Home is where most of us feel safe, unjudged, at peace, comfortable, warm. When leaving home, that is when the world might turn into a battlefield for some– dealing with other people’s attitudes, behaviors, lack of empathy, etc. We never actually know what will come of the day when we step outside our doors; it is unknown, but we leave and hope for the best. #fingerscrossed

Truth be told, I can understand why the gym can feel like home for some and for others feel like a battlefield. It is easy for someone like me to say the gym is my second home because I work at one, I pretty much have been going to a gym ongoing for years now and while different gyms have different atmospheres; I always try to go in thinking “this is my time, I am here for me” and ignore the white noise in the background. Not so easy for many others to do, different reasons but still remains a common denominator: They don’t like the gym. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, I definitely am not looking to sway you to go to a gym that makes you feel uncomfortable because I was that person once & felt like an outsider in a big room full of people who all were on different missions, not to mention I struggle with social anxiety, so for me it was like one of the hardest things to adjust to.

However, I do not want people to be afraid to go inside a gym and be themselves, you are allowed to not be knowledgeable about equipment, you are allowed to be confused as to where to start, you are allowed to play it safe and use the treadmill, you are allowed to people watch, you are allowed to feel overwhelmed by how much there is in one room and think to yourself you can’t possibly do this, you are allowed to be scared of judgement from others, you are allowed to walk around and find something you like best. As a matter of fact, I expect this of people when they walk into a gym for a first time or try different locations to get a feel for the atmosphere and I expect it from those who have gone to a gym before but for whatever reason whenever they step into one, they are just as confused as to where to start as you are. I’d love to say it is easy, but nothing is easy about stepping outside your comfort zone and trying something new or trying something that scares you — although I am all about giving it a go and not being afraid to not like it but also always putting your best foot forward so that you get a true feel for the situation.

Some of things that I find that are helpful when coming into a gym include:

having your exercises planned out ahead of time via phone or paper

Fitness WonderWoman

Shay-lon Moss

The majority of my clients have what I call “extrinsic” goals, and motivation. To be honest, most people probably have more extrinsic reasons to want to stay healthy vs intrinsically. I don’t judge either way, but I know one will be better off in the long term scheme of things —

When people workout to lose weight, gain muscle, tone, work a specific part of their body — they are using extrinsic goals/motivation — this is their means to keep going. When someone is working out to feel good, be more confident, to stay active, because they love working out — generally speaking, they using more intrinsic goals/motivation. I, myself use intrinsic motivation to keep me going, while I do have extrinsic goals, if none of them were met, I would still maintain exercise because I like that it helps my mental health/well-being (overall gives me a good feeling). The problem with extrinsic motivation is it fades away eventually — either you hit the goal & now what? , you give up because you feel hopeless, you rely on others to push yourself or hold yourself accountable & when they fail to do so; they are to blame for you giving up, and you tend to be harder on yourself because you seek something that you want RIGHT NOW. Whereas, intrinsic people, tend to be okay with taking their time, they have a purpose that fuels them enough where if they don’t meet the extrinsic goals, they can keep going, they hold themselves accountable and they don’t give up very easy.

Having a little of both is normal as well, because sometimes we want extrinsic goals to help us feel better about ourselves and the intrinsic goal is now maintaining that afterwards. We spoke on motivation in the previous post and how we use it as a form of reasoning to do an act or behavior — so when you need the motivation, you want to find something that gives you overall purpose in the long term, and not just a short term gain.

Extrinsic goals aren’t bad, but intrinsic goals will last longer and keep things from going stale. Having a bit of both is a safe way to manage your goals and keep yourself motivated. If you are like myself and have more intrinsic reasons than you will probably make fitness a lifestyle rather than a fad & if you are extrinsic, think about things that are important to you in your day to day activities — things that as you get older will get harder/more challenging and how you see yourself conquering them <— this might help to put into a different perspective.

Fitness WonderWoman

Shay-lon Moss

“The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.”

For some people the word motivation moves them — it serves a purpose, for others, the word is pointless, it doesn’t ignite their flame. Motivation can be quite complicated, to feel motivated is a huge step forward but as quickly as we can feel motivated — it can go away.

When people use motivational quotes or give motivational speeches, they are hoping that it will give you a reason to do something. Motivation works much like the wind; it blows you in a certain direction BUT that doesn’t keep you from choosing to go in the opposite direction the wind is blowing you.

As a personal trainer, I find myself feeling the need to keep my client’s motivated because most of my clients don’t love working out, and need the accountability – not a problem. The problem is if my motivation lacks, they will lack motivation & it becomes a domino effect. If somebody doesn’t already have a reason for wanting to do something, then it becomes one-sided and you will always have to feed them reasons (always motivate them) to keep going, to not give up, to push themselves, etc. In my profession that can take a mental toll because not only are you having to fuel yourself with constant motivation but now you are responsible of other people’s motivation as well — depending on the amount of people who need the motivation, you may not be fueling yourself enough to maintain their motivation & in turn you start to burn yourself out too quickly. Motivation is a great thing to have, and even better when you use it to motivate others in a positive way BUT it is something you have to continue fueling yourself with in order to fuel others — keep this in mind.

Motivation doesn’t always come easy. Fuel yourself with it but don’t spread it too thin.

Before this blog becomes soaked in exercises, body movements, functionality and in depth chats on other topics pertaining to health & wellness.. let’s talk shoes!

They say shoes are a way to a “girls heart” but more importantly shoes are a way to execute an exercise safely, because without good shoes; our form suffers & when form suffers = we get hurt, we create imbalances, we overcompensate, and we tend to create issues that could have been avoided.

What’s considered a “Good Shoe”

A good shoe is a shoe that fits the activity. For everything we do, there is a recommended shoe.

Just to name a few .. & what they do.

Walking shoes: used for walking. Yes, walking needs a shoe too. As a matter of fact, I normally pay attention to how people walk when I am people watching — something I got in the habit of doing after college (I had a biomechanics college Professor who would make it a point to watch how people walk, and he would always prompt me to do the same thing whenever I was out and about). It was interesting because I soon learned that just by watching people walk, I could understand how it could work for or against them when doing certain exercises or performing certain task. A walking shoe typically does a good job absorbing shock, and also will provide comfort for long durations that can help prevent blisters or calluses.

Running shoes: Used for running. Many runners realize the importance of a good running shoe (it makes a world of difference). When choosing a running shoe, you want something that will be comfortable and I would normally even go as far as saying going to a professional shoe store who can customize your feet to the exact shoe(s) so that you have a safe running experience. For serious runners, the right shoe is the difference in their pace, speed, foot movement, and will have to withstand the terrain in which they run on & the mileage in which they run. For recreational runners, having the right shoe can save you a whole lot of foot issues in the future.

Lifting shoes: Used for lifting. Now we have tons of different lifting shoes, and I won’t go into a lot of detail about them all but normally for lifters, we have weightlifting shoes (raised heel) which are great for those who have poor ankle mobility & helps deepen the squat and allows lifters to perform better without having the knees give in. Flat sole shoe (converse) which mostly powerlifters use (including myself) although they work great for lifting, for those that have weaker ankles — not a great idea to lift in and for those that do front squats or high bar squatting — they aren’t the best shoe for the support but can work if you can manage good form .. the drawback in the narrow footing.. (which I find uncomfortable). We have going barefoot — this is a free option but again used for those that don’t need the ankle support when lifting, Cross-Training shoes — great for crossfit athletes and those who do a lot of jumping or lateral movements (somewhat popular among young athletes) but not great for squatting and/or running but definitely can be used for training in various other forms.

There are tons of shoes but the point is…

A good shoe is going to fit your lifestyle choice. Nothing has to be overly expensive to work, it is about the use you plan on getting out of the shoe and what you need in order to perform the task. Being in the fitness profession, I have learned to inform my clients about the type of shoes they should wear when doing certain movements so that they can get the most out of the exercise with the correct form and posture, and perform the exercise safely. A good shoe is a good start.

Fitness WonderWoman

Shay-lon Moss