Find Your Tribe
The prospect of starting a healthier life is intimidating. It’s going to take effort, sacrifice and a personal acknowledgment that maybe some of life’s problems are a direct result of the way said life is lived. The idea that it is going to require a change of daily rituals, especially if it will require substantial exertion, is difficult. But even beyond that, when pondering that you want to be healthier an even bigger question erupts. How? There are so many options and opinions that even though you know you need to do something to increase your quality of life, you don’t know who to listen to or what to do. My opinion? Small group training with a qualified coach is by far the best way to go.
Let’s first think about what your other options are:
Do Nothing - Yes, this is actually the most common decision made. We have all made this mistake at one point in our lives and nothing good comes out of it. No effort equals no results. Let’s get rid of this option immediately.
Personal Training - Personal training definitely has merit. You can get a lot out of a program designed just for you and the personal attention of one-on-one. But you will miss out on seeing other people learn the skills you are learning, which can help keep you motivated and actually increase the learning curve. You see other people struggle and you become not so alone in yours. Their victories become yours and yours become theirs. The energy of a small group of people immeasurably increases your likelihood of sticking with a program, and small group training is much less expensive with the personalized benefits of personal training.
Join a Globo-Gym - This is when you only have to pay a small monthly payment to brave the gym world alone and unafraid. The only time this really works out well is when you have been coached in the past, you know what your goals are and how to get to them, and the gym has the equipment you need to accomplish your mission. If that’s the case my main advice is to video your sets and evaluate before your next one. It can be an incredibly productive way to coach yourself, and you can always post your videos on forums and ask for collective feedback. Otherwise let’s be honest, if you are on a “fitness” machine that is attached to or pointed towards a television, you aren’t going to accomplish anything except exhaustion. True fitness requires you to be present, not being caught up on Maury or ESPN highlights. As far as weight machines go, they too have value but mainly in a rehab setting.
Take an Exercise Class - These are choreographed classes set to music that are formatted for everyone to do the same movements as the instructor. It is the instructor’s job to show you what to do and motivate you, but not to coach you in the movements. They can be a fun way to increase your activity, and when you take enough classes a lot of times you can teach some and get a free membership. The main problems I see with these is that everyone has different needs that aren’t addressed by choreography and that you don’t need any physical education to teach them. The new boot camp trend has group instructors practicing way outside their scope. These instructors aren’t intentionally being negligent but don’t realize how much they don’t know. If you love taking classes that’s great, but remember not to work through pain. If something you are doing in class causes you pain, it’s not okay and it may be time to look for more thorough instruction.
Weigh your options and don’t be afraid to try several different classes, groups and styles of training. Try getting someone to embark on this journey with you. Training is always more enjoyable when you aren’t in it alone. Make sure wherever you are you feel good there. There is nothing better than finding your gym family. You don’t have to know anyone at the gym/studio you pick, but you want to be around people who inspire you, care about you and you enjoy being around. One hour of exercise is about four percent of your day. You might as well benefit from every second of it.
