Secret about Exercise

When I was 16, I started working out to gain the affection of a girl.   Quite simply, SEX was my motivation! Kinda funny, right

I never really “got” the girl, but what I did “get” was way more important.  I discovered a version of myself that I never knew could exist; with exercise, I became way more confident, outspoken, and just felt better in general. It gave me a sense of empowerment, mastery, and self-control that I desperately needed. And as I matured, I became way more successful, in life in general, and with the girls too!

A passion for sharing exercise as a vehicle for self-empowerment and self-mastery arose from my experience. I have been working as a personal trainer and lifestyle coach ever since (Started training in 2000).

Funny Thing

I have had several clients who come to see me to “lose weight” or “be healthy”, but after spending some time with them, their big “WHY?” becomes more apparent; they want to find love, and are feeling either unworthy or unfit to experience love and happiness.  This reason “why” is one of the most powerful self-motivation tools you can tap into, and in my post How to Exercise I recommend writing out your reason why and taping it somewhere you will see it every day.

And yes, one of my clients in particular always comes to mind when I think wan about exercise and happiness.  She was able to find love, and we are both convinced it would not have happened if she wasn’t investing in herself with exercise.  Pretty cool.  She is now happily married.

So yes, as you know, exercise will make you more confident, which will help you create the life that you want and deserve.  But in addition to that, did you know that you CAN NOT BE HAPPY without exercise!

Exercise = Happiness? WTF!

Yes, you heard me correctly.  I am not saying you can’t experience happiness without exercise, and I am not saying that you will love exercise.  What I am saying is that your body/mind is built to be physically stimulated; when it is stimulated all the happy chemicals in your brain are optimized and synchronized (Check out the post Exercise and Depression for more.)  When it is not stimulated, it will begin to fall apart.  Disease.  Depression.  Sadness.

“Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.”

-Earl of Derby

You can’t be happy without exercise because you can’t be healthy without exercise.  And I am not just talking about post exercise endorphins (“runners high”), I am talking about all the hormones and neurotransmitters in your brain and throughout the body being more optimized, stabilized, and in balance all the time because of a commitment to fitness (aerobic fitness in particular).

Why Lipo Sucks!

What got me thinking about this relationship between exercise and happiness was a comment a client of mine made last week.  She said “why can’t I just get Liposuction” and be done with it?  It’s a fair question, and I sense she was half kidding, but this is not the first time a client has asked me this question.  I really have only 2 answers, but they are damn good ones.

Number 1: you want to feel good, not just look good.  Yes, I am sure you will feel pretty damn hot right after you get liposuction, but how long will that feeling and the effects of the liposuction last?  How much would it suck to be really hot and still be unhappy or depressed!?!?

Number 2: you want to have a body that works, and doesn’t fall apart.  Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, the list of horrible things that exercise can prevent goes on and on.  How much would it suck to look really hot but need a cane to get around? Or have an amazing bikini body but cancer.  Seriously, that would suck.  What’s the point of a mega hot body that you can’t use?  It’s like being a diabetic in a candy store: ToRtUrE!

Happily Ever Abs

You don’t have to take my word for it; the latest research proves that exercise is an integral part of creating a lasting happiness.  If you want to learn more about it, check out this book about how exercise affects the brain, it is awesome. It’s called “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” and it is written by a clinical researcher and professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

So there you have it.  I encourage you to not only look fit, but actually be fit, so you can enjoy all the happy benefits that go along with being healthy.

So what do you think, what is your “why” for exercise?  What motivates you most?  Did you know exercise can make you happy?  Does this motivate you? Why?

Leave me some comments and show me you are alive!

Until next time, keep your body and mind fit.

Johnny Fitness

Jonathan Angelilli has worked as a full time trainer for over 8 years, has completed 8 certifications, and is currently the Training Director of Dynamic Results, an upscale lifestyle consultation service in NYC.  He works hard to match up people, luxury buildings, private gyms, concierge companies, and corporations with a personalized team of empowering health and fitness professionals.  He has directly coached, managed, and mentored over 100 personal trainers in the last 5 years alone, and also co-owns a highly successful consulting company for personal trainers.