Confidence:
Do you live in a state of being certain? A mental state where what you have to offer any given situation will result in success? Are you in a place where, no matter where you go or what you do your head is held high, you look people in the eye, and you shake hands with confidence? If so, maybe you can disregard this post. If not then maybe you should continue reading.
I feel that everyone, at some point in their life, lacks the confidence needed in a given situation. While this post will dive more into the confidence, in regards to physical ability, which alone will have a direct reflection on ones confidence in respect to a person’s mental state. Since this blog is in relation to CrossFit, being someone who does CrossFit and makes a living around CrossFit, let us discuss gym confidence.
Have you ever walked into a gym and immediately regretted the decision? You see the person on the treadmill running for, what seems like, ever. Then you see the big guy, veins rippling from every where to include his ears. Finally, there’s the person in the corner doing odd movements you have never seen. You immediately get a sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach, but you made it through the door so you soldier on and knock out a few super sets then quickly make your exit. This is due to lack of confidence, lack of knowledge, and lack of direction. All of these factors can contribute to failure but there are ways to mitigate and possibly alleviate these triggers. First, the results depend on what you do next.
Maybe you pushed passed your first and made it a few weeks just to abandon another workout routine, maybe you didn’t come back but the gym is still charging you for a membership. Either way you ARE worse for the wear. You have developed a mental road block which connects the gym to a bad experience and will stop you from reaching your goals physically, which will then cause your health to fade faster over the remaining years of your life which brings me to my second point, fitness as an investment.
You need to start looking at fitness like an investment. We are told to invest our money so we can retire and live a happier life in our “golden” years. Well, funny story, how happy are you going to be in assisted living or deceased before your time due to poor health? The first step to changing your life is changing your view point. Every day we are inundated with mass amounts of marketing telling us how easy and quick these changes happen, but they are wrong. Change is hard, change takes time, and change takes grit. Not a magic shake which can also “make you money” when you sell it to your friends. Change alone can be daunting, but with a group of like-minded individuals it becomes easy and fun…and in comes CrossFit (at this point I want you to imagine the kool-aid man bursting through a wall but wearing a CrossFit shirt.)
We make you strong, not just physically but mentally. You will end up outside of your comfort zone and work in an area which you may have avoided your entire life. You will find the ability to function in a zone of discomfort for short periods of time and the ability to endure life in this zone more and more. This is where all of the magic happens in fitness and in the real world. No one is applauded for his or her ability to live life in a zone of comfort, but one’s ability to operate under pressure is a commendable attribute. This zone creates a point of empathy with your fellow man. It is comparable to the comradery built in the military or on a sports team.
One of the greatest things about CrossFit is that every single person in the gym has been in your shoes. They know what it feels like to walk through those doors for the first time, to wonder what the hell an AMRAP is, and how the initial lack of confidence feels. This fact alone contributes to a higher success rate in a group fitness environment. You have people who genuinely care about your well-being, encouraging you along the way. People are not staring into mirrors with their headphones on ignoring your struggles, they are there with you, engaged in your success, and raising you up in your failures.
Your fitness is an investment in your future, so why not surround yourself with people who look at it the same way? When you feel better about yourself, you will be more confident and this alone will carry over into all aspects of your life. Obviously, I want you to try CrossFit, anywhere, not just at CrossFit Oshkosh, but more so I want you to have confidence in everything you do. This will lead to a happier view point, and it doesn’t hurt knowing you have better form and can lift way more than that person running on a treadmill for long periods of time, and it only takes you one trip from the car with your groceries.
The first step to building your confidence is signing up to try something new. So take the leap. Go to our scheduler, and book your “No Sweat Intro”. Maybe you love what you see and you sign up right there, maybe you do not, but at least you can say you tried.
The beauty of what we do every day, is watching someone come out of their cocoon. Sometimes it just takes a few classes but other times it may take a few months. But eventually you will see the power of someone gaining confidence. Gaining the ability to say, “I can handle this situation.” Take your health back, it belongs to you. Embrace your shortfalls and live the life you deserve.
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