“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” By: Edward Stanley

This quote popped up on an app I have just moments after speaking to someone who insisted that he did not have any time to devote to exercise. This person works very long hours and claims he does not have any time left in the day do get on his treadmill at home for even a quick 20 minute walk.

After hearing his complaints and then seeing this quote I thought, “There HAS to be a way to help this person.”   Because it’s so true isn’t it?  If we don’t take care of our bodies and MOVE a little more everyday during our sedentary life, (I’m standing as I type this because I refuse to sit during my desk job all day) we WILL be plagued with illness.

I’ve heard it so many times from many people that they wish they would have started getting on the path to health ages ago or “right after I had kids” or “before I turned 40” and now it’s so much harder for them to create that habit.  And maybe now they do have diabetes or an injury or something that prevents them from really working out to their full potential.

It’s one of the most frustrating parts of being a Personal Trainer; I want to help as many people as I can and even if financially, there is no problem, it’s still the BEHAVIOR that has to be implemented.  And THAT is probably the hardest part.

Dr. John Berardi from Precision Nutrition posted his blog today about this subject with regards to coaches/personal trainers.  I found one of his quotes very interesting:

“Yet “dieting” or embarking on a new fitness plan in the 21st century means purposely enduring discomfort, restricting activities and foods that soothe us (or give us a “high”), and/or adding more demands or stimulation to an already busy schedule.

If you think about it, why would any client ever eat less and go to a gym with bright lights, loud music, and unfamiliar equipment, in order to expend excess energy?”

Wow.  I mean, he’s right!  As a coach/trainer I’m telling the average person with a 9-5 job:  “I want you to get up in the morning and come to a place you aren’t too familiar with yet and wear clothes that you can sweat in so I can watch you exercise and  instruct you on what to do and then I want you to go home and make yourself a meal that’s healthy, oh and if you go to work and there are donuts at the office avoid those at all costs,…etc”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that many folks are afraid of exercising and dieting.  They have that fear of the unknown.  They’ve never done this before and asking them to completely change their daily routine is extremely unnerving.

I began on this figure journey in a similar way; I’ve never done anything like this before and it was uncomfortable and I was fearful.  I continue to be fearful of what is to come!  But it’s more of an exciting, anxiousness than actual fear.  Because I gave myself such a long-term goal, there really isn’t any pressure on me.  And there shouldn’t be pressure on anyone with a desire for change.  You put that pressure on yourself but you have the ability to make it easy or hard on yourself everyday.  I think once people realize THEY are in control and the coach or personal trainer you hire is just a GUIDE, you can get much better results.  You have the guidance, you have the tools, now it’s up to you to use them.

So my challenge of the day/week/month/year for anyone out there is to not let fear stand in your way of your fitness goals – This is more than just saying “If you want something bad enough, just do it.”    That’s all well and good but I think it’s much deeper than that.  If you have always wanted to do something that challenges your body and your mind, you should do research first and figure out the best approach.  And if you’re looking for the quick fix, then unfortunately you will fail because it doesn’t exist.  And you will be back to where you started.  So make up your mind today if you’re doing to lose weight and get fit the RIGHT way or the STUPID way.

Here’s a hint:  If you’re finding things to be difficult challenging and frustrating slow-going and telling yourself  “I thought this would be easy!” “This is hard, I don’t know if I can do this!”  then you probably chose the RIGHT way. 🙂

-Michelle