Tag Archives: trying something new

Feel Like Your Fitness Efforts Have Flopped? (Corgi Inspiration Porn)

We’ve all been there.  You put on your best fitness gear, you lace up your sneakers or pump up your bike tires or struggle into your swimsuit (a workout in itself) and head out with trepidation to try something new.  Like the little corgie in the video above, we watch our lab buddy get a running start and leap gracefully and effortlessly into exercise.  But when we try it, well, we don’t look quite so graceful.  Sometimes even well-meaning people we love at us laugh a little bit.  And it makes us shy.  It makes us hesitant to hop in again.

Sometime after a time we will look more graceful as we attempt that form of fitness.  And sometimes, like our little corgi buddy, we just aren’t built to sail gracefully into the sea.  It just isn’t in the genes.  Does that mean we stay dry on the dock?  Do we decide to spend our lives watching the labs get all the tennis balls from our safe spot on the sand?  That depends?

Do you like tennis balls?  Do you like getting wet?  Do you have somebody who can fish you out of the water if you get over your head.  Is jumping in the water in any way at all fun?

If so, I say do as our corgi pal does and just jump in again.  Who cares if somebody laughs.  You got the dang tennis ball, right.  So you just tell the one in the bikini to stop giggling and just throw the bloody ball already, lady!

If tennis balls are not your thing, and you’d rather stay dry that is also cool.  But whatever you choose, I strongly encourage you to not compare yourself to the lab who would look equally silly trying to herd sheep.  And if you want to jump in and get the tennis ball, then do it.  Run down that dock, ignore all the giggling and just leap.

It’s up to you.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want to hear my speak to your group about Corgi Fitness?  Click HERE to learn more.

The Terror of a New Exercise Class

Signs that maybe that exercise class isn't quite right for you...

Signs that maybe that exercise class isn’t quite right for you…

It’s Halloween time so I thought I would talk about one particularly scary situation.  We’ve all experienced the trepidation of starting a new exercise class.  And many of us have experienced the gut roiling horror of finding ourselves locked into the exercise class from hell for 30 minutes, 60 minutes or an eternity depending on the severity of our crimes in some former lives.  Finding yourself “stuck” in a miserable, embarrassing or even dangerous exercise class can turn you away from exercise for a long, long time so I thought I’d share some tips for helping you to avoid this situation.

 

1.  Trust your instincts.  If your walk into a class feels like a jaunt into Dracula’s castle, listen to your gut.  I give you absolute permission to walk into a class and turn right around and walk back out.  If you walk into the classroom and some harpy screams at you for taking her “spot” and the students are speaking  in hushed tones about last week’s fatalities, and the teacher is sniffing you to decide whether or not to suck your blood, then for heaven’s sake, get OUT OF THERE!

Listen to Brenda. Don’t go in there! Uh uh!

2.  Ask to observe the class first.  This little tip can save you so much heartache.  How many times have we gotten ourselves into the middle of a class that just isn’t right for us, but felt to embarrassed to leave the workout floor and walk out in front of everybody?  So we keep on slogging through the exercise class from hell that seems to last  just fifteen minutes from forever?  Don’t do it!  If you ask to watch first, you’re making it clear to the instructor that you’re not sure that it is right for you.  If it looks super easy and fun, then join in!  If it like a nightmare from hell, just walk out.  It’s that easy!  Honestly!

3.  You don’t have to do everything the teacher says.  You should always free to modify moves or not do them at all.  If something hurts, don’t do it!  You can simply march in place or even sit down until you feel ready to join in again.

YOU decide when you've had enough!

YOU decide when you’ve had enough!

4.  Talk to the teacher first.  If you share your concerns with a teacher ahead of time,they can often steer you in the right direction.  They might advise you about the best way to cope with their class, or they may steer you towards a different class altogether.  In any case, communication is key.

5.  Keep your sense of humor.  Even exercise class disasters can be funny if you keep your sense of humor about the whole thing.  As long as you don’t allow yourself to get injured, you’ll simply have a great story to tell or at least something to blog about!

See a new exercise class doesn’t have to be so scary.  Just try these tips and have a ball!

 

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

 

 

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