Workout Wednesday: learning to love your body

Happy workout Wednesday. And an especially exciting one at that because it falls just before Valentine’s Day.

Let’s talk about loving your body.

Not to discount my oh-so-loyal male readers (ahem Dad), but this week’s post is dedicated to my girls.

As women we are often our own worst critic when it comes to our bodies. As a society, we are more comfortable brushing off compliments from other women than accepting them. Does the following scenario sound familiar?

Friend or stranger: I like your hair!
You: Oh really? I totally need a haircut and my roots could really use a touch up.

That’s a cute dress!
This old thing? It’s from Target like 4 years ago. You can have it if you want.

You look great! Have you lost weight?
No chance. I just ate an entire sleeve of thin mints. Yay for Girl Scout cookie season.

Thanks to two very nurturing parents who kept my sister and I active and never critiqued our bodies, I have always had a strong sense of self confidence. And yet I still find myself more comfortable giving out the compliments than taking them. I often wonder why our society supports that? Have you ever tried to just say thank you when a woman compliments you and leave it right there? It’s not easy! I’m trying to work on it myself but sadly, it’s as though our culture has caused us to see that as a sign of arrogance.

It shouldn’t be.

I saw this sign today in a women’s bathroom and smiled. My first thought when I saw the sign was the same as when another woman compliments me though. I immediately thought,

Oh sign, you probably say that to all the women in here regardless of how amazing they look.

And then the sign said, Duh.

And then I realized I was having a conversation with a piece of paper.

The bottom line is we can’t just blame society for this issue. Often times it starts with us. If we stop focusing on the things we don’t like about our bodies, our “problem areas” if you will, we can learn to love the whole thing a little more.

So this Valentine’s Day, let’s start to love our bodies. Let’s love them as they shift in size and elasticity throughout our lives. Love the squishy parts in your tummy because you grew a small human for 9 months. Love the thickness in your thighs because you did the squats and lunges to build them up. Love the dimples in your butt because your mom has the same dimples and the fact that you know that your mom has the same dimples means you’re pretty close with your mom and that’s pretty cool. (note: mom, I’m not saying you have dimples in your butt) Love your body because it’s yours and you guys are going to be together for a very long time so you might as well make the relationship enjoyable.

Disclaimer: I am still learning to love my body so selfies make me very uncomfortable. Especially gym selfies as they go against my rule of well, no gym selfies. That being said, it’s in the effort of full disclosure that I share a gym selfie with you.

I’m not recommending anything specific today workout-wise, but rather a few exercises I do to target the areas I want to show a little more love to.

Shoulders=push-ups, chin-ups

Biceps/Triceps=bicep curls, bench dips, chin-ups

Abs= planks, yoga

Quads=bosu squats, lunges, wall-sits

Hamstrings/Glutes= bosu squats, lunges, fire hydrants, clamshells

I invite you to change your perspective when it comes to your body. Challenge yourself to take compliments from other women with a polite thank you and no watered down responses after. I know I am going to make a strong effort to do so too. Together, we can shift the perspective of how we view ourselves.

Tell me! What body part do you love best?