Taking Step One

Creating Momentum

Bodies in motion stay in motion, but what about bodies at rest?

How do they kick into motion?

When it comes to physical activity, exercise, and sport it’s the difficulty many struggle with in peeling off the couch, dusting off the trainers, and kicking themselves into gear after too many years of resting.

Many hope that just by moving their bodies again, in ANY way, can help create that initial spark of momentum. But I’m just not convinced it works this way.

When I fell into this all too familiar pattern in my early to mid 20’s I thought the same thing. I’d grown up playing sports, at a fairly high level too, and like so many of my contemporaries slid into a life of sedentary mediocrity far too soon and easily after my playing days came to an end.

I thought if I just went to the gym, picked something to do, moved with a bit of gusto, I’d create inertia that would power me towards consistency. I bet on the body moving me towards my physical goals.

After a dozen failed attempts over a few years to get consistent in the gym I decided to aim at a new approach. I started to think about activities I enjoyed, that I was good at, that fit with my lifestyle and schedule, that I could gain momentum with.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was beginning to use the spirit to guide my training.

I ditched machines and free weights in the gym and got into the lap pool. I grew up swimming, enjoyed the motions, could move well in the water, had easy access to Olympic sized pools at my university, and could easily hit the times it was open for lane swimming.

That set me on a course to follow my interests in exercise, trying new things, and eventually stumbling upon trail running, which changed my life.

If you’re in the same boat as me, hoping to find consistency but aiming with the body at uninspiring exercises that don’t create momentum from workout to workout I’m going to spell it out simply for you how to switch to aiming from the spirit and finding your own personal inertia to create lasting momentum in fitness.

Lowering Expectations

The first thing you need to do is drop expectations. Release the immense pressure you put on yourself to ‘finally’ get this thing right.

When you’re under the gun, you move too quickly, and don’t have patience.

You look around and find a short cut, copying what others are doing or defaulting to your assumptions of what a ‘fit person’ does.

There’s a mismatch, you think that everyone who works out consistently just loves it all the time, and that you need to learn to love exercises that don’t speak to you.

When it doesn’t stick, because you’re not aimed properly, you get discouraged, find excuses, and eventually quit. Momentum never even knocked on your door, let alone became a companion on the journey.

Often times these expectations are external and unmoored from your particular context. You judge yourself by the standards of others without consideration for your present situation.

Instead of thinking ‘this is the time that it will stick’ and ‘I’ve seen so many others do it this way, it will work for me’ you need to relax the pressure.

The body isn’t the driver here, it will naturally follow. It’s a physical arena afterall, there’s no escape.

When you get rid of the expectation to do it a certain way, have it look a particular, and simply start aiming at enjoying what’s right in front of you, that’s when momentum appears and begins to help you take off.

Leaning into Love

It’s not a coincidence that I finally found consistency when I ditched expectations and did what I felt called to.

When I began swimming 2-3 times a week, it gave me something to latch onto. I wasn’t going especially long or hard, but I was doing it and having fun.

I could feel my form improve, my times looked better and better, I could feel myself getting stronger.

At first, a few laps left me huffing and puffing and my whole body screaming. Then a few weeks of showing up allowed me to start swimming more purposefully, with less effort, and more affect.

It was a moment of inspiration that guided me to the pool. The mind followed, constructing the rationale and making the plan on how to execute. The body then got in line, and happily did the work. It all fit together.

Without interest in the activity, it will never open up to you. That’s why just moving the body mechanically on its own doesn’t create momentum in exercise. There’s no stacking. No feeling of progression. Sure the numbers might start to look a bit better, but there’s no anchor to understand why or how. You don’t really care about it.

That’s the little secret behind EVERY person who gets after it in the gym consistently. They use love to power them through all the moments that make them want to quit. It’s care in the activity, interest in the skill progression, determination to match feel and numbers, and desire to become excellent for it’s own sake.

No wonder it’s never really ‘clicked’ for you. You’ve never given yourself a fair shake. It’s like biking with a brake on your tire, or swimming against the current.

But a simple change in framing, using enjoyment as the FIRST signal, will change it all in a powerful way you can only experience when you take that FIRST STEP.

Your turn to GO!

I often say to my athletes and coaching clients ‘Most of the time the FIRST STEP is the HARDEST STEP.’

I also teach them this important mental frame “When you are doing a hard thing by definition, making it easier to start and keep going in that hard thing is not substituting an easy thing. Why make a hard thing artificially harder?”

And that’s what most people do when trying to start a consistent exercise habit.

It’s HARD to workout 4-6 times a week. To discipline yourself to show up when you don’t want to and push through physical, mental, and spiritual resistance.

Even the people who’ve been successful at finding consistency struggle with showing up and finding motivation, but they are experts at one thing; taking the first step.

They remove resistance to getting started. That’s what you need to do here.

Remove the resistance by letting enjoyment power you take step one of the journey.

It’s the exact spur that got me into the pool. Getting into the pool led to me take my first outside run for it’s own sake. Going on the first run led me to my first trail run. Ever since that day 12 years ago I’ve trail run 2-3 times a week without fail (first few winters I subbed swimming for trail running but not anymore!).

Taking the first step with positive momentum instead of negative regret made ALL THE DIFFERENCE in my journey and I believe will make all the the difference FOR YOU TOO.

Say it with me, Say it to yourself:

“No more taking the first step out of fear, punishment, regret, frustration, anger, or any other negative emotion.”

Take the first step with positive energy on your side; hope, joy, love, freedom, aspiration, interest, passion, curiosity, creativity, and heck even a bit of 'naiveté’

• Try a sport you’ve always wanted.

• Return to a sport you’ve loved playing and miss.

• Accept an invite to join friends and feed off their passion.

Take the first step with a new perspective in your mind and heart.

Take the first step with love as the primary fuel in your tank.

Take whatever measures you need to simply take step one enthusiastically and not regrettably.

You GOT THIS.

Happy Training Team!