Conquering Fear, Strong Arming Attitude

sunshinelively

I sometimes feel slight trepidation right before the workout. Like, am I going to be able to do this? I hope my grip holds, that really is a lot of weight and I have no partner etc etc.

It's like there's an emotional state to be conquered, along with all the mental mind games I play with myself about calories and logging and whether weight training is really the best thing over cardio (Barbell Cowgirl helped ^me with that one recently)

Not like a gripping fear or anything more just like a low grade anxiety to push through.

Getting under the weight=getting under the fear. Almost the same thing!

sunshinelively

Lol no biters here oh well I can talk to myself in this empty room and see if anything makes any better sense to me.

I just feel like some fear and anxiety is part of the challenge and the work with this program. Facing any confidence issues I have on what I think I can do. Recognizing when I'm feeling that way and maybe trying to unconsciously sabotage a workout. But also looking at very real safety issues with going too far too soon. Feels good to face fears, conquer them and surprise myself with what I can do.

Then there's the protecting your workout time from encroachers but still making enough time for the people you care about. Hard to do when you have a lot of people depending on you (like teenagers who need rides everywhere and always have some event to get to....not to mention their friends!)

Then there's the dealing with the injuries - strained a hamstring and it messed up my HIIT and cardio now for a week and a half. I can feel the difference already - the workout needs the HIIT to be complete.

Weight training is complex - a lot to consider mentally, emotionally, time management wise

Not sabotaging the diet is my biggest struggle since I love food.

skbarton

Ah, Sunshine - you aren't alone in this... You just happened to post in a lull time....

We all face fears when we challenge ourselves. When I started this program at the end of March I wondered what the hell a 52 year old woman was doing, thinking of lifting those big hunks of iron. Will I be stared at when I enter the boy's toys area... Can I actually increase weight, save muscle while losing fat, figure out what the hell I'm doing without looking like a total idiot? But we beat those fears and insecurities by jumping in and just doing it! And if we don't fully succeed, we are still successful for just trying! We don't beat ourselves up with woulda/coulda/shoulda's and what if's.

I can't really address those time encroachers as my kid is grown and this is now MY TIME - but even if you are still in the "gotta do the kid stuff" stage of life, you do have to make some time for yourself. See if you can come up with a car pool so you can still have some "me" time. We do need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of others.

It's not just weight training that is complex - LIFE is complex. But nothing we cannot handle. I've heard it said that if you want to get something done, give it to the busiest person - because that busy person understands how to manage their time and get things done. You can do this!

Susan

BarbellCowgirl

I definitely agree that lifting is much more of an emotional and mental commitment than other types of exercise. When I was younger, I never gave a thought to taking off for a run or playing a sport just for fun. Weight lifting is a complex process of figuring out your strengths, the goals, the possible form issues, etc. So much to consider. And then there's the whole stigma associated with women who lift....
I felt very anxious when I first started lifting, but I don't have those worries much anymore. As you see your body change and learn to listen to it, you will feel much more confidence. I will say that I do have a bit of anxiety or excitement on deadlift days though(sometimes it's a good thing- it keeps us focused). Usually it ends up giving me a nice adrenaline rush to fuel my workout:)

sunshinelively

Thanks for the replies! I'm not really having a huge struggle just noticed that there are those feelings of fear from time to time. In the beginning I think it was mainly just going into that section of the gym, now that's gone. But lately advancing in weight and feeling some concern with too much too far and getting hurt. Sometimes I think having a workout partner would be nice but I do enjoy the time jut for myself too, at the end of the day I haven't made any moves to find a workout partner so I guess the time alone is more important to me.

Cowgirl, definitely dead lift days gets the anxiety going. Funny! Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.....it's just this small specific feeling that I notice. Actually I get this with push presses too (which I don't think I'm doing right).

Susan, you're only 2 years older than me, my guess is we are the perfect age to pack on some muscle and stare at getting older with confidence! I have a 16 and an 11 year old, normally their stuff is pretty manageable, but now it's the end of the school year and what with softball 3-4 x a week and last minute 2 1/2 hour band concerts, my time lately has been sucked away. Still have made my workouts though. People will challenge you on taking the time for sure. You have to protect it. I'm doing this for myself! I tell the kids, you don't want me living in your basement when I'm old do ya? Lol

I guess what I'm saying is that this program has become important to me and meaningful on a bunch of different levels, which I didn't expect! Great group of women here, too. Everyone experiencing a lot of the same things and all the support is great.

loconnor466

I guess what I'm saying is that this program has become important to me and meaningful on a bunch of different levels, which I didn't expect! Great group of women here, too. Everyone experiencing a lot of the same things and all the support is great.
[/quote]

Thanks for this thread Sunshine, and expressing this ^. I was trying to explain the same thing last night to a friend. I have so fallen in love with lifting and this program and can't seem to explain how it has hit me on different levels, not just physical.
Most people know me as an outgoing and confident person, I do sales for a living for criminy sakes! So for me to have a little fear, and trepidation walking up to the squat rack for the first time was enlightening, humbling and good for me! Totally hear you on deadlift days, I still have some fear of adding too much weight, will I hurt myself, I can't do this, etc. Its also good to know that at 48, I am not the only woman getting a little late start on this journey!

jamaicanlady

Can I tell you that some exercises LITERALLY make me shake before I do them? Like squats. On squat days (when I used to squat heavy) I get a funny feeling in my stomach and so many doubts go through me. My biggest fear is going down and not being able to get back up. My gym has neither a power nor a squat rack and I workout alone so yea, I'm sure you can understand why I'd feel that way.

DouMc

Can I tell you that some exercises LITERALLY make me shake before I do them? Like squats. On squat days (when I used to squat heavy) I get a funny feeling in my stomach and so many doubts go through me. My biggest fear is going down and not being able to get back up. My gym has neither a power nor a squat rack and I workout alone so yea, I'm sure you can understand why I'd feel that way.

How do you get the bar on your back without a rack? or do you use dumbbells? My gym has one power cage and no squat rack and it is almost impossible to get at.

Funnily i don't get nervous about hurting myself, i get nervous before each time i do a different exercise that I suddenly won't be able to do it and that I will make a fool of myself in the gym. So looking at the bar for the deadlift I worry that I will bend down and just fail to pick it up! But I also get nervous before running, i have to play a delicate mind game with myself where I tell myself that I am just going for a short jog and if I feel up to it i can keep going, if i go out intending on going for a long run i panic after 5 minutes and stop!

sunshinelively

thanks loconnor! we're gonna be lean mean 50 year old fighting machines by the time we finish this! LOL btw - i'm taking HRT partly to see if it helps with muscle development, i think so far it has a little. unfortunately made me gain a couple pounds too. :-) i'm post menopausal, i'll try anything haha.

JL - totally!! omg i work out alone too, so it's like wow can i do this? and i always just push myself to do it but it's like there's this anxiety/resistance thing and i kinda have to work up to it. half the time i think it's why i end up doing warm up sets - less intimidating to start off with! ha

DouMc - i play the same kind of games with both weight training and running and how long have i been after it already? i have to mentally prepare for motorcycle riding the same way, too. i think we realize there's built in danger if we go off half-cocked.

overcoming a little bit of fear=really is a good thing! in the long run we're bound to have GREAT confidence!!