My Resistance to Exercise: Does it Have to be Painful to be Gainful?

Several months ago, I mentioned to someone that I hated to lift weights. I know that weight lifting is important for women as they age (umm, I do know that)...I was on board with the concept that this was a healthy practice. For whatever reason, I hated to do it, with a passion ;)

I was blocked, I was in my own way. 

When anyone tried to lecture me about why I just needed to "do it", it shut me down instead of creating change. Having the awareness of why to do something is important but when awareness isn't enough to make a change, there is usually emotional work to do on the issue.

Once I created a space (made a conscious effort to sit with the issue in a quiet way) to figure out why I hated it, I was able to have an awareness of my obstacles and overcome them, one by one. The cool thing was that as I passed the awareness phase, the obstacles almost overcame themselves. 

One thing I disliked was changing the weight levels during a work out. It was cumbersome and I was unskilled at it. I was out of my comfort zone, yuck. We can't learn a new skill without practice.

About that time, we found the bow-flex system where you can change the weight level by turning a wheel. I found it at a great price and had it delivered, problem solved. When you find something in your life that makes you shut down, you know to dig deeper.

Another issue was that I disliked working out alone. Almost effortlessly, my friend and I decided to schedule twice weekly work out/girl talk sessions, problem solved. We consciously made an effort to understand each other's needs and limitations. 

When you come to an issue in your life where you shut down instead of trying to solve the problem, there are usually multiple strands of resistance that need to be unraveled before you can make progress. Once the layers are separated, the solutions become easier. If kids, friends or clients can't find a solution, I usually ask them why it's not possible; because the answers are the key to finding their point of overwhelm and breaking it up into manageable pieces. 

Have a wonderful day!!

Xo

Conni

Edited and reposted: my relationship with exercise continues to have its ups and downs. I have much less resistance now, though. It's always a balance of living our best lives without beating ourselves up when we are not perfect.

I now have new and different obstacles to overcome but that is normal and OK. Step by step is the pathway to success.