September 13, 2019 “Remember the First Time”
This morning several clients were mumbling, “Where is everybody?”. The 5 AM bootcamp attendance is usually packed, yet this morning there was plenty of extra room on the turf to exercise. I laughed, as did some of my longtime clients, like the Hudson’s, who said it’s getting towards the end of bootcamp. During the last two weeks of the bootcamp many clients start to come in late, don’t bring their meal plan booklets or worse, stop coming all together. Why you ask? The excitement of the first time is fading.
In life there are many first-time events that offer much promise and excitement. And with these first-time events most of us take extra care to ensure we get the full effect of the event, and we prepare with great anticipation. The event could be: the welcoming of the first new baby, the first job after college, the purchase of a new house, a wedding day and the first time at Tadda’s Fitness or any new workout program. All these events require different levels of preparation, because it’s the “first time”. When something is occurring for the first time, we tend to go all out hoping for the best outcome. Once it is no longer the first-time, what happens to our excitement and preparation level? It changes dramatically, like the example of having the first baby.
When a family is welcoming the first new baby there is normally a host of preparation which includes; going to regular doctor appointments, reading all you can about babies, buying all the necessities, having a baby shower and preparing your home. By the second and/or third baby the preparation and excitement changes, there is no gathering of information on babies, the baby will likely get hand-me-downs, and whatever is in place at home is good enough. This is the same reality with starting a fitness program. We take extra care with preparation and are excited about getting started. We purchase all the right foods, read up on fitness and buy the equipment and clothing needed to work out. We start with great intentions but over the long stretch our excitement and preparation lag because it is no longer “The First Time”. Reality has set in and the pain to get fit becomes not worth it, sleeping in becomes more important, eating the wrong foods is more tantalizing than eating what’s good for us and fuels us and our WHYs are pushed by the wayside by the excuses we keep telling ourselves.
Keeping this in mind, we need to focus on the excitement we felt the first time we prepared for this fitness journey, when we first joined, remember the feeling when you lost the first 5lbs, when you started to feel better after walking a flight of steps and when you were able to get back into some jeans you couldn’t wear for years. For new members at Tadda’s fitness I challenge you to keep “the first time” excitement. For returning members remember to create new goals that will help you feel like the first time all over again, keep pushing yourself. We should cherish all events as if they are THE FIRST TIME!! Can I Get It?
