Ruba Ali: Why Every Workout Is More Than Just A Workout

So many of us outsource our sense of achievement and progress on our fitness journeys to external markers of success - weight lifted, miles run, kilograms lost, reps or workouts completed. 

But Sweat trainer Ruba Ali believes that one of the best things exercise can do for you beyond the physical benefits, is transform your own inner world - the way you speak to yourself, your self-beliefs, resilience and the energy you carry with you wherever you go. In her experience, every workout can be so much more than just a workout.

“Fitness has helped me reclaim my power by helping me work on developing not only my mental resilience, but my emotional resilience too. By consistently showing up and doing the work, even on the days you don’t want to, you develop a new skillset to apply in your everyday challenges.”

With every difficult rep you push through, every workout you show up for when you’re unmotivated, every goal you achieve that you didn’t think you could, you’re showing yourself how much you’re capable of and expanding your idea of what’s possible.

Discovering strength through hardship

For Ruba, using exercise as an empowering tool for her mind started as young as 14, when she was an immigrant in America and being bullied at school for how she looked and spoke. 

“I remember thinking I needed to be stronger so I used my sister's gym membership and went to a female-only gym. That’s where it started. I would cry and sweat it out and I realised how powerful it was - I felt awesome. Fitness really helped me during this tough time.”

Years later when Ruba was in a different chapter of life as a global trainer and entrepreneur, she again found herself at her lowest and exercise was always there for her - something she could turn to as a way to regulate her emotions and persevere through challenging times. She sees fitness as a way for you to tune out the world and tune into you.

“It’s always been a place where I can get my mind right, I cry, I let everything go. I use it to shut out the world and work through whatever is on my mind. Sometimes when I go on long runs I lose track of time just thinking about everything I’m going through, then I feel emotionally regulated and I'm ready to face the next thing.”

We all have different outlets but Ruba says fitness is a very universal and healthy one. 

“It can be something as simple as an outdoor walk, a yoga session, or a 20-minute session from my Thrive program. Emotions are energy and we can release those through sweating or through crying and fitness is a perfect tool for me to do that.”

Unlock your inner strength

A workout isn’t only an opportunity to let go of the stresses of the day, it’s also an incredible opportunity to train your mind and shift your energy. Aside from the endorphin rush, something amazing also happens when you lift a new weight, master a tough exercise, or finish a Sweat session after feeling like you didn’t even have the strength to begin. A sense of pride, empowerment and achievement rushes in and those feelings of self-doubt start to weaken. 

“One of my own self limiting beliefs was feeling like I wasn't strong enough mentally,” says Ruba. By consistently showing up and seeing herself progress in the gym, something started to shift within her own mind, too. Any unkind thoughts or feelings of being unworthy or incapable that she had - they didn’t seem to hold true anymore. 

“Fitness really helped me to develop a different mindset, discipline and mental resilience which I could then apply to all of my challenges on a day to day basis. Through exercising through muscles, you’re also exercising your mind. You have to build that resistance when negative thoughts come in or you start doubting yourself.”

That renewed sense of energy and confidence isn’t limited to your workouts alone, it spills over into every part of your day, having a positive ripple effect on those around you and building a sense of readiness to take on whatever life throws at you.

Work out for your body, work out for your mind

Thrive with Ruba Ali, her new 6-week workout program, is available exclusively in the Sweat app now and is based on her own personal training routine that makes her feel her best inside and out. If you’re keen to do something for you and try the first week of her program, a Sweat 7-day free trial is the perfect place to start.