The Fear

Everyone has "the fear" someway, somehow.

There are a couple different types when it comes to fitness, so I'm going to try and cover the ones I have encountered and share my thoughts.

People generally aren't ready for change. They may want to change, but they aren't ready. People aren't ready to give up some things from their live (see my sacrifice vs suffering blog). This is usually a coping mechanism, and is why people are scared. There are NUMEROUS excuses out there people use. "I can't afford healthy food" "I don't want to give up my social life." "I'm meant to be overweight" and the list goes on. A lot of it, my clients don't even believe themselves when they say it.

I've been doing this for a while now, and I notice trends. People tend to share everything down to the last detail, or share nothing at all.

What are you scared of?

When people come into my office for the first time I completely understand why they don't want to divulge their secrets to their past failures. It's embarrassing. When we get down the road, aka. when a client has been working with me for a while, more patterns emerge.

If I ask them something, such as to give me a food journal, or as to how their mental health is (life, work, home life etc.) it can provoke hostility. I have come to the following conclusion.

They either think I am attacking them, or they know they've been doing something wrong/slacking off, and are trying to push it aside or make more excuses.

This has to stop.

This isn't meant to be easy. This is one of the fears I'm talking about. Your trainer/coach/nutritionist should be there for NOTHING but help. If all they are concerned about is money, I would look in a different direction.
The coach should reassure you that through their experiences, they have found lots of people like yourself and that you're not alone. This fear can be overcome. It will take varying degrees of work, of course it will. But, once broken, the benefits can be endless.

Don't let yourself be your own worst enemy. I know I have been before and will be again. That is why I have coaches myself. I have stated this numerous times and don't plan on stopping.

The other fear is the fear of success. Yes, that's right.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us..." -Marianne Williamson


This rings very true in the fitness business. I have seen people that swear up and down they could never be at body fat X or lift weight Y, then surpass both of these expectations (these are just two examples). I love seeing the look on someones face after they have given it their all, and come back immensely surprised at how far they've blown by their own expectations, let alone my expectations for them.

Everyone will get the fear. Make sure there is support within yourself and others to help you scare the shadows away, and surpass your goals.