Why emotions and feelings are the most important part of your exercise program.

IF you hate your exercise regime but do it to get the results, or worse avoid exercising because of how it feels, this might be for you. 

Why do I feel that it's the most important part of choosing a training program? Let's start at the things that are commonly accepted as highly desirable in a personal trainer:

High level of expertise and knowledge - up to date and relevant qualifications and experience in what you want to do and achieve.

Excellent communication - no one wants a PT that lurks like a pervert and has the communication skills of a lamp post.

Adaptability - I don't know about you, but how my body feels changes on a daily basis. I'd need a trainer who can cope with that and adapt my program there and then.

Empathy and motivation - Everyone goes through illness and personal issues. At these times, working out can be either just the ticket to take their mind off it or completely off the table until they are feeling better. 

Safety - This one's not obvious however, pick a trainer who knows how to use good scientific research to keep up to date with most advanced methods of training. If they tell you they read it on google, instagram  or wikipedia - run for the hills.

I'm not going to argue about the importance of each of these but something is missing. Where's the joy and fun? That's where emotions and feelings come in to it. 

Let's look at emotions and feelings. As an individual - the things you *yes you* fear/love are different.  These can be hurdles or motivators!

Exercises undoubtedly produce sensations, that become reactions and end in emotions. Based on your experience in the past, how you feel now and loads of other factors will determine whether you like it or not.

Hence the wheel, it helps me to design a workout that taps in to your feelings. So you never have to do a workout that you think is a bit Meh or terrifies you.

By the way, did you know that the collective noun for a group of feelings is called an Experience? 

This morning my client, experienced a lot of emotions, carefully chosen by me to give her the best pre-skiing workout she's ever had. She's looking forward to her next session to see where it takes her. So let's spin that wheel and I'll talk you through the workout in emotional terms.

Fear - nervous - worried. The previous week, my client had fallen and bruised her knees.

Surprise - moved - stimulated. We moved through some familiar exercises to see how they felt. There was no pain, everything was going well.

Surprise - Amazed - Astonished. The exercises were challenging but we kept the variation high and the repetitions low. She loved them and can recreate them easily at home in between sessions.

Joy - Happy - Triumphant - We moved on to some new exercises that were going to make a huge difference to her skiing.

Joy - Content - Satisfied. We moved on to some familiar skills training with enough variety and load to challenge. She was confident and sailed through.

Love - Desire - Satisfied - our final exercise was her favourite. A brilliant way to finish our session.

Does your trainer use feelings? Do you want to leave your sessions, wondering what just happened but feeling that it was brilliant and you can't wait to see what we do next time?

If you'd like to find out more about fitness session experiences with me online or at my personal studio - book a free discovery call here.