Irrational Thinking

allnaturalmama wrote: »

Okay so I know this is so dumb but I’m more afraid of hurting myself during weightlifting than I am of doing daily things around the house/yard. I haven’t lifted in about 2 years and so obviously returning to weightlifting I’d start off super light, but even that freaks me out for some reason despite the fact that I have two kids that I’m constantly lifting.

How do I get over this thinking?? Because seriously if I don’t get back into it, I become such an all or nothing person and that applies to my diet too so then I eat super bad because I’m not exercising and I’m trying to lose weight not gain.

Easy. Get a trainer to assess and help you.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

A rephrase of what you said is: You don't like lifting weights, but you do like doing things around the house and yard.

That's fine. Just do lots of stuff around the yard. Take up some other activities you enjoy. The main thing is to stay active. You don't have to lift weights if you don't want to.

Best of luck!

I am an all or nothing person as well. I also have anxiety and that sounds like you do too (at least when it comes to weights).

It sounds like you are more afraid of Olympic lifting and/or crossfit as they are the ones more likely to have explosive movements. You do not under any circumstance need to do those kind of exercises in order to be gain muscle or be healthy.

The best way to get over something that causes you anxiety is to do that thing. It sucks but I know from experience that it's the only way. I have never met anyone who overcame a fear by avoiding what they were afraid of. Do it in small steps if you have to. Just put on your gym clothes, go to the gym parking lot and sit in your car then go home if you need to. Go into the gym and just use a treadmill for 5 minutes and leave if you have to. Use one of the weight machines with very little weight on them and leave if you have to. Use 3 lbs dumbbells to do some bicep curls and leave if you have to. The important part is to do something no matter how small.

Powerlifting is just a fancy way of saying that you want to lift the most weight possible. The core exercises of powerlifting are the some of the best free weight moves you can do (squat, bench press, and deadlift). The most important thing with any free weight movement is to get the form first. You can start with a Smith machine to get a idea of what each exercise feels like. After that move on to using a bar without any weight. Ideally you could have someone video you from the side so you can see how your form looks (i.e. rounding your back, knee placement in squats, bending your knees too much or not enough, etc.) and work from there. Only start putting on weight plates once your form is what it needs to be.

I hope this helps. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like to. Disclaimer though I'm sarcastic and I swear a lot!