Why You Should Work Out Even Harder

I don’t know about you guys, but when I work out, I work out hard.

Yes, I know there are times when going slower is necessary. After all, you can’t exactly learn to handstand by going full speed—you have to be patient and go slow to master the balance needed to hold your body in position upside down.

But most of the time, my favorite workouts are the ones that leave me dripping in sweat. The ones where I’m punching, jumping, or sprinting as hard as I can (and don’t forget about burpees!).

These are the workouts that leave me gasping for air and sweat dripping down my face.

These workouts leave my muscles burning, feeling like I couldn’t push past another rep even if I wanted to.

And these are also the workouts that make me feel absolutely awesome. Like I-can-conquer-the-world-and-go-after-all-of-my-dreams awesome.

Proving to yourself that you can absolutely crush your workout makes you feel like you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. And there’s nothing more satisfying than that.

Today’s motivation to keep challenging yourself and working harder is in partnership with Olay Ultra Moisture Body, my absolute favorite body wash right now for a great post-workout clean. It’s seriously awesome for making sure you have soft, healthy skin even after sweating through a tough workout.

Here are three reasons to work out even harder:

It Melts Away Stress

When you’re feeling super anxious or stressed, there’s really no better way to get out of your head than to sweat it out.

That’s why I highly recommend boxing-focused workouts during stressful times—because punching or kicking something as hard as you possibly can is just so incredibly satisfying. And when you’re laying in a pool of sweat after your workout and your heart is just about beating out of your chest, all of those stresses that have been constantly on your mind just seem a little less—well—stressful.

It Makes You Feel Like a Badass

If you ever work out at a gym or a public park and you end your workout covered in sweat, you might notice you get some admiring looks. That’s because since very few people actually work hard during their workouts, most people aren’t even sweaty when they’re over.

When you start to understand this, and realize how hard you just worked, you might just feel a little like a badass. And you should.

It Means You Gave it Your All

When you end your workout covered in sweat, your muscles exhausted, and gasping for air, you know deep down that you gave 100% effort.

No matter what your current fitness level, whether you can’t yet do a full push up or pull ups and pistol squats have become easy for you, giving your all during your workout is something to be proud of.

Before you know it, you’ll see the benefits from your workouts. You’ll start feeling fitter. You’ll start being able to do exercises and skills you never before thought possible. And you’ll know it’s all because you gave your workouts everything you’ve got.

Sweat Hard, Clean Up After

There’s no doubt that working out hard and sweating a lot is beneficial in so many ways.

I don’t know about you guys though, but sometimes when I’m working out and sweating a lot my skin feels less than awesome. Most body washes get my skin clean, but leave it feeling dry afterwards.

Which is why I’m super in love with the new Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash for a post-workout clean feeling that leaves my skin both super clean and moisturized. It’s made with this new Lock-in-Moisture technology and includes Pro-Glycerin, which is awesome because it means it seals in moisture to keep it there, rather than just sitting on the surface of your skin.

Best of all, there’s no weird residue when I use it, meaning all I’m left with is skin that feels light and silky.

Afterwards, I feel like I can keep getting on with crushing my workouts—and proving to myself that no matter where I started from, I can do anything I put my mind to.

And so can you.