How to Find Your Inner Gym Goddess

Two years ago, I rocked the gym. I used to get up before 5 a.m., chug an energy drink, throw my gym bag in the trunk of my Accord, and head for the ass kicking known as personal training. Six months after the madness began, I dropped over 10% on body fat (but not as many pounds as you would think), noticed guys I didn't know checking out my butt, and finally fit into my skinny jeans. I loved it - the always-chubby friend, with her signature square glasses and tomboyish style, had found her inner goddess, her inner gym goddess.

So what happened? I took a break. Well, more like a hiatus. Actually, I went into retirement. I had lasik surgery over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2005. The doc suggested I tone down my exercise regime for about two weeks. What I did instead was cease all physical activity until three months ago. I didn't do it on purpose. I enjoyed waking up later, and drinking coffee instead of energy drinks; I enjoyed wearing workout pants to lounge around the house. Not understanding how badly this would impact my strength and endurance (and my waste line), I lost my motivation by giving into laziness.

When the scale reached 20 extra pounds about a year later, I decided it was time to make a come back. It took me 17 minutes to "run" one mile after my hiatus, double the time it took two years ago. I was horrified. And my motivation? It was lost somewhere in a Double Cheeseburger meal (super-sized!) I had the next day for dinner. I had to dig deep to find my work out muse. I looked through fitness books, old copies of magazines, online discussion boards, and daily journals I wrote two years ago. Four distinct factors emerged as my motivation.

1. Confidence. Building confidence is like building muscle, it takes hard work and it's directly proportional to the effort you set forth. I remember feeling more confident about myself when I was working out. The physical improvement resulted in emotional improvement. I felt sexier and happier about myself - the prospect of feeling this way again was very motivating.