Personal Training: Whatever Your 100% Looks Like, Give It!
Marathon Runners;
At Mile 20, I thought I was dead
At mile 22, I wished I was dead
At mile 24, I knew I was dead
At mile 26.6, I realized I had become too tough to kill!
Comfort Zone:
Your comfort zone is a situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not tested and you do not have to do anything new or difficult! Creating a comfort zone is a healthy adaptation for much of our lives. But so is stepping out of our comfort zone when it’s time to transition, grow, and transform.
We barricade ourselves behind an invisible barrier and don’t venture out because beyond the wall is pain. The Comfort Zone isn’t a physical space, it’s a way of life that avoids anything that might be painful (Psychology Today, 2012). Physical Pain results from nerve stimulation and is an unpleasant sensation that ranges from mild discomfort to agony.
Pain is not just a physical sensation. It is influenced by attitudes, beliefs, personality and social factors, and can affect emotional and mental wellbeing. When we are putting our bodies through physical pain (training and movement) how we respond to this pain then affects whether we push past our comfort zone.
The part of us that avoids pain is completely irrational. It lives in a primitive, unconscious world where all pain—even pain that would be good for us—triggers the same fear: “I’m going to die!” It clings to the Comfort Zone as if its life depended on it. Physical pain when we are training/exercising is a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles and the increase in heart and respiration rate which makes it harder to breathe!
The Comfort Zone kicks in and we subconsciously pull back our effort levels! Determine the difference between comfort and danger zones and dip our toe into the performance zone right in the middle! So, what will pushing out of my comfort zone in a physical capacity do for me?
Moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise training increases pain tolerance in healthy individuals (Jones, Booth, Taylor, Barry, 2014).
But the volunteers in the exercise group displayed a substantially greater ability to withstand pain. Their pain thresholds had not changed; they began to feel pain at the same point they had before. But their tolerance had risen.
“To me,” said Matthew Jones, a researcher at the University of New South Wales who led the study, the results “suggest that the participants who exercised had become more stoical and perhaps did not find the pain as threatening after exercise training, even though it still hurt as much,” an idea that fits with entrenched, anecdotal beliefs about the physical fortitude of athletes.
Ready to give 100%? Check out our Oxford Personal Training programmes!
Our team of coaches deliver a wide range of courses both online and face to face across Oxford. From Pain & Posture courses to Learning to Lift or Improving your Running. If you’re looking for one to one training our coaches are available both in our studio, online or outside. We train people across the world.
Strong Body – Strong Mind!!
No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which is body is capable (Socrates).
“Watching someone who has for the first time, pushed past their physical threshold, and seeing in their face the realization that the pain was only temporary but the feeling of elation and achievement would be enduring, is incredible to witness”.
So, what else will pushing out of my comfort zone in a physical capacity do for me??
Developmental Psychology has long argued that protecting people from pain and adversity doesn’t make us happier or more secure it actually increases our sensitivity to pain/suffering!
Living well does not mean avoiding pain and living in our comfort zone, it means knowing when to push into the outer edges and enduring pain for the right reasons!
The right reasons??? Well, physical exertion (training) improves cardiovascular health, increases muscle mass and bone density, reduces anxiety and depression along with a myriad of other benefits!
And if enduring pain in our life is good for us, then choosing a pain that has long-term health benefits is surely a winner!!!
Not only that – training in a safe environment with experienced instructors means you can explore that outer edge of the comfort zone without pushing into the danger zone!
If you have to choose a pain;
Choose wisely, Choose training!
WHATEVER YOUR 100% LOOKS LIKE, GIVE IT!!!
About The Project PT
The Project PT uses fitness to empower people. Through our Oxford Personal Training Studio, we use 4 pathways to achieve our mission. Our first pathway started in August 2019 creating accessible and fun fitness events in unusual settings, making fitness enjoyable for all. Our second pathway offers free fitness classes for young children, helping them to build a positive relationship with exercise and sport. The 3rd pathway comes in the form of our Movement Studio, a nature-inspired space teaching people how to move their body's in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment. Our 4th pathway is still in the development stages, Youth Lift will engage with young people on the periphery of being excluded from school. Using the medium of lifting weights to empower them to make other positive changes in their lives.
