The 3 W’s

Coach Rosie

I wanted to talk about 3 words beginning with “W!”  All 3 very much relate to me personally and all 3 are connected in some way. 

The first “W” is “Worrying”.  Oh my goodness!  How much do some of us women worry?  We worry if we haven’t got anything to worry about! My youngest daughter was staying with us once and lying on the settee one night as we watched TV. I spoke to her and she said “oh no mum, you’ve made me forget what I was worrying about!”.  A little later she said I was quiet and I responded, “well I’m now worrying about what you were worrying about!”.  I can see many of you now nodding in agreement, because we just ‘do’ this to ourselves! 

Seriously, there are times in our lives when we are given too much to deal with at once and I was particularly anxious last week over a situation in my life.  I knew I was sinking, and I used all the positive affirmations I always use to no avail.  I really didn’t want to come in for a workout but made the effort.  Within a few minutes Coach Lisa said something which made everyone on the circuit laugh.  There’s no greater medicine than laughter and being with friends, but it’s the workout that does it.  Particularly (and I’m not biased!) Curves.  You immediately feel “lighter” (metaphorically) and able to face whatever it is you’re dealing with.   

So that’s my second “W” – Workout.  It is so important.  Not only for your physical strength but your mental strength.  It is escapism.  It is a good feeling.  It releases those happy hormones that you lose when your anxiety starts to take over.   

I read that you should count from 5 backwards very slowly and then tell yourself that the opposite of what you’re worrying about may happen!  What if it all comes good?  That’s all well and good and hopefully can help. Sometimes we want to just say “yeah right, that’s easy when the problem is solvable” and there are situations that we can’t do anything about but doing that Curves Workout will help straight away.  It’s an immediate “fix”. Even if it’s only 30 minutes. When you get away from it all, it’s 30 minutes making you feel in a better place mentally.  

The 3rd “W” is of course “Walking”.  By being stronger in your body, you will be able to do this much more easily and there is always the Curves app walking challenges to take advantage of.  Within 10 minutes of walking my head is clearer.  My mind isn’t going into overload, and I notice the beautiful colours, hear the birds and just enjoy the atmosphere.  Last week I sat on a bench looking over the lake near me and just breathed it all in.  Walking is so important again for our mental health as well as our physical health.  If you haven’t got a dog just walk anyway!  We’ve got a lovely group of ladies at Curves who have formed their own walking group, everyone is welcome.  Just join! You would be so welcome. Many lovely friendships have been formed through this group. You think about so many things during the time you are walking, and you will end up sleeping so much better, which can be taken away from us once we allow our worries to take over our mind.  

We’re going to be celebrating the Curves app walking challenges and those ladies who are really pushing themselves to their own personal limits.  Not necessarily the highest number of steps (although some of you are absolutely amazing) but those that have joined for the first time and it is well out of their comfort zone. Your workouts are helping you with your other activities more than you probably realise.  Your strong, lean muscles are allowing you to live a much better life with less pain.  

So, that’s the 3 “Ws” I wanted to talk about;  “Worry”, “Workout” and “Walking”.  If you are worried.  If you’ve lost your mojo, if you’re so anxious you even dread walking in through the door, remember we too are human 💜.  We all recognise those feelings, we are there to help you, and you also help each other.  Very often I look up and hear the wonderful conversations on the stretch station.  Just one woman talking to another woman and probably helping her more than she’ll ever realise.  

 
We have to stay in the right mindset.  If we spend so much time worrying about tomorrow today, we’ve lost today.  And tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone.  Easy to say I know, but so very true. If we talk ourselves out of our workout…… then we’ve let the worrying win.  Whether it’s raining or sunny, a 20-minute walk, even a 10-minute walk will clear your thinking, get you away from the niggles in your head for a while.   

A final note: things always seem worse in the middle of the night.  Put your gym stuff out ready.  Ready to face that morning.  It’s not going to beat you…… because at the end of the day, you’re a “Curvette” and “Curvettes are very strong ladies”.