A bit of perspective; I’m a 20-something female. I have over 10 years’ experience within the fitness, sport, and physical wellbeing industry: from being the young teenager obsessed with calorie counting and exercise assigned as ‘punishment’ to the honoured, sponsored athlete given the opportunity to play abroad, (and the crippling fitness demands that come with that). I’ve been the personal trainer working alongside you at 6am, inspiring you to get your ass running. Signed up for silly marathon challenges that should’ve left me broken.
Even met with and ran a Q&A for younger athletes regarding my sporting career (hello imposter syndrome). Nothing quite compares to playing the team’s sports therapist for a number of teams, sports, events, clinics, the only point of call for concern. Always prepared to react, treat and rehabilitate muscle-tendon-bone-ligament injuries, and mental wellbeing, working relentlessly by your side for your glorious comeback.
I started obsessed with the fitness industry as a young teenager; I recall planning every day ‘fitness’ which, in my mind, had to be a new PB every single time (how else was I going to be the best?). I remember the school days; playing football every night of the week, inclusive of weekends too. I took up Dance GCSE for extra 3 hours a week, as exercise (I suck at dance). I started waking up earlier to run intervals before school, and sometimes after too. And begging my mom to buy me a rowing machine to put in my bedroom… you could say I had a bit of a conundrum.
Obviously, I aspired to be extremely fit. I grew up with gladiators on TV, muscly women who gave men a run for their money; yes! (the feminist inside of me is jumping up and down woo-hoo-ing). I always knew I was destined for an athletic career; so it’s considered necessary to walk the talk, yes? I was also under no illusion that meant constant ‘rock hard abs’ and being photo ready at any moment… (Ah).
At 18 I was desperate for guidance and jumped at the opportunity to shadow a fellow Personal Trainer — He was up at the crack of dawn, shifting clients or venues on the hour, He would consume pre-prepped food ridiculously rigidly throughout the day; and I couldn’t keep up.
1. The protein shakes are too filling for me compared to the (almost) 6-foot muscley man I shadowed.
3. Wait! 6am at the client’s door?!
4. How can you eat dry chicken and rice all-day every-day!?
5. No! I don’t want another bloody shake!!
6. Its 9pm can I go to bed now?!!
That’s not how I wanted to do this. The rigidity made no sense. By the time the day was over I had consumed like 9000 calories, worked out in the ‘lunch hour’ and that consisted of pumping iron. Saying ‘cardio’ was like naming Voldemort “he who must not be named: the dark lord of cardiovascular endurance “.
More than the rigidity, I realised client engagement for Personal training meant could be summed up in so many words:
“If you don’t [enter torture here], then we do burpees”
- I’m about the only person in the world who actually likes burpees, so shut up.
- Why is seeing your personal trainer or exercise in general treated like punishment. For not being able to muster up the energy, the strength, or the motivation. Maybe Bob was stressed from his working lunch meeting today, he hadn’t eaten sufficiently. Maybe Sarah was up all night with her teething baby and is shattered. Maybe Rosie is going through a divorce, engulfed by a depressed state, and it’s taking up everything for her not to cry right now. What if Mike received a promotion and was out celebrating last night? These are not excusing for a ‘bad performance’ and shame should NOT be attached…
So why are we going to the gym to punish ourselves or our actions???
I have been on both sides of the coin; the recipient of torturous exercise and also the administrator (even to myself, mercilessly). I promise I understand the soul-destroying dread of ‘Dont tag me into this picture; I don’t want my PT to see it and kill me on our next session’ or ‘If I order dessert, I’ll live in the gym all week’.
I remember Personal Training in a gym at the time a new class surfaced; ‘burn 500 calories in this 30 min HIIT class’ the class would fill up instantly, accompanied by a keen waiting list every single week (some asked me to sneak them in!) Its not ‘turn up in this room for 30 minutes and you automatically burn 500 calories’ no no m’dear… You have to earn the burn. It has the potential to burn 500 calories (Don’t be fooled by marketing!!!)
There’s heck of a lot of science on this. But in a nutshell, 500 calories for me to burn, and 500 calories for someone else to burn is totally different.
When me and Shane go running: I’m in front (yes I make sure I always beat him) but we do the exact same route, in the same time, consuming the same breakfast, yet he ALWAYS almost doubles my ‘total calories burnt’ section (this is usually where I have a strop).
Truth is: it takes less effort for my body to get 45kg of flesh around that route, than Shane’s 75kg bod. Same as it takes less effort for Shane to lift 20kg than it does for me.
HE IS NO BETTER OR WORSE THAN ME.
IT IS OUR INDIVIDUAL BODIES CAPABILITIES.
STOP COMPARING YOURSELF!
Coincidentally, the more I studied and dived into the science, the more I realised how much it varies per individual — from fitness to rehabilitation and back again.
As an impressionable female, moving into the world of athleticism meant I had to decide, right? Either be fun or be healthy (Wait what?)
You can either grow up and be ‘fun’ — Super sociable going out to parties, clubbing, drinking and drugs with the ‘cool gang’. Mindlessly recovering from a hangover with a maccy’s breakfast then hitting a spin class to ‘sweat out’ the alcohol.
Or you could be ‘healthy’ (and thus, boring)- make time to exercise, which meant ‘Gym’ came before ‘Jim’. Eat right: 5- a day, excellent sources of nutrients and balanced diet, T-Total. Rest and recovery are just as important as pressing limits, mindfully aware of what you do is who you are.
Okay tad extreme but that’s how society labelled it. We all know the friend you call for a jolly; and the friend you call to get exercising again. Are they the same person?
Shouldn’t it be: celebrate life with rich foods and alcohol (if that’s your thing), then ensure treating inevitable hangover with a nutritional smoothie whilst spending the day recuperating with yoga? Having an exercise schedule that is flexible. Staying sociable with your class friends, heck bring work friends to a spin class from time to time, race on the rowers, then kick back in the jacuzzi. Life is balance: yin and yang, night and day, good and bad… work and play.
Within my sporting life, both working and athlete — it has blessed me to work with amazing, truly inspirational people. From the under 10 years old, to the retired. From international triathletes to your local power-league goalkeeper, back to Olympic youth boxer. Treating the likes of Paralympians to hairdressers. I have brought friendships together in classes, gone head to head with the egotistical twat on a spin bike (there’s always one) and helped women gain confidence in themselves and reach goals they never thought possible. I’ve even got that player back on the pitch earlier than even I expected (no brag, no brag. Okay yeah I’m that good).
The penny dropped; I have impacted so many people, (including myself) all via Exercise. (One way or another).
Whether it’s a dog walk, world cup final, a circuit class or yoga app at home, it should all be enjoyable, right? A celebration of what your body CAN do. Who cares how many calories it burns? Why should that matter? It should feel good, improve your mood, get blood pumping, feel alive, fun, social (if that’s your thing).
Exercise suppresses low mood, hopelessness, and likes of rage by releasing serotonin. This is the feel good hormone. The mood-booting wellness and freshness that instantly follows physical activity. Your own personal hormone feel-good drug.
Anxiety flaring up? — go for a walk in fresh air.
In a depressive state? — Go connect with nature and breathe.
Feeling angry? — Go burn it out on your bike until you’ve calmed down.
Feeling happy? — have a dance around the kitchen.
The ‘term’ exercise is ambiguous, it has many forms. The beauty is; it is whatever you want it to be! Playing bowls, taking the dog for a walk, running, skiing, dancing, yoga, Zumba, ice skating.
Moving your body has so many health benefits! SO GET GOING! And who cares whether it equates to burning off a milky-way or full English breakfast. If you managed 5k run PB is amazing, but you’re not a failure if it’s your slowest either.
This is a work-in-progress; I still struggle to leave my self-worth away from my exercise stats and consistency. I ensure I make time and squeeze in what I can, when I can. So now, I still use my run keeper, but totally neglect the calorific number. I run when I need to (if its too cold you won’t see me out there) and that’s okay. I get just as many kicks from a yoga session interrupted by pug than be painfully cold. You know what you like, you know what you don’t like, so stop punishing yourself and forcing to run ‘because everyone does it’ when actually dancing around whilst you cook, is just perfect for you today.
So, sod the analytics, just move your body, and have some bloody fun.
All in all, I balance running and yoga and don’t care if its 3 miles relaxed pace, one mile really slow or yoga to get me up in the morning. I turn up and down the intensity when I feel like it. I eat what makes me feel good, and the amount to make me feel sufficiently full. Some days I have abs, others I don’t… but ill stick kick your ass.
See you soon.
P.s: if you need any exercise advice, or want to chat about anything in this article subscribe, send me an email or chat on Instagram. I’ll guarantee i’ll get back to you.
Originally published at https://www.wellbeingisgirlpower.com on December 8, 2020.