If You've Struggled with Fitness, You're Not Alone
"The last trainer I worked with left me exhausted after every workout and I just couldn't keep up."
"They told me they couldn't work with me because I couldn't do a pull-up."
"All they did was point out everything I was doing wrong."
Only 24% of the adult population hits the recommended 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and 2 days of strength training a week and after hearing stories like those above for years - it makes complete sense why.
The Struggle
If you've started and stopped workout routines more times than you can count, you're not broken. If you've felt embarrassed in a gym, you're not weak. If you've been injured trying to get back in shape, you're probably not doing something fundamentally wrong.
Fitness isn't just about the physical movements - it's woven into everything else in your life. Your work schedule, your sleep quality, your stress levels, your family responsibilities, your past injuries, and yes, even your previous experiences with exercise all play a role.
Most approaches to improve our fitness focus solely on the workout itself, without considering the person doing the workout.
The Real Picture
Consider the person who hasn't exercised regularly since COVID changed their routine. They're not just dealing with being out of shape - they're dealing with a body that feels unfamiliar and a world that looks different than it did five years ago.
Or the former athlete who keeps getting injured trying to return to their old workouts. They're not lacking dedication - they're dealing with a body that has changed since college, but they're using the same approach that worked 20 years ago.
Or the person with chronic pain who's been told exercise will help, but every attempt seems to make things worse. They're not making excuses - they're trying to navigate the complex relationship between movement and pain that most standard programs don't address.
Or the dad who was working out 4 days a week to help keep his back pain at bay but now with a 4 month old baby he’s struggling with finding the time or energy and his back pain has crept back into the picture.
These aren't character flaws - even though they often feel like it. These are normal human experiences that require a personalized approach.
It's About Integration, Not Perfection
Real, sustainable fitness isn't about perfect form or hitting certain benchmarks. It's about finding movement that integrates well with your actual life.
That might mean:
Starting with 10 minutes instead of an hour
Working around and through injuries instead of ignoring them
Adjusting intensity based on how much sleep you got and your stress levels
Choosing exercises that work with your existing pain
Building routines that flex with your schedule
The goal isn't to become Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's to improve your health and quality of life in a way that actually sticks.
Moving Forward
Your past struggles with fitness aren't predictors of future failure - they're valuable information about what doesn't work for you. Every "failed" attempt taught you something about your needs, preferences, and constraints.
Maybe you need shorter workouts. Maybe you need lower intensity. Maybe you need more recovery time. Maybe you need exercises that don't hurt your back or a workout schedule that works with your kids' activities.
None of these needs make you difficult or high-maintenance. They make you human.
Your Journey Is Yours and Yours Alone
There's no universal "right way" to be fit. There's only what works for you, in your body, with your schedule, given your constraints and goals.
You don't have to keep up with anyone else's pace. You don't have to love high-intensity workouts. You don't have to be able to do a pull-up to deserve support and encouragement.
Your fitness journey is allowed to look different from everyone else's. In fact, it should.
At the end of the day, we know that when we engage in two strength training sessions a week and combine that with 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, our chance of death drops dramatically - by 40%.
But here's the key: Those two strength training sessions and that 150 minutes of aerobic activity can be drastically different from person to person and should exist in the context of their lives rather than just another thing to do on the list.
In our practice, this understanding is where we start - with you, your life, and your goals. We work together to create an approach that fits your reality, because that's the only way lasting change happens. If you're ready to explore what this could look like when it's truly designed around your life, we're here to help - click the button below to schedule your complimentary consultation and find out how we can help you.