Truths and affirmations

Working out is every bit as difficult as it says on the packet.
Starting with putting your head in that space after you've found a window for the time you need to input towards the betterment of yourself, from changing into exercise attire to readying up to sweat.
It's in stages and every stage is a small battle that you have to win to fight the final fight and most days you have to conquer every battle if there are any changes you wish to see because consistency is key, much like every damned thing in life. You've got to be at it over and over and over again to marvel at the results that take their own sweet time to show up. But show up they will if you've been working towards that one goal but you have to make up your mind for it.

Mind is the most terrible thing of all. Mind is what both restrains you and urges you to go on. Everyday, the mind will tell you against it and for it and it depends which one you want to listen. They're both reasoning but only one is logical and that's a choice you have to make.

To this day, after years and years of being consistent with workouts, both easy and gruelling, difficult and demanding, I still find questions within myself, trying to talk myself out of a workout, making excuses and it's a trap I am guilty of falling into.
It's not often but it happens on occasions and sometimes you've to listen because your mind is in cahoots with your hurting body, telling you to not take any further forward steps if you wish to stay fit and sometimes it's just lazy, asking you to go in for another cup of tea and relax on the couch.

Of course there's nothing wrong in relaxing but since it's a trap, it tends to be so comforting that the allure is strong enough to beckon you into it everyday and if you're consistent with falling into it then you can kiss your exercise motivation goodbye, because few things are as difficult as getting back into the groove of the exercising cycle, especially if you're still new to it, not that ones who've been doing it forever don't fall for it or some falter because many do, but most don't because they've tasted and seen how fantastical it feels to stay in shape, how damned lovely it is to be lean and look good in absolutely every piece of clothing and so getting out of the workout mode is never a good thing.
It is a lifestyle choice, a way of life and not something momentary one should do in order to look a particular way for a particular occasion.

Having said all this, there are days when your body demands rest and you give it, when your muscles need to recover and you let them, when your mind feels fatigued and you let it freshen up.

Push your body to the limits but always request is first. Know your limits before breaking them.

Everyday is different and it takes a while to understand this truth. If you're in good form for a week and not the best of forms another then it's fine to scale back a little and work accordingly because if you push yourself harder to reach the same peak, chances are that you might break.

Injuries are common and bound to happen no matter how careful you are with your workouts. These are just small hazards of this game and you gotta work through it because there's no way around, however they're best understood in their nascent stages and taken care of, which is why rest periods are an absolute must.
Always listen to your body. Sometimes even more than what your mind has to say.
Check for soreness, aches and throbs. For sensations and needles, for shooting pains, stabbing pains and dull aches.
Always discuss with yourself before going forward. It needn't be all or nothing.
You can change your exercise to suit your needs that day. There's no shame in not being as perfect as last time because really there isn't a limit that one can achieve.
That ceiling is different for everyone. Everyday the ceiling shifts.
What you thought you could never do one day is what you end up doing dozens of a year later.

You can't keep getting better everyday. Some days you're worse before getting better than last time.
Always remember to care for yourself first.

Of course I'm talking about people who know and understand fitness and see it for what it is. This is definitely not for someone to use to their advantage who actually really needs to make these changes.