Fitness Training
Develop the Strength to Move with Grace
- You want your activities to be easier.
- You find “typical” gym culture distasteful and intimidating.
- You’d like to become the best version of you, to function well doing what you want to do every day.
- It’s been hard to figure out where to start and how to exercise safely and effectively.
- You want to feel good in your body.
At Dauntless Grace self compassion is a core value
You’ll not only get stronger, but you’ll practice moving better. You will be consistently challenged to the edge of your ability, but not past it.
Seeing yourself doing what you didn’t know you were capable of is one of life’s most gratifying experiences.
We all know there are lots of reasons to exercise
- Not dying sooner.
- Reducing one’s risk of various forms of cancer.
- Decreasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Having healthier blood pressure.
- Reducing the risk of type II diabetes, regardless of weight status.
- Improved mental health, particularly reducing anxiety and depression.
- Improved brain function, especially memory and processing speed
(This list is from the WHO guidelines for physical activity.)
life worth living.
But increasing your fitness also gives you the ability to do the activities that make life worth living.
- Hiking.
- Gardening.
- The things we need to do, like clean the house.
- Play pickleball.
- Walk the streets of Rome.
- Go dancing.
- Play with children.
- Prune the fruit trees.
I feel so lucky to have someone like Roselie giving such a great class right down the street from me! I’ve learned so much about my muscles and why keeping your muscles fit, strong and exercised is paramount to keeping limber and not falling into the shuffle of old age.
I think many of us just don’t understand this, we just hear exercise is good for you, blah blah. But I really have learned a lot since going.
1. First, keeping certain muscles stretched and limber (hip flexors) really helps keep your body from going downhill faster.
2. Second, when your primary muscles get weak, the secondary ones help chip in (like going up and down stairs) and that creates a downward spiral on not using your muscles as effectively.
3. Third, even a top athlete’s muscles weaken quickly if they stop training!
4. Fourth, creating moderately fit muscles keeps you from falling as easily (and helps keep bones strong!)
And lastly, I’d never push myself as hard if exercising alone. It’s been great to work in a group. Plus having Roselie watch and correct me for maximum efficiency is such a bonus! If I’m going to do the work, I want to do it right!
You know what the two biggest mistakes are that people make when they’re trying to start exercising regularly?
These are the 2 things that make the difference between having more energy and endurance, getting more flexible and mobile and becoming stronger versus straining something, not making progress and quitting before you’ve got any kind of momentum?
1. They can’t tell the difference between what they can do and what they can’t do yet, so they don’t start in the place that’s right for them.
2. They seriously underestimate how hard it is to start a new habit and make lifestyle changes, so they don’t create an effective strategy for showing up regularly.
And if they make it through both of these hurdles and manage to show up regularly and don’t get an overload injury, the next critical error is that they simply exercise,
but they don’t train.
Training will change what you’re capable of.
Training is mapping out your challenge over time. It’s like going to college to become an engineer, or learning to play the piano. You practice a lot, and the exercises get more and more challenging. The result is that you can do things that would have been impossible for you before you trained.
Sometimes people will just try to increase their physical activity, by going for walks or playing pickleball. That is to say, just starting to be more active.
But what if you can’t swing a pickleball racquet, or lunge and reach without bothering your knees? You either don’t play pickleball, or you hurt yourself trying.
At the age of 58, the only experience I have with an exercise class is Zumba. The idea of participating in personal training was very intimidating. I have never seen myself as someone who “works out” and pretty much told Roselie that first day “3 words that have never been in my vocabulary are: plank, squat and lunge”. I have always avoided these types of exercises out of concern of doing them wrong and hurting myself. It was especially intimidating to be training in a group setting! Who ever thought I would say planks are getting easier 🙂 There are subtle improvements noted when I can just “tell” that I am starting to use the correct muscle groups. I like the feeling of getting stronger – it feels powerful! Roselie is able to guide us through the exercises to avoid injury and helps modify when needed. This group is amazing! I can say without any hesitation that being part of this group is the primary reason that I have stuck with the program. There is a sense of support and teamwork that I truly appreciate. Roselie gives each of us unique exercises and is gifted at being able to modify them so that they are achievable but challenging. Simply put, I am doing things that I never thought I would do! Roselie is sincerely invested in our success. I also appreciate the education she provides.
~ Laura H.
by Heart Light Digital