Tracking Your Progress via Selfies

Let's be honest, no one is 100% motivated and into their workouts everyday. In today's society with social media at the forefront and the hashtag #fitfam trending at 9.7M on instagram it is so easy to look at these people and think how to they do it?  How do they stay motivated, crush workouts everyday and have 6 pack abs after eating a cupcake? Well in reality, most people posting on instagram and creating blogs such as this one take about 50 pictures of themselves to find the PERFECT one to post.  They try different angles, filters, times of day, etc all to get that one great shot to be able to tag as #fitspo. It becomes so easy to begin to compare yourself to this perfection. I guarantee if you flexed in the mirror for 5 minutes straight after doing 5 push ups you will be able to find the "swole" in your muscles, but this still doesn't stop us from comparing ourselves to the the facade of perfection.  The evil inside our heads is continuing to be our biggest critic.

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Well this is exactly how I was feeling this morning.  After surfing instagram last night, getting really down on myself for feeling like I have not made any progression over the last few months, and feeling completely unmotivated to complete the bicep and back workout my husband created for us, I knew it was time for me to do some comparison pictures. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take pictures of yourself for these EXACT moments. If you are working hard you will see results. The best way to see results is by actually LOOKING at your results straight in the face. Taking pictures after every workout allows you to see your body transform over time. Those days when you are feeling down on yourself, TAKE PICTURES.  There is no shame in a sweaty selfie especially when it is going to motivate you down the road. So this is exactly what I did this morning. I didn't stick to our routine, but I just did whatever I felt like doing.  I wanted to do cable rows, so I did cable rows.  I didn't feel like counting to my normal 12 so I just kept going until I felt like stopping. I stayed focused on back and bi's, but decided to forgo the routine and just do whatever. After, I took some pictures to compare to when I had first started lifting weights back in the beginning of March and boy way I surprised at what I saw.

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Before I did this side by side comparison I SWORE to myself that my body hadn't changed.  I was being so negative about my body and my journey and this completely snapped me out of it. Sometimes it is so necessary to get off of social media and to stop comparing yourself to others.  We are all on our own journey and it's about time we be our own comparison and motivation. I don't mean take a look of yourself now and in high school (lets face it our metabolism isn't the same), but snap a picture of yourself during your next work out.  Stay on track for 2 weeks and you will see a difference! If you are working out, eating clean and not straying from your meal plan too much - it WILL pay off. 

So the next time you feel embarrassed in the gym for taking that sweaty selfie - say eff it to everyone else and become your own motivation!

P.S When I do these pictures for myself - I try and take a max of 5 pictures. Giving myself some variety, but also being sure to stay true to the progress!

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Written by Lindsay Freed

Reposted with permission from www.fitnfreed.com

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