*This is a collaborative post. 

There’s this idea that one of the only benefits to working out is losing weight or getting into shape, but that's not necessarily the case. Sure, weight loss or getting into shape can indeed happen when you exercise, but that's not what all people want to get from joyful movement. Exercising is an activity that’s not one-size-fits-all. There are plenty of ways to get the blood pumping and break a sweat. You don’t need to go to the gym if you’re wanting to get active, you don’t even need to play sports if you’re wanting to have a more active lifestyle. There are plenty of great ways to achieve physical activity such as rock climbing, walking, and even gardening. All of these end up being very nice and are just simple ways to boost your health.

But one of the best and biggest benefits to regular movement is the fact that it can help your mental health. A great example would be confidence. It tends to get overlooked from time to time, but exercising can be a great confidence booster and it’s not about how you’re going to look after consistently exercising either. So these are some ways that working out can help you with building confidence.


Get a sense of accomplishment

Not everyone enjoys working out, and that’s completely understandable. You’ll start to get out of breath, you’ll get all sweaty, hot, and may feel uncomfortable. These are all completely normal during a workout, but it’s all of these uncomfortable feelings that are going to help you with feeling accomplished once you’re all finished.

There’s always this sense of pride that hits, this major sense of achievement once you’ve made your way into completing a workout. It’s even better once these workouts push your boundaries and comfort zone. It also helps when you look back and see how far you’ve come.



Endorphins help

Endorphins are one of the biggest ways that exercise can improve your mental health. Endorphins are what help out in giving stress relief and it also helps out with strengthening your immune system.



It becomes "me-time"

Since exercising can provide some endorphins it also helps that exercising can be a good way to destress. The whole “me-time” is meant for you to be alone and to focus on things that you want to do. This is also supposed to help with lowering your stress levels as well. Having an unconditional activity to look forward to that’s completely de-stressing can help you out a lot.



Feel more productive

Humans like to feel productive, being productive is one of those things that’s surprisingly a confidence booster. Exercising gives your body the chance to have the mind and the body both reconnect. You’ll become more aware of your strengths and limitations. But it also helps as this gives you the chance to figure out how to put them to use. Depending on how you exercise this can also give you the chance to do other things such as study or being social. There’s something about multitasking that really helps in boosting confidence.