#exercise mentality

The easy answer?

Take it slow! With my time in the gym as a trainer and on reception. Too often I saw people come in go too hard, injure or have such bad DOMS they get scared off. When you try to climb a mountain when you can barely scale a slope you will surely fail. Be realistic with yourself and where you're at! Now I don't mean don't try new things, once you have confidence you will want to try new things and you will finally go for it! But I'm talking about before that stage. When youre still building your foundations of a relationship with fitness.

Start with things you know you can do and perfect them! That way you're less likely to be self conscious that you're doing it wrong because you know you've got this, eventually youll have the confidence to push for a new personal best or variation. Or if you don't think you can do anything look for something that makes you go "maybe I could do that". Don't try the workout that looks ridiculously impossible because it probably will be! Break things down to your level. If for example you want to be able to do 20 pushups. Start with as many as you can and go from there! If it's only 6 don't be mad at yourself because it's not 20 or closer too. These are the little things you need to remember. Because if you keep doing 6 pushups you'll be able to do 7 eventually, then 8 and finally after some time and work 20! But if you give up because you could only do 6, so there's no way you could do 20, you're robbing yourself a great feeling of accomplishment.

This is just an example but there's little wins everywhere in fitness. When we focus on them and what we've actually achieved it helps us realise we can actually do this! We need to build ourselves up and support ourselves along the way. We also need to allow ourselves to be beginners to try new things.

So take it slow and take a moment to appreciate your current level. Because this is what you'll look back on. These movements that seem too hard but you chipped away and got it eventually. This is where your pride and drive should come from, never being better than anyone else except the person you are now!

First Motivational Monday post WEW! This one comes in two parts: Feeling yourself mentally and feeling yourself physically. Both of these are super important for developing a long lasting relationship with exercise and fitness.

Feeling Yourself Mentally When was the last time after you exercised you sat down and reflected on how you feel? Not just the exhausted part, but your actual mood? It can be a revelation if your someone who’s been struggling to enjoy exercise. For most of us working out is exhausting, often we push ourselves out of our comfort zones when exercising. Be it trying a new exercise or class, going for a personal best. Its true, we don’t succeed every time. This can be disheartening, especially starting out as it takes time to get the hang of things. Even those who have been exercising for a while that try something new can have their confidence knocked occasionally. If you find yourself disheartened or discouraged fear not here’s 3 simple steps you can follow 1. Take a breath and remind yourself all things take time and everyone fails 2. Reflect and correct - Think of at least two things you can try next time to make it better and two things that you think you did well. 3. The biggest one, remind yourself of your goals and why they are important and refocus! Now with that, it is scientifically proven that exercise produces a rush of endorphins through our bodies. This is what I want to take a moment to find. For some of us its easy to feel that change in emotion as we feel the release of hormones. For others it can be harder, sometimes we might be to busy focusing on what we think we failed we miss this! This also comes into play when you genuinely hate what you’re doing. You need to pause after and reflect on why. Adjust from there. Not everyone is going to enjoy every sport or exercise. That’s okay! I’m a firm believer that there is something out there for everyone, it might take you a little longer to find what you like! Don’t be afraid to try new things if what’s going on isn’t working for you. These are the reasons its important to mentally feel yourself, for honest reflection and a true relationship with yourself and exercise.

Feeling Yourself Physically This one doesn’t need as much explaining, but it might even be more important. This is another name for muscle engagement, it’s what you need to have awareness of to self correct your form and avoid injuries. When I train beginners I spend as much time as I can “introducing” them to their bodies. For those who have never worked out or are still new to it. It can be hard to know exactly what you should be feeling and where without the guidance of a trainer. However once they finally feel their bodies I see a lot more clients confident to continue on their own. When working out, we are often trying to target a specific area, but without the correct muscle engagement, our stronger muscles can take over. Leaving us feeling it somewhere else. If this is happening you need to readdress your form. The biggest tip is try to feel that specific muscle. You should know where it is if your targeting it. Once you feel it “switch on” or engage” the muscle you want, its a general indicator that there is a good place to start your repetitions. From there move slowly and try to keep that muscle engaged. If your really struggling or new to feeling your muscles engaging. Id suggest practicing literally any time you can. Even just walking around. Try and squeeze your glutes together, once you master that start trying to squeeze individually left and right at different times whilst doing the dishes for example. Or squeezing your stomach, once you can tense your entire ab region, try tensing your upper middle and lower abs individually. Its hard and takes a lot of time to create proper muscle engagement, especially in weak areas (I’m still working on certain areas). Be patient with yourself. Why is feeling ourselves physically so important? because by doing this we can feel when we might be pushing a muscle two far. Or if we are engaging the wrong part of our body which can strain or injure you depending on the exercise. It also allows us to appreciate how strong we are and what we are capable of! Taking a moment to feel your muscles and if they’re truly at their limit yet can push you to new heights. Just remember these 3 golden rules and you’ll get it eventually! 1. Switch the muscle on 2. Go slow and keep the engagement 3. Practice and more practice!