I want you to think back to your first driving lesson.
Sat behind the wheel for the first time, you were likely petrified about the idea of being on the road whilst in control of a 1000kg+ piece of metal. Roundabouts, reverse parking & passing your test were a distant thought.
Despite your nerves you eventually get the car moving. You probably stalled a few times but after a while this became more and more infrequent.
As you became more adept your instructor began to add different manoeuvres into your lessons. Similarly to your first lesson, it’s likely that you didn’t nail them straight away but after a while you got better and it became a little easier than the last time.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
The more you practiced, the more confident you became until reaching a point where you felt ready to take your test.
Unlike learning to drive, there is no endpoint in health & fitness however the same principles apply. I highly doubt that anyone who walks into a gym for the very first time, goes straight to a lifting platform and bangs out 4 sets of maximal effort deadlifts.
The average person most likely starts on a treadmill or a bike as they get familiar with this new environment that they find themselves in.
Once they get comfortable they may add in a few machines, probably not with any intentions other than to figure out which ones they like and how to operate them correctly.
This new-found ability of being able to use equipment that once appeared daunting and complicated will inspire them to try out other exercises/machines that they also thought were beyond their capabilities.
This process isn’t just limited to learning to drive & going to the gym, it applies in all areas of life.
Upon telling my colleague Amy about my plans to go into personal training, she said “You do realise you’ll have to start an Instagram page now, right?”
Just the thought of doing that filled me with anxiety – I was and still am not a huge user of social media. I’ve posted four times on my personal account since September 2020.
However, I knew that it was necessary.
If I’d have said to myself that I need to be posting 7x videos a week of me talking to the camera then I wouldn’t have lasted 3 days.The jump from one extreme to the other would’ve been too much and I would’ve just withdrawn from the idea altogether.
So I approached it as if I was learning to drive again.
The first few posts were pretty basic but that was exactly what I was aiming for – I got the car moving.
My confidence slowly grew & I got to a point where I felt like I was able to be a bit more creative.
If you’re thinking of starting something new, fitness related or not, ease yourself into it.
Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone coupled with consistent practice will lead you to eventually becoming more confident.
