Exercise Doesn’t Have To Be Scary.
The Secret to Every Successful Diet And Fitness Program
Sometimes the big secret to doing something is just showing up. In this article from TFW Founder, Martin Rooney, he will help you overcome the possible fear and doubt you may currently have about joining an exercise and fitness program. Enjoy the article and I hope you find that which you should really be fearful.
People are naturally afraid of things like heights, snakes and spiders. Put most children and adults up on something really high or hand them a python and they will give you the same reaction.
Fortunately for you (unless you are a skydiver or collector of reptiles,) you probably don’t have to elicit these inborn fear responses very often.
Unfortunately for you, however, since there are centers of your brain always on the hunt for things of which to be afraid, when old fears start to disappear from your life, your brain is excellent at creating new ones.
I see this fear creation ability first hand at almost every gym I visit around the world.
Recently we held an orientation for the new members of our TFW program. I thought this hour-long event was to introduce and explain to the 25 new people about the program and how to best benefit from the training, but I was wrong.
Instead, I realized I had to remove the fear all of these people have about joining and participating in an exercise program.
How did I know?
Terror is easy to read on the faces of your audience when you are standing in front of them.
A new member of a fitness program is easy to spot. When the new members entered the building last night, I could immediately recognize most of them were anxious.
Unlike walking into a movie theater, restaurant, or mall for the first time, these people were downright apprehensive.
I was saddened when I saw this behavior, because I realized the current message about exercise being portrayed to people must be too “extreme,” “insane,” and “hardcore.”
Gone are the days that people gladly get a new pair of running shoes, an outfit and join the gym. Now people procrastinate searching the web about training only to get terrified and confused by the concept of having to go “Paleo” and the prospect of tearing off the palm of your hand after switching to “beast mode.”
To be clear, exercise is not scary. And at TFW we will prove it.
You see, sitting on the couch and eating fast food is scary.
Lifting a bar with weights off the floor while working out is not dangerous.
Lifting too much food to your mouth without working out is dangerous.
Running, jumping and sweating is not going to disable you.
Cancer, diabetes and heart disease will disable you.
Click the image below to download the 10 Reasons Why Someone Should Drop 10 – 15 Pounds
Fitness is not the enemy here. Obesity (which can be the cause of all the other diseases I mentioned) is the enemy here and I want you to be more afraid of that.
During the evening, as I talked about the expectations for the program, I could see the fear start to melt away. The initial anxious scowls were turned into optimistic smiles.
But I had to wonder:
“What about all the people that didn’t come tonight because they were too afraid? What about the people around the world that walk up to a gym door, but can’t muster the courage to open it and walk in?”
That was the moment I knew I had to write this in hopes at least one reader is empowered to use the “Most Important Aspect of a Successful Fitness Program.”
The highlight of the orientation was not me presenting, but my wife and another TFW veteran named Michael sharing the results our program has produced for them. Both testimonials about how the program has helped them in terms of weight loss, muscle gain and the reduction of health risks was valuable, but each of them shared the secret to succeeding at anything:
YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP!
Michael let the group know he spends his days driving for work and had gained over 50 pounds. He knew he was eating the wrong things. He knew exercise was important. He heard it from both his doctor and his kids.
Notches on his belts his tailor was telling him too. But he said nothing happened until he committed and SHOWED UP the first day. My wife shared similar challenges and just the simple action of SHOWING UP wiped that fear away enough to let her get started.
Do any of these make you nervous about starting something new?
•Fear of Failure
•Fear of Change
•Fear of Injury
•Fear of Rejection
•Fear of Reality
If you are fearful about starting anything new like a fitness program, career choice, musical instrument or even writing a blog, the secret of SHOWING UP will make those nerves go away.
Action is the magical cure to your fears and you don’t need a prescription to get it. Action is where the fear ends and the excitement begins.
SHOW UP and you can no longer let the first step be what’s holding you back.
SHOW UP and your calling, art, passion becomes more believable.
SHOW UP and your potential will start to come through.
The first thing I did at the orientation was congratulate the attendees on his or her courage. When they looked back quizzically, I reminded them they had already taken the most courageous step: they SHOWED UP.
Now I am challenging you.
A warrior is defined as a fighter.
A warrior is also defined as being brave.
And bravery is not the absence of fear, it is SHOWING UP in spite of it.
Time to SHOW UP,
Martin
Do you want to learn how to drop 10-15 pounds?
Need help with your nutrition?
Looking to start a fitness program?
We have just the thing for you. Click the button below and learn more about our 28 Day Transformation Challenge today!
Can Exercise and Broccoli Save Lives?
If you are like most people, you know what to do when it comes to exercise and nutrition, but you may also find it difficult to do what you know! At TFW Athens we understand this and this is why you get a motivating coach during every TFW session to help you take action. The following is an article from our Founder, Martin Rooney and covers the challenges you may face and how to solve them.
Did you ever get excited about a new workout or diet program only to find it too complex or confusing to follow? Even though you started with great intentions, you probably learned an important truth about yourself and other people:
When people are faced with too many options, they usually choose to do nothing at all.
If you have to be Einstein to figure out today’s Russian-inspired plyometric workout or a nutritionist to understand your meal plan has to be grass-fed, organic and or raw, it will probably be easier to skip the gym, hit the couch and keep eating Cheetos.
Just like your fitness program or diet, you have probably found other aspects of your life will also stall when there are too many “moving parts.” Maybe you have had business plans fail when there are “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Or you went to a restaurant and after seeing over 100 different choices on the menu you defaulted to “burger and fries.”
If you have ever found it hard to decide on a movie or article of clothing and just walked out of the store after taking no action, you know what I am talking about. In any of these cases, again you should have learned the lesson that too many choices are not always a good thing.
Many times, too many choices ultimately get you nowhere.
Why then do we have to make things seem so hard in fitness and nutrition? Maybe you like the attraction of new and exotic training ideas and food, but know that same exoticness also often paralyzes you from doing anything.
And if you don’t do anything, you can’t get results.
So next time you want to try to add the gogi berry or some other new fruit they found in a country you never heard of, think again.
Over the years, I have realized you don’t need to give a person a rocket ship when all they needed was a rowboat. Training can still have some “sizzle” without having to be confusing. You just have to get excited again about the basics.
Last week I visited a few TFW gyms in the Chicago area.
I met people that had lost hundreds of pounds and others that were now off medication for the first time in years. But for each person I met, I knew there were others out there choosing to do nothing due to either fear or confusion.
Meeting the people training at the TFW facilities only strengthened the message: You Have To Start Somewhere!
And at TFW Athens, we make it pretty easy for you. You just have to start with two simple things: DEADLIFTS and BROCCOLI.
At TFW we teach people to get “started with the simple.” Warriors in our program are brought back to the basics. And two basics I know work are deadlifts and broccoli!
Why Deadlifts?
It is a functional movement that most people can easily perform. You will have to pick stuff up during your day, so why not get better at it? Deadlifts work a high percentage of your muscles from the bottoms of your feet to the tips of your fingers.
And people love watching his or her numbers increase. And few photos get more internet “likes” than when you are standing with a bunch of weight in your hands. 
Why Broccoli?
Well maybe you don’t know as much about the “green warrior” as you should! Broccoli, which has been called “one of the world’s healthiest foods,” is a great source of Vitamins C and K which can help healing, collagen formation and protect you from free radicals.
Broccoli has also been cited for anti-inflammatory and detoxification properties as well as a great food in the battle against cancer. And above all, when people eat it, they know they are doing something good for themselves.
How do I know we are getting the broccoli message out there? When people dress up as broccoli at TFW events, you know people are taking the idea seriously.
Are both of those the be all and end all for training? No, but they get you started which can lead to even more good habits. Give someone 1,000 choices and they will do nothing. Give them 2 and they can get started.
How can you get started with Deadlifts and Broccoli?
Simple: Add more weight on your bar, add more broccoli on your plate. If you do both, you will not only be stronger and healthier, but you have also done the most important thing: you will have started.
Want to get started with an exercise routine?
My advice is to stop looking for the new and shiny idea and find something you believe in. As I have always said, “stand for something or fall for anything.” Two things I know for sure. As a result of the 260 TFW affiliates around the world, more people deadlift and more people eat broccoli. And it is making a difference.
What are your two positive things?
What are two things you believe in?
Once you discover them, I challenge you to make the world a better place by getting people to do them.
Click The Image To Download The Warrior 20 Whole Foods Guide
Eat your broccoli,
Martin
Do you want to learn how to drop 10-15 pounds?
Need help with your nutrition?
Looking to start a fitness program?
We have just the thing for you. Click the button below and learn more about our 28 Day Transformation Challenge today!