Things I Struggle With
Some people might assume that personal trainers have it all figured out and don’t struggle with anything related to health and fitness. Of course that’s not the case, and I think that many of us come into this field because we had to overcome a struggle or are currently dealing with an issue that has caused us a lot of emotional or physical pain. I know that was the case with me.
Here are 5 areas I’ve personally struggled with on my fitness journey:
1. Injuries - Over the past ~5 years I’ve had the following: Pes anserine bursitis, patellar and quad tendon injuries, quad strain, plantar fasciitis, shoulder, wrist, and low back pain and various other niggles that I misdiagnosed with Dr. Google. Most of these were insignificant in the grand scheme of things and were overcome rather quickly; but I blew all of them WAY out of proportion when they happened, and my catastrophizing only prolonged my recovery and did more harm than good.
2. Moderation and holding myself back - I’ve never had trouble with motivation or doing the work. My issue has always been doing too much and going overboard, especially when things are going well. I’ve definitely gotten better at prioritizing consistency over intensity and “stopping on rep short” most days, but I still have a hard time recognizing when I have done enough.
3. Recovery - I spend a lot of time and energy training in the gym or on my bike (things that stress and break the body down) but I’m rather neglectful of the things that will actually help me recover and adapt to that training. The two big buckets are nutrition (I struggle to get in enough protein throughout the day and fuel around/during workouts) and sleep (on average I get less than 7 hours a night, and it often isn’t the best quality).
4. Body image - I’ve always been self-conscious of my body, and worry that people judge me for not “looking the part.” I don’t look as strong or as muscled as many other trainers out there, but I’ve also never had the typical lean build of a runner or cyclist (I have the build of someone who looks like he sorta work out, but also eats way too much ice cream, which I suppose is kind of accurate). Of course everyone is built differently and I’m sure most people don’t care, but it’s honestly still something I think about.
5. Caring too much - Training is a big part of my life, which means I spend a lot of time thinking about it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s easy for thinking to turn into rumination when things are not going well, obsessing over minor details and injuries, or second-guessing the choices I make in my program. As a self-coached athlete I struggle to find the right balance of being disciplined and fully committed to the training process, yet somewhat detached and objective so that my emotions don’t get in the way.
Hopefully this helps you feel better about your own training, and see that nobody has it figured out, no matter their profession or experience.
What is something that you’re struggling with on your health and fitness journey? I would love to help.