Wednesday musings, 9/7/16: comparison

Wednesday musings, 9/7/16
Clients hire a personal trainer for many different reasons. I train clients in their 30s that want to be fit and feel strong, and I have clients in their 60s that want to play golf or run a 1/2 marathon without injuring themselves. No one compares his workout to anyone else’s because the instruction is individualized.*

I recently had a series of small personal successes. A blog I wrote had over 1000 views in the first 36 hours, I was able to perform 3 sets of 3 pull-ups (2 on the 4th set), and my business page hit over 300 “likes.” To an outsider, any of these things might seem insignificant, especially when compared to other people in my field. If I were to compare myself to others, it is possible I would get discouraged and stop writing/training/producing. We live in a world where much is on display. It is easy to get caught up in how successful/popular/fit/perfect everyone seems to be.

Bene Brown writes in her book, “Rising Strong,” “Stay in your own lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy.” There are so many people out there that understand the importance of exercise, but simply have no idea where to start. It all looks so daunting, and it seems like everyone else is so much more fit than they could ever be. If this sounds familiar, instead of comparing yourself to anyone else, start with what you can handle, even if it’s a 5 minute walk. And celebrate the 5th day in a row you take that 5 minute walk, not by eating, but by acknowledging to yourself you have accomplished more exercise than you did last week. This is how change happens. For years, I wrote blogs that no one read. To have 1000 people read my blog in a fairly short amount of time is a big deal to me. To celebrate, I think I will write another blog.

*There are benefits to group workouts as well. It has been suggested people push themselves harder in a group setting than they would if they were working out alone.