Change Your Workout And Blast Your Fitness!
Women's Health South Africa|October 2019
When it comes to fear, you have one of two choices: you can let it rule you or you can let it liberate you. This time, we chose to be the leaders of our own journeys by facing our biggest fitness fears. Here’s how it went and how you can do the same
Change Your Workout And Blast Your Fitness!

You’ve been putting off exercising for years. And you’re constantly mad at yourself because it should all be so simple. But for some reason, you just can’t seem to crack the code.

You’ve left no excuse unsaid: “I’m too tired. I’m too busy. It’s too expensive”. Or, our personal favourite: “Starting on a Tuesday doesn’t make sense – I’ll start next Monday” – a Monday that’s been coming for the past three years.

There’s a startling truth to all of this, masked by our endless excuses. It’s a truth that many of us would prefer not to face, the fact that we are in denial about (or just don’t know how to overcome) fear.

Capital “F” fear does more harm to our fitness ambitions than almost anything else. One study found that millions of women globally are not going to the gym because they’re afraid they’ll be ridiculed for being sweaty, out of breath or just simply for not “keeping up” with everyone else. The report said that girls as young as 10 years old avoided physical education classes at school for the same reasons. This just goes to show that you’re not the only one feeling what you’re feeling – “gymtimidation” is real.

Here at the WH office, it’s no different. While we might come across as a well-curated bunch of fitness junkies, we each have our own fears that have kept us from experimenting with workouts and disciplines outside of our everyday routines. But this year we decided to shelve the excuses and set out to face those fears, to show them, once and for all, who is really in charge.

This story is from the October 2019 edition of Women's Health South Africa.

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This story is from the October 2019 edition of Women's Health South Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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