Healthy Living Blog

Fear: A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

Fear of a Treadmill: A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger posed by going to level 6 for 60 seconds on a treadmill.

Ok, so I've been naturally afraid of level 6 on the treadmill. I'm sure I'm not alone!! Not only does the number itself begin to sound intimidating (compared to level 3, let's say) but the treadmill even sounds intense at level 6!

My biggest fear is falling off the treadmill. It's not uncommon - heck, Madonna just fell off her treadmill last month! I believe the news report said she was going level 6 for 60 seconds on the treadmill....but I could be wrong. ;)

The first remedy to fear is to face it head-on - and that's what Chad had me do in the studio yesterday. I was immediately faced with the task to run for 60 seconds at level 6....three times. And I did it although not willingly at first. Ok...not willingly at ALL but I did it only because I knew he would kick my butt if I didn't!! :) I survived despite my attempts at negotiating a lower time, an easier speed or a different day to conquer this fear. And you know what? It wasn't all that bad! I mean, I was winded when I was done but I didn't die - I didn't fall off the treadmill - and I managed to repeat that effort 4 more times.

Fear: The feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

I want to disect this definition.

"The feeling of agitation and anxiety......." Yes, fear is JUST A FEELING - an EMOTION that we create inside our bodies and mind. It CAN be OVERCOME.

"...caused by the presence or imminence of danger." How imminent was this danger at the studio yesterday? My thoughts dictated to me that the danger was immediate and inescapable thus creating the emotions of fear (of falling off the treadmill) that has kept me from reaching my goal of level 6. The thoughts and the fear are interconnected therefore if you can eliminate the fearful thought, the emotion should quickly dissipate.

Irrational emotions are created by irrational thoughts. For instance, I could run a 5.7 on the treadmill but 6.0 seemed threatening and caused a huge amount of anxiety for me! That was definitely an irrational fear stemming from an irrational thought that I could never add an extra .3 to my treadmill without falling off!

If we all had the courage (and encouragement from people like Chad) to face our fears, imagine the difference that would make in our lives! Imagine the success we would achieve. Imagine the self-confidence we could gain!

My next goal is on the horizon......I plan to face it differently. The only thoughts I will entertain are the ones that know I can do this! And I will stop any fear coming between me and that number 7!

Thank you Chad for your support, confidence and patience. Personal training is not just about training your body to become fit and healthy. It's also about training your mind to become fit and healthy as well. Chad does both extremely well!