Sometimes, no matter how many good reasons we have to work out, we don’t. What we need to do then is figure out how to get the obstacles out of the way.
Practical obstacles are relatively easy to overcome. We can go walk or run for free if the gym is too expensive. There are plenty of body weight exercises we can do if we don’t have a lot of equipment around. Almost all of us can find enough time in the day to work out without stealing from our sleep.
The inner obstacle course can be more difficult. Some of us have been scarred by our previous attempts to exercise—that mean coach in middle school or those girls who laughed at us the first time we circled the track and we felt like we were going to die or that time we broke a leg skiing and we had to hobble around on crutches forever. Some of us hate the whole idea of sweat. Some of us are convinced that hell is one big elliptical trainer or an endless aerobics class. Dealing with negative emotions is hard. In fact, it is harder than any workout. No matter what particular issues we have, we want to go gently. When we treat ourselves with kindness and respect and we set teeny tiny goals that we can nail, we encourage ourselves to keep going. We love ourselves through the tough parts because we know that working out is good for us and will make us feel better in the long run, if not in the actual moment.
Navigating all that stuff can feel overwhelming. This is where a friend or trainer can help—someone to be present for us while we work it through.
I’m here to help.
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