I recently read a study linking a person’s gym class experiences as a kid with their interest and enthusiasm for exercise as an adult. Not surprisingly, many of those who had negative experiences in gym class had greater difficulty finding or maintaining the motivation to participate in a regular exercise program. As someone whose gym class experience was anything but positive, I want to share my story and assure you that like me, you can be an exception to this finding. As I approach my 38th year as a fitness instructor and personal trainer, I offer you this:
How it has been for you in the past does not have to dictate how it will be now or in the future.
My earliest gym class experiences induced an elevated heart rate and profuse sweating not from physical exercise but from anxiety, humiliation and fear. I developed a very specific amnesia, never seeming to remember my sneakers on gym days. In my early teens as I became more concerned about my appearance, I started jogging, considering exercise to be something I had to do to undo “going off my diet”
But when I began college in 1981, I had a transformative moment that changed the trajectory of my life forever. (For more on this, read Sneakers on the Sidelines from my book, Working it Out: Drills, Thrills and Spills of an Aerobic Life available here. I want to reach out to those of you who, like me, dreaded gym class or never played a sport. I want to encourage those of you who didn’t wake up young and agile this morning, who know they should eat better and exercise regularly, but don’t… I speak to those of you who do the heavy lifting of being responsible for other people’s care and wellbeing, who have powered through some of life’s most difficult challenges and come out the other side, sometimes okay and sometimes not, whose circumstances have gotten in the way of taking better care of yourselves.
Look, let’s be honest here. It is a very different kind of effort to be, become or stay fit at 20-something than it is in our later years. At 55, I’m not going to tell you that your reasons for not making your health and fitness a priority are just excuses. I’ve had a full plate of reasons myself, ranging from sheer vanity (my knees look too fat to be in shorts today) to devastating grief, from significant physical limitations, injuries and conditions to serious medical considerations. I totally get it. But I have found that even in the face of real world challenges and a real life body that ages and fatigues and breaks down, I can still create space for my own wellbeing with modifications that allow me to get moving given the way things are and the way things aren’t. With Fitness By Loren (www.fitnessbyloren.com), I’d like to help you create that for yourself with workouts, fitness tips and the inspiration to help you get fit and stay fit.
Check out my latest 90-Second Fire Drill here and stay tuned for new workouts coming soon!
Get ready. Get sweaty. Get fit!
How it has been for you in the past does not have to dictate how it will be now or in the future.
My earliest gym class experiences induced an elevated heart rate and profuse sweating not from physical exercise but from anxiety, humiliation and fear. I developed a very specific amnesia, never seeming to remember my sneakers on gym days. In my early teens as I became more concerned about my appearance, I started jogging, considering exercise to be something I had to do to undo “going off my diet”
But when I began college in 1981, I had a transformative moment that changed the trajectory of my life forever. (For more on this, read Sneakers on the Sidelines from my book, Working it Out: Drills, Thrills and Spills of an Aerobic Life available here. I want to reach out to those of you who, like me, dreaded gym class or never played a sport. I want to encourage those of you who didn’t wake up young and agile this morning, who know they should eat better and exercise regularly, but don’t… I speak to those of you who do the heavy lifting of being responsible for other people’s care and wellbeing, who have powered through some of life’s most difficult challenges and come out the other side, sometimes okay and sometimes not, whose circumstances have gotten in the way of taking better care of yourselves.
Look, let’s be honest here. It is a very different kind of effort to be, become or stay fit at 20-something than it is in our later years. At 55, I’m not going to tell you that your reasons for not making your health and fitness a priority are just excuses. I’ve had a full plate of reasons myself, ranging from sheer vanity (my knees look too fat to be in shorts today) to devastating grief, from significant physical limitations, injuries and conditions to serious medical considerations. I totally get it. But I have found that even in the face of real world challenges and a real life body that ages and fatigues and breaks down, I can still create space for my own wellbeing with modifications that allow me to get moving given the way things are and the way things aren’t. With Fitness By Loren (www.fitnessbyloren.com), I’d like to help you create that for yourself with workouts, fitness tips and the inspiration to help you get fit and stay fit.
Check out my latest 90-Second Fire Drill here and stay tuned for new workouts coming soon!
Get ready. Get sweaty. Get fit!
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