fitness basics – Studio Mo Fitness Mtl

By Jessica Desgagnes

Buddha said: “Life is suffering”. Not misery.

I can’t pinpoint exactly when I had convinced myself that I didn’t have to work at something to grow beyond whatever a 9-5 shift – or 19:00-2:00 – was bringing to my life, but it was apparent when I looked around me that I had.

I do, however, remember the day I decided to try something that I had dismissed.

An acquaintance had posted on social media that she was looking for a gym partner to join her for partner personal training at a fitness studio that offered small group training and for whatever reason, I decided to give it a shot. Did I believe I could do “it”? Nope. I was merely open to the possibility. I maintain the choice to show up is the hardest part, and continues to be, because the mind has the capacity to crush us more than any barbell can.

“I can’t do a push-up” – honestly though, I hadn’t the strength to do one, not even from my knees – reframed, became: “I can do a push-up with my hands on the wall.”

Maybe it was easier in the short term to feed that negative energy because it was what I knew. I’d been unwittingly doing it for years. The “I can’ts” are just one example of myriad voices I battle in my head. Not-so-breaking-news: I’m not so unique that I don’t share the same thoughts loads of people around me do. The difference is acknowledging the negative thoughts and choosing to challenge them.

Making regular exercise part of my lifestyle is a tool that translates to battling negative thoughts in other areas of my life as well. It’s as if that extra push to get just one more squat in when I think that I have nothing else left in me and the instant “kick” that comes with surprising myself builds strength of body and mind.

I combat negative thoughts via my yoga practice as well. Perhaps in part because my work is physically demanding, I find myself gravitating toward Yin yoga in particular; it is quite literally the match to my yang. It’s how I give myself time for introspection. I am increasingly learning to respond to situations rather than react, or lash out, if you will.

When I give in to negative thought patterns – and I must emphasize give in -, I increasingly hinder my potential; I cage myself. When I choose to challenge my fears (which are often a product of low self-esteem) with each seemingly miniscule personal milestone my confidence grows. When my mind and body are healthier, I can better serve myself, my inner circle, and my community at large. Neuroplasticity is real: build your mind, create your life.

I would love to read your stories on the MoFitness community Facebook page! We can all afford to learn from each other.

Recently I took on the challenge of creating workshops for people who walk into a gym and just don’t know where to start. The machines can be intimidating, confusing and potentially harmful if you don’t know what you’re doing. Effective, safe training requires knowledge of how to properly sit on a machine, how to position yourself, and important reminders to not do certain things in order to avoid injuries.

Squat and Press-Highly effective when done right…CHEST UP!

As a Personal Trainer, of course I will recommend you hire a trainer to reach your fitness goals, but I see poor form in the gym all the time, even with people who look like they were born in the gym.

My wife and I gave a workshop at The Brix apartment building to help their residents get to know a few machines in their gym, the feedback we received was consistently the same; that they just never felt comfortable in the gym, that they only knew how to use a few things and would get bored easily. We were so happy to be able to elevate their fitness experience in their home gym and look forward to continuing to increase their fitness knowledge. We were excited to be able to motivate them to use their gym.

YouTube videos can only take you so far, they won’t look at your form and tell you specifically what you are doing incorrectly, what you can do better and what you may want to focus on or be wary of for your specific situation. We taught these 10 participants how to safely use the Lat Pull Down, how to use the Rowing Machine successfully, how to squat and press like a beast, as well as 4 different ways to do push-ups. From there, in the sessions to come, we will continue to give them the basics while adding on different movements to keep things interesting.