Why I love Performance-Based Workouts

When I started working out at 18, I was just trying to learn more about fitness and my body's capabilities, but I had no idea what body building or powerlifting were.

Fast forward 4 years and I became extremely interested in competitive weightlifting. Once I kept working out and putting on muscle, I felt encouraged and confident enough to train for my very first powerlifting competition. It was then when I learned about program development, nutrition, coaching, movement correction, mind-muscle connection and confidence in weight-lifting even more. Before I was training for powerlifting competitions, I did not have a general direction when it came to working out and I often relied on standard body building-style programs. There is nothing wrong with following that by the way, I just wanted something different and needed a different challenge.

So what aspects of powerlifting do I love the most?

1. Coaching. Though I am now a certified personal trainer myself, I found that having a coach to help oversee my step by step approach to training and movement corrections developed my love for working out even more because it helped me stay accountable but also hungrier to become a stronger athlete in general.

2. Program Development. Along with having a coach, program development really helps ensure that training is intense, interesting, versatile, and catered to specific goals in the gym. Whether it's building muscle, improving movement, gaining strength or many other reasons, I love having a program so that I'm meeting my goals and understanding how movement affects by mind and body.

3. Connections. If you have not already experienced it, I'm sure you will. What I mean by that is that the fitness community (especially among competitive athletes), is a huge community. It can have its pros and cons, but for me, it has given me friendships and relationships beyond anything else. It has helped me connect to wonderfully inspiring people whose sole purpose is to better themselves and others around them. I also think it is a great way to establish business relationships too as a lot of gyms have multiple connections and it's a great way to get your name out there if you're an aspiring athlete or have another business you're trying to promote.

4. Motivation. This one might seem obvious, but when you decide to commit to any athletic competition, it does push you to stay on track and focused. In a busy world, this can be a very important aspect. I especially believe this has helped me maintain and work on all areas of my health (physical, mental, nutritional, spiritual, hormonal, etc.) because I am more conscientious of how important it is to continue to work on myself to become a better person in general.

If this resonated with you, be sure to leave a comment below and follow me on IG: @Energizingbb. Thank you! Stay strong, stay motivated and keep being amazing! :)