Photo From Female Gym Motivation

“I tell patients that designing your own exercise program is like deciding to represent yourself in court. Being an attorney requires specialized knowledge that is acquired over many years of intensive study and practice. Designing your optimum exercise program also requires extensive training in a variety of areas, and includes an assessment to create an exercise program specific to you.” -Perry Nickelston, DC

Okay, so you’ve just hired a personal trainer and you are thrilled with the attention, programming, knowledge, and expertise. Like most things in life, you get out of personal training what you put in to your sessions. I’m talking about effort. 

Linda working on her Turkish Get Ups with a 35 lb kettle bell

Trainers know when your exertion–both mental and physical–is sloppy, half-hearted, solid, or balls to the wall. Some clients are afraid to push themselves because they fear injury. Others have no idea what they’re capable of, and a few just go through the motions.

This week we challenge all of you to ask yourself, “Could I go a little faster? Push a little harder? Lift a little heavier?” I promise you that the answer is: Yes. You. Can. If you know you are holding yourself back, ask why. Is it a fear of success? A fear of injury? A fear of looking silly? A fear of pain? Share these fears with us and we will help you squelch them to release your inner athlete.

If you look like this after a workout, you get an A for effort!

Monitor your self-talk this week. Do you think, “I hate burpees. This hurts. This is so hard. I can’t do it. Remember that when we say, “I can’t,” it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we say and think that we can, that also becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy. Catch that negative self-talk and turn those cynical thoughts into: “Before I could only do 10 burpees at a time–now I’m doing 20! Wow, these sit-ups are starting to feel really good–I bet I can do them faster. This is really challenging and I love how I feel like an athlete.”

The face of one of my trainers and the epitome of EFFORT.

You don’t have to be an Olympian to call yourself an athlete. An athlete is simply a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport,exercise, or game requiring physical skill. Start carrying yourself like an athlete. Practice the self-talk of athletes. Your effort will soar and so will your progress.