• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

The Pain Free Truth

You have to take control of your fears.

Mariah Heller

Written by Mariah Heller Last updated on March 6, 2019

The fitness industry is wrought with lies.

The fitness industry is wrought with lies.

Are these lies intentional? Generally not. Exercise science is still a fairly new field with very few proven facts, and the fitness industry attracts the more “extreme” minds among us; therefore, it’s quite easy to reinforce our beliefs without critically evaluating them. In my years of coaching, gym ownership, and massage therapy, there have been hundreds of lies from which I have had to protect my clients, but there is one overarching piece of misinformation that spawns many of these untruths.

The biggest lie you’ve been told about fitness is that you don’t matter.

Consider these three statements (all statements I have heard from clients, in some capacity, multiple times):

  • “I really want to start working out, but I need to get in shape first so that I don’t embarrass myself.”
  • “I hurt my hip every time I squat, but I can’t stop squatting because my trainer or training partners will judge me.”
  • “I don’t want to start on a meal plan because I am afraid that I will fail.”

While all of these statements appear different in surface content, they all have one common theme: there is a box, and if I don’t fit into that box, then I am not worthy enough to make my own decisions.

What’s Your Fear?

Do you fear to start a workout regimen because you haven’t been active in over a decade? You are falling victim to a false narrative that only already-fit people deserve to prioritize their health and fitness.

Do you continue to injure yourself in the gym or make poor decisions because your surroundings or your ego tell you that you can’t change or modify your workouts? You are neglecting your right to a healthy, injury-free life. No matter what your ego, your trainers, or your friends say.

Do you refuse to start on a meal plan because you fear that you will fail? You are buying into the belief that every diet has to be extreme and that any personalization is “cheating.”

There is no reason that you can’t personalize your health and fitness regimen to prioritize your well-being.

Do you want to exercise or join a gym? Do it. Right now. Start as slow as you need to, and find people that support and understand your journey (anyone that doesn’t is probably a jerk).

Do you want to stay injury-free? Embrace the fact that modifying and scaling your workouts is an act of good judgment. Don’t let your ego, your friends, or your trainer (by the way, if you have a trainer that encourages you to do things that hurt you, find a new one) shame you out of keeping your body healthy.

Do you want to adopt a healthier diet? Use trial and error and find something that works for you. Remember that 100% adherence to a crash diet isn’t necessary or even helpful in improving your health. Take control and customize your nutrition around what makes you look, feel, and perform better.

You matter. No matter where you are in your fitness journey, start taking care of yourself. You’ll thank yourself for it later.

Mariah Heller

About Mariah Heller

Mariah Heller is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Massage Therapist, chronic pain educator, lecturer, gym co-founder, NPC bikini competitor, and coach for over a decade. Mariah has worked with hundreds of clients throughout her fitness career and now specializes in Pain-Free Fitness, wherein she blends the principles of pain and injury management with overall health and fitness. Mariah is currently the Executive Program Director at Results Transformation Centers in addition to working with her clientele and is a regular presenter at various health and wellness conferences and the UC Davis Entrepreneurship Academy. IG: @coachmariahpainfreefitness

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

Try to face the things you fear.|Push to do things you have been reluctant to try because of fear.
If It Feels Bad, Do It
crow pose, bakasana, kakasana, willow ryan, yoga, forrest yoga, yoga fear
How to Set Fear Aside and Move Forward – In a Yoga Pose and In Life
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Leg Workout
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Crushes 5 “Monster Sets” of a Leg Workout

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Ryan Terry Diagrams His Ambitious 1,874-Calorie Mass-Building Protein Shake

Andrew Jacked’s Trainer Thinks His “Best” Will Come at 2023 Arnold Classic

Bodybuilder Logan Franklin “Cried For 3 Days” After Withdrawing From 2022 Olympia, Outlines 2023 Return

How to Do the Reverse Biceps Curl for Complete Arm Development

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About