EUGENIZATION.

One thing that never fails to surprise new clients is how quickly workouts in a properly organized program become difficult.  It’s all too easy to become disheartened, as if you’ve failed somehow; as what was “easy” for you all of a sudden became alarmingly hard.

“What happened?”, you say, as if you caught a glimpse of physical mastery, only to lose it in a second…

What happened is that you crossed the line from neophyte to novice.  No longer are you merely floundering to master exercise technique; you’re now doing things that will actually reflect meaningful change in your body.  In other words, you’re actually doing productive exercise.

On the one hand, I can see why it’d be distressing: Culturally, we see images of fitness models smiling while pumping away at a 3 lb weight, form (and make-up) perfect.  While you, on the other hand, are barely keeping the bar in your hands; sweating, cursing, and trying not to think of how wonderful it would be to drop this ridiculous load onto your trainer’s foot.

On the other hand, you’re working with more effort than most trainees will ever muster.  And unlike the rest of them, you’ll actually see results.

It’s ok that you’re struggling.  No, you won’t have perfect form, though you should always strive for perfection in your technique. No, productive exercise won’t be pretty or pleasant, but you might just learn to enjoy it.