Eight months ago, Faye joined our coaching program. What she told us on day one is something we hear a lot:
“I hate exercise. I want to have a better attitude about it so that I’ll actually do it instead of dreading doing it. I want to learn some general principles about exercise so I can teach my kids how to be healthy with exercise. It’d be great if I could look awesome, but honestly, I just want to be healthy.”
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A lot of the people we work with are in a similar boat. They have packed schedules with work, taking care of their family and loved ones, and all the other responsibilities that come with “adulting.”
And they’re trying to figure out: how do I have a better relationship with exercise so this actually works for me? Both for myself, and for my family.
Faye and her coach started somewhere unusual – not with a workout plan, but with a mindset shift. (Shout out to Coach Shortis!)
Exercise didn’t have to jump from “the thing I loathe” to “thing I love” overnight. Instead, they treated it like a hygiene practice.
You don’t have to LOVE brushing your teeth. You brush them anyway, because it’s part of caring for yourself. Five to ten minutes of movement can work the same way.
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Fast-forward eight months. Faye has done a 5-10 minute workout almost every single day. 🙌 🎉 🔥
Here’s what she had to say about it, in her own words:
“When I started Nerd Fitness Coaching, I think it would be safe to say that I didn’t like exercise. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that I loathed and detested the mere thought of exercise. However, grown-up me (with kids) realized that my exercise mindset was probably (definitely) not conducive to my family’s health. Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever change my mind about exercise. I joined Nerd Fitness fully expecting to “do exercise” whilst continuing to hate it.”
Fortunately for me, my coach is AWESOME. And also, sneaky. He sort of tricked me into kind of actually enjoying exercise. Sure, most of the exercises felt super exercise-y but some of them were, dare I say, fun? Even when it wasn’t fun, it was still doable and I felt good about doing it. It surprises the heck out of me to say it but I now exercise almost every single day. And I don’t hate it! I might even sort of like it sometimes. But don’t tell my coach. 😉“
(Don’t worry Faye, your secret is safe with us! 😉)
“Sneaky” is a good strategy
Faye’s story really hit home for me this week.
My son is 12, and he’s just getting into the idea of training.
As parents, we want the best for our kids. And as a coach, I’m even more aware that the way we talk about fitness with and around our kiddos has a big impact on their long-term relationship with it.
Much like Faye, I want to teach my kids how to be healthy with exercise, and also, hopefully make it something they don’t loathe doing.
Here’s what a recent session with my kiddo actually looked like:
Send the invite. Whenever I go to workout, I invite my son to join me. He doesn’t have to. I just make it casual. “Hey, I’m going to workout. Wanna come?” Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn’t. This time, he actually got off of Fortnite with his friends to come out into the garage with me (which is like, pretty freaking awesome!)
The warm-up is our dojo. Arm swings, leg swings, shuffling back and forth – all the classic dynamic warm up stuff. But we count our reps out loud in Japanese, one to ten, like we’re training at a dojo, which makes it feel like we’re warming up as a team. (something I picked up from my time living abroad in Japan!)
Mirror Man. We always end our warm-up with this game. We face each other. One person moves – shuffles sideways, drops down, changes direction – and the other tries to stay directly in front of them, mirroring everything. Gets him laughing every time, and he forgets it’s “exercise” (so do I!)
Strength moves, paired with play. We did our hygiene work – the strength stuff – but I paired every strength move with something dynamic:
- Balance beam walks (on a 2×4) between sets of push-ups
- Vault box jumps between sets of rows
- “Stuntman” between sets of lunges – I throw a fake kick, he flies backward onto some mats or pillows in slow motion like I just blew him away. Then he gets to do the same to me. Lots of laughing, lots of getting up and down off the floor.
Cliffhangers. We both took turns hanging from the pull-up bar, imagining we were straight out of an 80s action film cheering each other on in our best Stallone voice.
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Photo Finish. My favorite way to sneak in sprints. Each person starts from a different spot, and the goal is to cross the finish line at the exact same moment. So you’re trying to perfectly balance each other while running full out.
He loved it, and asked when we could do it again. ❤️
Two things can be true
Faye’s story and that session with my son taught me the same lesson from two directions:
- Exercise is hygiene. You never have to love it for it to be worth doing. Like brushing your teeth, it’s a small, repeatable act of taking care of yourself – and the people who count on you.
- It also doesn’t have to be miserable. With a few sneaky changes – and a mindset shift – you may find parts of it are even enjoyable (at least some of the time 😃.) That’s what Faye’s coach did for her, and what I got to do with my son this week.
If you’re someone who dreads the idea of fitting exercise into an already packed schedule, but you know you want to make healthier choices in your life, our coaching program is built for you.
When I asked Faye what advice she’d give to someone considering joining the program, here’s what she said:
“You should definitely sign up. 10 out of 10, 5 stars, all the things. Hands down the best thing I’ve ever done for my health.”
Want a coach who’s awesome (and maybe a little bit sneaky?)
Learn more about our coaching program HERE.
-Matt