Hopefully everyone had a great and safe St. Patrick’s Day last week and you got a change to read my blog ‘5 reasons you’re not hitting your fat loss goals’. Check it out here when you’re done if you haven’t read it yet. This week I want to discuss the psychology around exercise and getting started in particular.
Something I haven’t done in a while is a life update. This week is simple. 40 weeks ago, I published my very first blog and I haven’t missed a Sunday yet. Today, I publish blog number 40, not including the new bi-weekly blog I put out on more pure strength and conditioning topics. This is a pretty big deal for me and something I never thought I’d do. I never thought I’d have enough knowledge or creativity for 40 weeks straight of content. I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what a kid from Dublin would have to say on the state of the fitness industry. I’ve been putting out my thoughts and tips for the last 40 weeks, I might not be the smartest person to ever work in this industry, but I’ve grown and I back myself to the hilt now. To everyone who’s read my blog, whether it’s been just the 1 or all 40, I do this for you so thanks for all the views, shares and nice comments over the weeks.
Something I am very big on as a coach is trying to put myself in the shoes of everyone who walks in the door of the gym. I’ve been incredibly lucky in my 24 years on this planet to never have fallen seriously ill or suffered major injury. Yes, I’ve had my share of injuries that come with intense training, but I’ve never had an operation or stay in hospital or been out of training for very long. I am grateful every single day for the things my body allows me to do but sometimes it may cause me to take things for granted if I’m not clued in enough. Just because I know what a macro is, or I find 1 minute on the assault bike easy doesn’t mean Joe Bloggs coming in to me for his first bit of exercise in 10 years finds it easy.
Firstly, to anyone reading who made the decision to get off the couch and take ownership of your health, great job. If you’ve been out of exercise for a few years and have gained some weight I understand your confidence takes a hit and the longer you leave it the harder it becomes to change. It pains me to see individuals call themselves coaches yet show zero empathy to people who are crying out for help. Do yourself a favor, tell those imposters to F**k right off and don’t give them a second of your time or money. I have a lot of concerns and problems regarding others calling themselves coaches in Ireland but one of my biggest bug-a-boos is how little they care and how little they understand about developing relationships with their clients. But maybe all of that is for another time because this week is about celebrating those who accepted the challenge of change.
I was doing a 1-1 with a girl in our new gym in Clane and just asking how she’s getting on and making conversation and she happened to mention how nervous and scared she was coming in at first but thanked me for making it so easy and easing her nerves, it was a cool moment where she recognized the conscious effort we make to put people at ease and try see things from their point of view.
Deciding to take control of your health by joining a small, personal training gym is absolutely terrifying. Like even for me, if I signed up to a coaching gym, I’d be scared stiff on my first session just with not knowing what to expect, and I’d consider myself strong and fit so I can’t even imagine what someone who considers themselves out of shape would feel. It’s easy for me to sit here and say just get up and go join a gym, I’ve never been too unhappy with my body, I’ve never mentally suffered because of my appearance so I don’t know how that feels but to anyone who is feeling those things trust me, a small training gym might seem like a daunting place but it can become a safe haven for you and a new community! I may not know what those thoughts in your head are like, but I hear you and I feel your struggle, you don’t have to suffer though. Start and thank yourself in 12 months’ time.
Change of any kind is very, very hard to do, especially for those of you who have fallen into a fixed mindset. We’ve discussed this idea of change many times over the last 40 blogs, but change won’t kill you, inactivity will however.
Let’s say you’ve made the very brave decision to join a small gym, knowing you have a long way to go, how do you keep yourself motivated and on track?
Goal setting is my favorite way to hijack my mental state and stay focused. Giving myself either a performance target or physical target to hit like a certain weight or body fat percentage is one way to stay focused for short term success. You might remember from a few months ago we talked about how to goal set. Make sure they’re SMART goals, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time sensitive. You can use goal setting is any aspect of life. For me, goal setting and challenges are a great way to refocus and avoid falling into a training slump. Avoiding slumps and monotony is one of the biggest keys to longevity in training, in my own opinion.
Being able to enjoy training is seriously important to your ultimate success to. Now, training should be hard and challenging but you shouldn’t be miserable and not looking forward to it. For me, running is hard, but I really enjoy the challenge of pushing myself and the feeling after it. I remember my first timed 5KM I gave myself a target, but a very wise Ali Casserly thought I could get even better and asked me how comfortable was I being uncomfortable? That really stuck with me and helped me up my game not only with running but in the gym too for the last 5 months and I feel in the best shape of my life. As they say, change happens outside of your comfort zone, I try get outside of that zone at least twice a week. I’ve had people come to me and say they want certain results but don’t want to lift too heavy or go hard on the bike and if they’re stiff the next day, they won’t come back… I just asked do they realize how training works?
Creating change is mentally exhausting and daunting. Whether you’re going to train and regain ownership of your health for the first time in 10 years or you’re trying to beat your PB in the gym everyone has doubts. If I settled and gave in to my doubts you wouldn’t be reading this blog now. Everything that makes me smile when I wake up in the morning came from me making a change in the last 12 months.
To sum things up, psychology, to me, is one of the biggest factors to training from starting off for the very first time to every single session. I simply ask myself when the question of change comes about, will I be happy in 12 months’ time if I do this or will I regret not doing it? No matter how scary it is, the thought of regret and unhappiness is a driver for me. If you’re still not sure about change and why accepting change is so important you need to read the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’. My friend Amy gave me a copy at a time where I had a few decisions to make and was doing a poor job of keeping my cool, but that book helped me begin to change my mindset around it.
So, when it comes to starting off your fitness journey, no matter how daunting it is and no matter how loud those negative voices are in your head just go for it. I understand the doubts and fears but just go talk to a coach and find the place that’s right for you. Find the coach who will treat you with the respect you deserve for making such a brave decision and the facility that will help you achieve the goals you want. The right gym is like the right relationship, when you know you know, and it makes every other relationship seem so flawed. When you find the right gym and right coach you can do nothing but improve.
Please, please, please pass this on to anyone you know who has been humming and hawing about their fitness for some time because they’re the ones who are secretly suffering and need some reassurance and confidence.
See you next week,
Rory.