Why Fitness Should Be a Practice, Not a Punishment: How to Build a Lifelong Fitness Practice That Actually Feels Good

What if your workouts didn’t have to feel like punishment? What if fitness was something you practiced — not something you had to perfect?

In this episode of The Muscles & Mindset Revolution, Anne shares what a 30-day yoga challenge taught her about consistency, sustainability, and showing up for yourself — without the pressure to perform.

You’ll learn:

• Why treating fitness like a practice (instead of a performance) is the key to lasting results
• The major mindset difference between yoga and traditional fitness
• How to build consistency without relying on motivation
• What to do when life gets busy, messy, or off-track (spoiler: you’re not failing)

Whether you’re navigating a busy season, feeling stuck in perfectionism, or just need a new way to approach your strength training, this episode will help you reframe fitness as something that supports your life — not something that takes it over.

💙 Apply for Muscles & Mindset Coaching: https://go.annejonescoaching.ca/widget/form/TjVZd63ci95vmcJlfJ2w

💙 Connect with Anne on Instagram: @annejonesfit

• [FREE YOUR BODY YOUR WAY GUIDE]

• [Join our Free Facebook Community]

• [https://musclesandmindset.ca/]

Ready to build strength, feel confident AF, and lose fat without obsessing or stressing over it? [Apply to Join the Muscles & Mindset program here].

Connect With Me:

• Instagram: [@annejonesfit]

• Website: [https://www.annejonescoaching.ca/]

• YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/@annejones]

Love This Episode? Share & Review!

If you found this episode helpful, take a screenshot and share it on your Instagram stories, tagging [@annejonesfit] so I can say thanks! Don’t forget to leave a review on your favourite podcast platform—it helps more women discover the show and start their transformation!

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Muscles and Mindset Revolution, the podcast for ambitious women who want to build strength, feel confident, af, and lose fat for good, without counting calories or BS quick fixes. I'm your host, Ann Jones, certified life coach, personal trainer, and mindset expert. After 15 plus years in the fitness industry, I know the real key to lasting change isn't just what you do, it's how you think. If you're ready to shift your mindset, build a lifestyle you love and feel confident af, you're in the right place, let's dive in. Okay, so if you read my monthly recap emails, you will already know this. If you don't already, I'll put the link in my show notes. I send a monthly recap just about personally, like what I'm doing, what I'm reading, what I'm watching, what's going on in my life. You will already know that. I am doing a 30 day yoga challenge. So there's a couple of reasons that I'm doing this. The primary reason is I just moved to a new place. I just moved to Vancouver Island and I need a yoga studio. I loved my yoga studio in Powell River. Shout out to elements. It was perfect and it was perfect for me. So I'm trying a new studio in Qualcomm Beach and they're doing a 30 day yoga challenge. September 15th to October 15th. So this is great because I want to try all the classes. I want to try all the teachers. I wanna know what I like, what works for my schedule. So I'm doing a 30 day yoga challenge. That's the primary reason is to try everything at my new studio and like get used to the community. The secondary reason is I remember, way, way, way, way when I was super young when I was first, working as a yoga teacher and a fitness instructor, I did a. 30 day Yoga Challenge with yogaglo and my core got so strong, like that is such a fun side effect of yoga. so that's another reason that I'm doing it, is I just wanna see how I feel. Those are the reasons I'm doing it. After the first week, I really started to miss my strength training, and so I sat down with myself and I was like, okay, what is the reason that I'm doing? So this is going to any yoga class every single day. Okay? They have classes seven days a week, and I've been doing it successfully. I've gone every single day, except maybe one day I was sick. So I had to sit down with myself instead of abandoning it or just going forward for the 30 days and not training. I was like, what? Why am I really doing this? And I was like, I'm doing this'cause I wanna try the classes. I want to try the teachers. So when I came back to why I was doing it with myself, it wasn't actually like to get a sticker because you get a sticker every day. It wasn't necessarily to get a sticker every day for 30 days or to Prove that I could do yoga for 30 days in a row. Actually, my intention was just to try everything and after the first week, I had tried all of the classes and almost all of the teachers, so then I was like, instead of just arbitrarily moving forward doing this thing because I signed up for it, what would actually be best for me and my goals and like what I'm looking for and where I'm at right now. I still wanna do it. I still want to do as much yoga as possible this next 30 days, but I don't need to do it seven days a week. So I decided to reincorporate my strength training two days a week. I still always do a cardio day and then I'm going to yoga the other five days of the week and I'm gonna keep doing that for the next two weeks. That's what I've been doing. I'm halfway through, so I'm sharing this with you for a few reasons. Number one, I like to share my thought process with you, because I think you know, that I'm always gonna come from a place of what is your why? Why are you doing this? I'm not here for an arbitrary 75 day, I'm just not here to prove anything. And I think when we are set, set out to prove something to someone else, not necessarily to ourselves, we're not necessarily doing what is for our highest good or even moving the dial on our goal. I have a goal to stay really fit and strong, right? And so is doing yoga seven days a week going to derail me from that goal? Not in a month, no. But is it going to move me closer to that goal? No. So I wanted to share with you my thought process. I also wanted to share the journey with you because I love yoga and it feels really good. But the third reason that I wanted to share this with you is what we're going to talk about mostly today. And it is how when we talk about yoga, if you don't already know this, if you're not a yoga person, we call it a practice, right? A yoga practice because the expectation, the teaching of yoga is that it is always a practice. And I know this to be true. My yoga practice is very different now than it was 10 years ago, or, oh my God, 20 years ago. I've been doing yoga for 20 years, probably this month. No one expects us to master yoga after six weeks. And if you do have that expectation of yourself, it's not advisable or realistic. I've done yoga for 20 years. I've taught yoga. For almost 15 years, although I don't teach very often anymore. And I think that was one of the things that surprised me the most also when I taught dance fitness classes, is when people would come in and be like, I'm bad at it. Like I can't do all the things when they were new or even when they weren't new. But I was like, of course you can't. Like why would you know? Like you're literally, this is like your second class. Why would you. be good at this? Why would you know how to do it? And to be frank, I don't think anyone is ever good at yoga. I think you're good at yoga when you are listening to your body and you're in your body. Although I'm stronger than I've ever been. My yoga practice is probably like, I probably take the least advanced options more than I ever have. Not'cause I'm old or outta shape, but because I know my body so well at this point, I'm going to do what's best for me, moving the dial forward and pushing myself into a back bend to show everyone else that I can do it. Is never in my best interest anyways. Coming back to the word practice, we call it yoga practice, right? No one expects you to master yoga after six weeks. It's like meditation, meditation, practice, yoga practice. Part of the practice is recognizing that it is a practice and not beating yourselves up because you can't do a handstand on day one, or maybe you can't do a handstand ever. There's a gentleness, a reverence, a long-term mindset baked in, right? You do yoga, you're yogi forever. You have a yoga practice if you do it, and I got to thinking. I wish this was the case with fitness. I wish that we called it a fitness practice and hear me out with fitness. It's all get shredded in 30 days. Burn off the weekend, Turkey trot, earn your burger, earn your wine. Like we treat it like a punishment, a chore, a way to fix ourselves. And it's no wonder people dread it or fall off the wagon the second that life gets busy because. It's coming from like a shamey place. So today I wanna explore this idea. What if we treated fitness the way we treat yoga? I didn't get into the fitness industry to help women lose weight. I got interested in fitness and then I found out that it was really empowering and fun, and that is why I work in the fitness industry. And so I don't ever wanna assume that someone wants to lose weight. So there's this term like fitness journey. So I'll often say like, where are you at on your fitness journey?'cause that seems to be a globally accepted term, but it usually means like in secret language, it's like where are you at on your weight loss journey? Not always, but I do kind of get that vibe right. And I don't wanna say, where are you at on your weight loss journey? What if you don't wanna lose weight? So there's this kind of accepted term fitness journey, But it gives the impression that there's like a destination and why? Like what if we called it a fitness practice? Like yoga is a practice. It is a lifelong practice, not a temporary project. So let's dive into this idea. First of all, it isn't your fault. we were raised, especially if you are my age, if you're a millennial, we were raised in a culture where fitness is marketed like a makeover montage, right? Get in shape for the wedding, lose 10 pounds before a vacation bikini body in six weeks. Get back to your pre-baby body. It's always about arriving, hitting a goal you arrive and maybe celebrate for a second, and then it either becomes harder to maintain'cause you did something really intense to get there, or you self-sabotage and feel like you're back to square one. It's a cycle. Of course, there is a third option, which my clients and I employ, which is like you get to the goal and then you have a sustainable strategy for after. So you get to not only maintain your results, but continue to move the dial forward. Usually what happens, you arrive at the goal, you celebrate for a second, and then it either becomes challenging to maintain because the method of getting there was not sustainable or you self-sabotage and you feel like you're back to square one. It's a cycle and it keeps us feeling like we're failing fitness and the diet industry has, has literally taught you this. So let's compare this to modern yoga or meditation or even therapy. I hope you don't go to a yoga class thinking, well, I'll be a master of yoga in 90 days, and then I'll never have to come again. I'll just be done. Right. It's a practice, something you return to again and again, among many reasons, because it feels really good. Some days it feels good. Some days it feels like a struggle, right? But it's not about winning at yoga. And if you don't already know this, please hear me say this, there's no being good or winning at yoga. It is about being present with your body and coming home to yourself, and that shift changes everything. When my clients start to approach fitness, like a practice, it's like a light bulb goes off. Suddenly you can't fall off the wagon because there is no wagon. You're walking, you stop asking, did I burn enough calories? And you start asking, how do I feel? How do I feel in my body? How do, how am I thinking about how I feel in my body? You see your strength and your energy build week after week and it fuels you instead of draining you. Instead of oh my God, I can't wait to get to the end of this 30 days or 90 days. You stop punishing yourself for needing rest or getting sick because if this is a lifestyle if it's a practice, rest is a part of it. Getting sick is a part of Having your kids get sick is a part of being a parent because in a practice, rest is part of it. Illness is part of it. Ups and downs are part of it, Just like Savasana is a part of yoga. So let me be clear. I don't mean you have to roll out a mat and breathe deeply every time you lift a dumbbell. That's not what I'm saying, although I think that's a great idea. Many of our clients do it, but I do think the mindset of practice applies beautifully to fitness, nutrition, and strength training and weight loss. To be honest, it's progressive, it's skill-based. It evolves with you through your cycle, through your seasons, through your life. You're not trying to achieve one fixed version of your body and then preserve it in a museum. That's not realistic. You're becoming more connected, more capable, and more in tune with your body as you go. Just like in yoga, you're building awareness, you're building mindset, breath focus, strength, confidence, empowerment. It's not about, did I do it perfectly? It's about did I show up today? With curiosity and care for myself and this practice. Let's also bust another myth while we're here. A lot of high achieving women think that if they stop chasing goals, don't get me wrong, I love a strong goal here for goals, but I think many of us think that if we stop chasing goals and instead practice, they will lose progress or they'll lose motivation, they'll let themselves off the hook. But in my experience. And I have coached and trained hundreds of women. Actually, the opposite happens. My most successful clients have goals, but they don't have attachment to them. They don't make it mean something about them if it no longer fits into their lifestyle. When you're not constantly trying to fix, punish, or push yourself, you actually show up more consistently, recover faster, make better choices around food, and enjoy the process way more. Everyone is so stressed, and this is part of it, you can get stronger, leaner, and more energized. Not because you're hustling harder or because you're always on, but because you're in a rhythm that actually feels good and works for your life. And when it feels good, you keep going. This is so underrated. So if you're listening to this and thinking, okay, Anne, but I'm still someone who struggles with consistency, I hear you. Accountability is going to be required, but I want you to ask yourself, what would it look like if I made fitness a practice instead of a performance? What if it could be messy but still meaningful? What if you could show up even imperfectly and still call it a win? Because that's the mindset that builds consistency. That's I know that from personal experience, my fit friends and my fit clients, that's the mindset that leads to long-term results. So this is your sign. I'm going to say something. I often tell my clients, you don't need to get back on track. Getting back on track is not a thing for me. You just need to practice coming back to yourself again. And again and again. There's no wagon, there's no finish line. There's no perfect plan. When you view this like a practice that is going on and is going to go on for your whole life, there is no way that you can fail. There is no way that you can fall off because falling off is just a perception when you view it as like, oh, it's just part of the practice. Cool. You are. Way more likely to get back up the next day and carry on. And that is the secret. That is the secret. I love going on coaching retreats and mastermind meetups and going to conferences with fitness people because the two things that I think, non fitness people don't know about us is that one, we love to eat. We're always wondering the next time food is gonna show up, including chocolate and treats and coffee. We love coffee for the most part. And the second thing is we don't perceive falling off. We have a weekend, we have a vacation. But the reason it doesn't stress us out is because we have the self-trust that, oh, it's just part of the practice. I know a hundred percent I'm gonna get back to working out on Monday when I get back, or Tuesday or Friday, Sunday, whatever day it is'cause it doesn't have to be a Monday. That is what I know to be true. That is how you stick with this for life. If you're ready to ditch the all or nothing perfectionist mindset and start building a strength training practice that fits into your life, not the other way around, that is exactly what we do inside muscles and mindset. We will build you a customized sustainable plan, coach you through roadblocks and help you actually enjoy moving your body. Again, head to the link in the show notes to apply for muscles and mindset. We would love to support you. And that is it for today, my friend. If there's one thing I hope you take away from this episode, it's this: you don't have to earn your workouts. You don't have to fix yourself. You just have to keep practicing. If you enjoyed this episode, please go ahead and hit that follow button so you don't miss the next one. and if you wanna see what this kind of practice would look like in your own life, come hang out with me on Instagram. I'm at@annejonesfit or apply for coaching using the link in the show notes. Thanks for listening. I'll see you next time.