This one of my favorite times of the year. The leaves fall from trees and turn vibrant colors. The weather is comfortable with non-humid warm days and cooler nights that can be supplemented with my favorite leather jackets and fashionable attire (although these specific items for me are neatly stored away until my girls get a little more adroit with their motor skills and dinner side manners). But most significantly, it’s Halloween season and that means scaaaary fun.
I’m a closet slasher film fan from the mid 80’s and onward. I’ve seen a litany list of films that I was initially scared to death to see. But I had friends that insisted on having their teenage birthdays ensconced in the cool darkness of a movie theater having the bejesus scared out of them. And I was required to be a part of it.
The first half-dozen viewings of horror films were accompanied with hard-to-fall-asleep nights swearing that I was seeing figures in the shadows of my bedroom. Under my bed. Wrapping on my window. Clawing at my door.
But I mostly got over it. Mostly. There are still moments. Maybe not Freddy Krueger bursting through my walls. That’s silly. But most recently the basement TV was still on, blaring and I half expected the Strangers sitting on my couch with axes in hand ready for me.
It’s kinda like starting an exercise program. Starting out is always the hardest part. No one likes being the new kid. But in time it becomes sort of like a club like my horror movie grade school friends: once your body acclimates to the first half dozen or so training sessions it gets a whole lot easier. And you get to refine your weaknesses and improve your strengths.
But the opening phases on what to do and how to do them can be daunting. It begins with mindset. Shifting your thoughts toward the outside quality of life is one of the major driving forces. The capability of participating in hobbies like hiking, tennis or yard work that have been avoided for the last few years can be a targeted payoff for work performed in the gym. Being able to lift up your kids, nieces, nephews or even pet dogs or cats can rekindle the vehicle of physical connection and cultivate a newfound sense of self reliance.
It has to start somewhere and somehow. Getting a professional coach to help you figure out your movement limitations, uncover neglected injuries and address immediate discomfort and pain through a screening or assessment is the first big step in tackling the imposing task of a training regimen. Addressing weaknesses first and foremost will result in a more efficacious program and won’t impede progress. As the body gets stronger and more sound it will make smaller strength wins more ubiquitous and foster more confidence with newer movements later on.
And as you become more proficient at training techniques, form and functionality, you begin to see the infinite list of benefits it provides your body and mind. Moving without pain or impediments, completing more work throughout your day due to higher energy levels and having clearer and more concise thoughts are just a few of the features that an efficient program can offer. Old injuries and hesitations of doing specific tasks each become a distant memory.
And the last chapter of a well-designed strength and mobility program is the aesthetic improvements. Old dresses and old jeans that are too tight can now become form-fitting. Going to the beach is now something be looked forward to and not stressed out about. New acquaintances think you’re a decade younger than your actual age and your doctor may decide the long-standing statin is no longer necessary.
So maybe a training program isn’t quite the same scary fun as being taken on a horror story, but it can be as rewarding as getting through a viewing of The Exorcist or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Maybe it isn’t scary fun. And it might be a little scary to begin. And perhaps the actual work won’t be the traditional “fun”. But all of the resulting accomplishments, new abilities of the body and hormonal releases will subsequently bear more fun in your every day life.
It all starts with a plan.
