When "exercise" is a powerful word

Raise your hand if "exercise" or "workout" brings a sense of dread, guilt, some "I should..." or "I hate..." phrases. You're not alone! What was your first experience with exercise, going all the way back to as young as you can remember? What pictures pop into your head when you think about it? What thoughts do you hear or emotions do you feel? Is exercise a "good" thing, or a "bad" thing?

Park on that for just a moment.

My siblings and I all love being outdoors and being active doing a variety of things. One likes to fish and be on the water. One likes doing farm chores. One likes playing sand volleyball. But none of them like to "work out" per say, and my sisters have often asked me, "Why did you get the workout gene and none of the rest of us did?" I've never been able to answer the question of why. Why do I enjoy lifting weights, teaching or taking group fitness classes, running even in cold, cold MN winters? Why are firefly planks and lunges some of my favorite things? Why do I love moving sooo much? I don't know exactly, but I think I got a bit of a clue today.

I'm taking a new course for my certifications and it asked the question, "What was your first memory of exercise, how did it feel, and how do you think that informs your view of fitness today?" Well this floored me. My first memory would be riding my bike around the neighborhood with my friends as a kid. If I was grounded, being grounded from my bike was the worst consequence! Biking was a source of social connection. It brought me independence and autonomy and made me feel confident and empowered. It was all fun and games. So when I think of exercise, workouts and fitness now, I bet a part of me associates it with fun, empowerment, autonomy and independence! There is nothing negative about that to me. It makes perfect sense then, that I enjoy a workout and that they get me "happy tired" to quote one of my 11-year old coaching patients.

So again I ask you, what is your first memory of exercise? Who was there? What was the purpose of it and how did it make you feel? Answering these questions can help you identify barriers to exercise. It can help you understand the beliefs you have about exercise that are engrained in your head that you didn't even know were there, and this is great news! Because once you identify them, you can start to tell yourself the truth about movement, and why you want to incorporate it into your life!

Coaching can help you come up with those reframed statements about exercise to help you get past your barriers and find the excitement, motivation and inspiration that you need, to get moving! Follow me on social media and message me for more. :)