Through the years, not only have I had many personal experiences with varying fitness challenges, I’ve also had the chance to work with thousands of others. For one reason or another, we often find ourselves afraid to work out. This can be due to embarrassment of how we’ll look, an injury or even being pregnant. I want to help you take the fear out of fitness, once and for all!
We are designed to move-this is pretty obvious if you look back in history to see just how nomadic we really were. And if you’ve fallen into the trap of the average sedentary lifestyle, beginning a fitness program may seem scary. What if you can’t do it? What if you hurt yourself? Even if you have certain health issues* and are told by your doctor to take it easy, that just doesn’t make any sense to me. How do you get stronger-by sitting on the couch or going for a walk around your neighborhood?
The same thing can apply to an injury. I hurt my knee once and was told to stop all exercise for a few months. As you can imagine, that did not sit well with me so I did some research and found activities I could do as well as strengthening exercises to prevent injuries in the future.
And the biggest personal eye opener for me? Becoming pregnant. Seriously pretty much every book or blog I read said to take it easy, don’t let your heart rate go up, blah, blah, blah. There is a natural fear factor that if you don’t heed this ancient advice, you’ll harm your baby. Of course you have to use common sense*, but I personally have found that cycling, running, hot Yoga and strength training has made my pregnancy the amazing experience it has been so far. I feel confident and strong, and it’s thanks to my clean diet and consistent exercise routine.
So what’s making you fearful of fitness? Beyond the examples mentioned above, we can even be fearful of taking the time out of our schedules to do something for ourselves. Instead of having fear, let’s add back in the fun and finally make fitness a permanent part of our lives.
*The information on this site is designed for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any health problems or illnesses without consulting your pediatrician or family doctor. Thank you!
~by Kimberly Olson
About Me