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5 Awesome Ways That Working Out Boosts Your Self Confidence

Exercising is great for boosting your own self-confidence and self-esteem.


Here's how.


Confident fit man standing with his arms crossed

If you went out and asked people in the gym whether or not exercising regularly has helped to boost their self confidence, you'd most likely get a "yes" of some sort as the majority of your answers.


Working out, and regularly exercising is a great way for you to boost your own confidence and become more comfortable in your own skin.


In this post I'm going to go over how exactly working out boosts your confidence in 5 different ways, as well as some tips on how you can maximize this effect!


Ready?


Let's get started.


How Does Working Out Boost Your Self Confidence?


Increasing self confidence is no easy task.


But if you genuinely enjoy working out and you take it seriously, it's going to happen naturally and gradually develop over time as you progress further through your fitness journey.


According to the APA, exercising regularly can help you reduce long-term feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.


Here are 5 ways that exercising can help you boost self-esteem:


1. You Look Physically Fitter


It's no secret that if you're looking good, you're probably going to be feeling good.


When you're in your best clothes, you probably feel a little more confident than usual.


When you've just got that fresh haircut or just been groomed, you're probably going to feel a little more confident than usual.


If you're in the best shape you've ever been in, things are no different.


You know that people are going to see you looking good, and this does wonders for your self confidence.


Fit and strong man feeling confident without his shirt on

Even if you're still wearing t-shirts, you'll still feel more confident.


Whether this is due to you having lost some weight, or you having built some more muscle and finally looking bigger and stronger, it's all the same.


If you're displaying your body in its fittest form, you're going to feel great about yourself.


And for those of you who might be asking: well what if I'm not looking 'fit' yet?


Even if you don't think you look 'fit' yet, or you're still not proud of what you've achieved, you just need to take a step back and appreciate how far you've come.


If you've been going hard for several months at least and you've been doing everything right, chances are, you've made some good progress.


Just take a look at some of the pictures of you before you began all of this, and look in the mirror now!


You've definitely got something to be proud of, and something to be more confident about.


2. You Gain a Good Sense of Accomplishment


If you were to attempt a difficult challenge, whatever it might be, and successfully complete it, would you feel more confident in your own ability to achieve and do hard things?


If you were studying for a difficult maths test and you were consistently getting the most difficult questions right, would you feel more confident heading into the test than you otherwise would if you hadn't tried those questions?


Yes, right?


The same goes with fitness.


It's not just because of how you look.


It's because deep down you know that you're capable of doing something that most people aren't.


It's certainly not easy to get in shape.


Even just starting in fitness is difficult, trying to find the motivation and courage to get in the gym or go on a run for the first time.


It's no easy task.


And if you've been able to overcome this, you'll probably realize how much tougher you are than millions and millions of other people on this planet.


Having done hard things is going to boost your confidence, and getting in shape, or even taking the first step in that journey is certainly a commendable thing to do. Definitely something to be confident about.


3. Working Out Can Help Improve Your Posture


Male athlete doing stretching poses to improve posture

When we're feeling scared or uncomfortable, it's common for us to hunch over into a more protective position.


The shoulders come forwards, we cross our arms and try to hide ourselves.


This gives off a very unconfident, timid look.


By working out and building muscle in the right places on our bodies, we can actually naturally improve our posture and help to give off a more confident, exposed look whenever we walk into a room, sit down, etc.


Common places to build muscle for improved posture would include the back muscles, as well as the rear delts to help pull your shoulders back into place for a more consistently upright posture.


4. Exercise Helps You Develop a More Positive Mindset


If you're constantly doing hard things and consistently putting in good efforts at the gym, you're undoubtedly going to find that you start to develop a stronger mindset.


You head into challenges feeling more sure of yourself.


You feel more comfortable taking risks and doing things that might not turn out the way you want it to, all because you know you're capable of accomplishing hard things.


For example if you've been able to prove to yourself that you were actually able to get in shape in the past, no matter the starting point, you'll probably feel a lot more comfortable doing tougher things in other aspects of life; not just in the gym.


Back when I was in college, I can't begin to tell you how much my confidence skyrocketed when I first joined the rowing team and got into fitness for the first time ever.


I became more outgoing, I learn to socialize with people properly, I became more confident in my own ability to get good grades in school, and everything in my life just became better.



5. Exercising Can Open Up Opportunities to Meet New People


Whether you're in the gym constantly and meeting new people, or you're out running in the park and run past the same people every Sunday, working out is going to open up lots of gates for you to meet new people and practice socializing if that's something you've been wanting to get better at.


Even if you're really shy, and you just get more of an opportunity to talk to the receptionists at the gym, that's still good practice and a great starting point.


The point is, if you expose yourself to more opportunities to meet new people and you act on them, you're inevitably going to become more comfortable in your own skin and more confident.


So How Can I Maximize My Confidence Gains from Working Out?


There are 2 main tips I can give you to maximize this.


Track Your Progress


Tracking workout progress on a laptop

If you properly track your progress, you're constantly going to be able to see how far you've come and what you've achieved.


Take those before and after pictures, because you're never going to have another chance to do so anymore.


Track the weight you used last week.


Track ALL your progress, because trust me, it's one of the most fulfilling feelings when you take a look at your before and after pictures and you feel proud of yourself for the first time.


It's a pretty special feeling.


For a complete guide on why and how to track your progress, click here.


Set Realistic Goals


Many people head into the gym for the first time having some crazy expectations that they're going to be looking like prime athletes and bodybuilders after a couple months of hard work.


Just know that anybody you look up to on social media and in the magazines has likely been training for at least 5 years, and probably much longer than that for the majority of those people.


All the bodybuilders, bikini models, soccer players, they've all been training for years and years on end.


Their overnight successes took place over decades of hard work.


Know that it's a marathon, but not a sprint.


Be proud of what you're achieving, but certainly don't place expectations so high that you begin to feel discouraged and feel like quitting.


Only the toughest are going to make it out and end up with the bodies they used to wish for.



Conclusion


Working out is a great way to build your self confidence and become more comfortable in your own skin.


It's a great way for you to naturally work on your self confidence, whilst working on your physical and mental health at the same time!


These benefits are hard to find elsewhere, and it's a great idea for anybody (that's healthy of course) to pick up exercising to reap them all.


Has working out improved YOUR self confidence?


Let me know in the comments section down below!

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