Overcoming Mental Barriers to Fitness
I don't have enough time to workout
Step 1: Reframe
Enough time for what? Clarify your expectations and intentions based on your current life circumstances. If you’re looking to get stronger and feel better, 20 minutes of strength training a few times a week plus daily walking is all you need. On the flip side, if you intend to run a marathon or compete in a powerlifting meet, and you only have 20 minutes available, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Step 2: Set boundaries
Block your schedule, turn off phone alerts, tell your partner. No one will give you the time, you need to take it. And to take it, you need to recognize your worthy enough to invest in your long-term health.
Step 3: Take action
Even 20 minutes of exercise may seem like an impossible challenge, particularly if you don’t particularly enjoy working out. If so, remember that motivation comes from action. So give yourself a 5-minute action. Begin with the activity or movement you enjoy the best. For me, it’s bench pressing. I’ll tell myself I just need to bench press for 5 minutes, which is about 3 high quality sets. Usually, after I’ve performed those I’m eager to do more, and it turns into a much longer session.
An important reminder: you’re not lazy or undisciplined. You’re untrained, and part of the training process is developing momentum.
I don't want to commit to pain for gain
Step 1: Re-educate
Modern, intelligent workout programs get the best results from the least required effort. The goal is get stronger, or faster, or feel better, or look more jacked, or play with your grandkids, or whatever else holds value to you. The goal is not to beat you into a sore, sweaty pulp. In addition to paying attention to workout volume and effort, sound programs prioritize fatigue management and recovery. This has the added benefit of making self-care an integral part of your training, as opposed to an exercise in hedonism. Learn what helps you relax, the foods that promote recovery, and better sleep hygiene.
Step 2: Relearn
To accomplish more intelligent training, take advantage of the many principles and tools that exist thanks to modern exercise science. For example, Rate of Perceived Exertion is a system that allow you to adjust workout intensity based on overall stress load while giving you insight into what "hard enough" really feels like. For the data-driven, percentages can be used as well. Test out an exercise app that makes it easy to track how much work you’re doing, or hire a coach to build a system for you.
Step 3: Self-reflect
Different individuals will require different training protocols. Rather than assume you need to push yourself to the max all the time, see how you do with different strength training styles. You could try emerging strategies, which entails very consistent weekly training, or a wave progression in which you increase intensity for 4-8 week cycles. If you discover you get better results from ratcheting up the intensity for certain sessions, you can do so with the knowledge of why that’s important, instead of just punishing yourself for no good reason.
I'm overwhelmed by information
Step 1: Refocus on values
Dig deep to figure out what you’re starting a fitness program in the first place. If you have a dream of traveling well into retirement, that will naturally lead to a different training regimen than if you want to re-ignite an old passion for athletic competition.
Step 2: Align values to goals
Once you’ve surfaced your values, you can start to explore specific goals and the best training plans to accomplish them. That in itself will cut down on the amount of information you need to consume. If your value is lifelong travel, you might set a shorter-term goal of addressing your knee pain so you can walk more easily on your next trip to Europe. If you decide that powerlifting is your next form of athletic competition, you can focus on specific resources for preparing, which will naturally weed out a large volume of general exercise information.
Step 3: Align goals to workouts
Now that you meaningful values to motivate you, and specific goals to guide you, go about searching for relevant content or fitness professionals. In our travel example, a trainer that specializes in rehab and mobility could be a good option. In the example of an aspiring powerlifter, start by following some of the top coaches and their practices.
