Let me start by saying, everybody, and I mean every single athlete, dancer, sports competitor and the like have been intimidated by the whole concept of fitness in one way or the other. So, never feel like you are alone if the topic of ‘health’ scares you!

I’m going to be honest, I was always petrified of sports and fitness. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be as fast as the other kids in athletics, that I would miss the hoop too often in basketball or that I wouldn’t be as strong as my crew mates when rowing. The worst intimidation I have ever felt was when I approached the weights section in the gym for the first time. I assumed everyone questioned my presence and why I stood among the dumbbells and squat racks instead of sprinting on the treadmills. My heart would literally start to pound erratically in the irrational fear that I was doing something wrong or that someone was watching me.

Getting out of this mindset, this warped, distorted perception that some of us don’t belong in the ‘fitness world’, is the only way to truly fall in love with being healthy. Health is for everyone. Everyone has a heart, everyone has a brain, everyone can fall in love, everyone can cry, so who is to say that some people are not welcome into the world of health. We all have our own bodies to look after, to care for, and to love, and being fit and healthy is one of the best ways to achieve that.

Yes, it is a lot easier said than done, but nobody is judging you when you exercise or watch what you are eating. Embrace the multitude of sweat and red faces. Allow those muscles to dance and swing. Let your heart sing the music of exertion to the beat of your pulse.  Try to forget where you are, what and who is surrounding and fall in love with the way you feel. There are may tangible tips I can provide in order to help you get over this premise of intimidation such as

• Fall into a habitual practice – following a normality in your own life will make you question why you were ever self-conscious
• Find an exercise partner – having someone to laugh and spur you on makes you feel a lot more comfortable than being on your own
• Acknowledge your habits and assess whether they need to be altered – for example, increasing your water intake to more than 2 litres a day (rather than relying on tea, like myself…)
• Focus on the fact that people are too preoccupied with their own training and wellbeing to notice whether or not you’re doing an exercise wrong or not
• Realise your worth – everyone is entitled to be healthy and love the way they look, so nothing and no one should stand in your way

 

One of the most empowering things in life is recognizing that your body can do something that it could not do two weeks ago.

Stay beautiful, stay smiling,

Anna.