If Fear Can’t Stop You, Nothing Will.

[Why exercise?] 

The ball rolls and hits your feet, you pick it up and walk back to the back line. You can feel your heart trying to catch up with your breath. Scores 16-15, game three. Ball in your hands, you have all the power, the pressure is on. The referee blows his whistle. Dribble 1, 2, 3, 4. Spin the ball between your fingers once. You look up at the other side of the court. You see the libero shifting her weight back and forth. You close your eyes and take a deep breath. Toss the ball up thinking deep zone one. You put everything you have into that serve, the ball floats over the top of the net, landing exactly on that end line. IN! ACE! Everyone rushes onto the court flooding you with emotion. You did it. All the hard work, all the sweat and tears. For this exact moment. Nothing can ever take that away from you. Ever. That’s your power. That’s your strength. That moment can take you anywhere you want it to.

Nothing is more empowering than doing something you never thought you could do. Challenging yourself, putting in the work. Then on game day winning the game. You feel unstoppable. Feeling that way will give you confidence. Gaining confidence will make you a stronger person mentally and physically. 

Every season I tell my players that if I can teach them, not to be afraid of defeat, but to use that fear to fuel them to be a better player, I have done my job. Yes, I did just get aced 5 times in a row, but when they serve that ball the 6^th time. I’m not going to stand back scared. I’m going to take a step forward and say try to do it again. I’m going to look that fear of defeat in the eye and say I’m not afraid. I’m better than you. That lesson can be applied everywhere and anywhere, in sports, in life, and in work. There will be times in your life where you can either run and hide or face it head on. I hope every time, you face it.

One of my favorite quotes sums it up quite nicely.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt

So how does this relate to exercise??

Because you can challenge yourself through exercise.  

Once you learn to do that. It’s not going to be a chore to exercise its going to be something you WANT to do.

So maybe you've never been able to run a mile without stopping, Challenge yourself that in 5 weeks you will do it without walking, that you’ll train 3 days a week.   Here’s a schedule that you can follow.   

Please spend 5-10 minutes warming up and stretching and 5 minutes cooling down and stretching.

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Week 1	Rest	Jog for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute do this for 15 minutes	Go swimming!	Jog for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute do this for 15 minutes	Family or friends bike ride
Week 2	Go on a hike!	Jog for 3 minutes, walk for 45 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 3 minutes, walk for 45 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 3 minutes, walk 45 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Go swimming!
Week 3	Try a yoga class, refresh your mind.	Jog for 3 minutes, walk for 30 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 3 minutes, walk for 30 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Go swimming!	Jog for 3 minutes, walk 30 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Family or friends bike ride
Week 4	Go swimming!	Jog for 4 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 4 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 4 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Play frisby golf
Week 5	Rest	Jog for 5 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Go swimming!	Jog for 5 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Rest	Jog for 5 minutes, walk for 15 seconds do this for 15 minutes	Family or friends bike ride
Week 6		Time yourself for your first mile without stopping!

Please remember that if you have any pain to stop what you’re doing and get seen by a medical professional.

Most importantly have Fun! If you hate the treadmill; find a park near you to run.  Don’t limit yourself to conventional ways of exercise let’s make it something you can enjoy.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Leslie Faust