Nerves

I think it’s fair to say that in some time or other we’ve all felt a bit nervous and insecure in sport and fitness. Whether we’re worried about people judging us for running too slowly, or worried about looking gross in lycra or just worried about letting our teammates down.

I’ve definitely felt all these things multiple times, particularly at the beginning of my fitness journey. However these nerves still engulf me at various points. Today for example I went to the gym and I really wanted to squat with the bar. I know completely what I'm doing with the bar and am more than capable of squatting with pretty heavy weights- though even if it was the smallest weight in the world if i'd wanted to squat, I should've been able to squat. However my nerves overtook me and I got it into my head that all the buff rugby gym lads would judge me and laugh at me. I then got home from the gym and was annoyed as I'd wanted to squat and knew I was more than capable. But I let my nerves get the better of me.

 The one that I really struggled with in first year (pre fitness journey) was being worried about letting my team down when playing in matches, and I would get myself so worked up about it I wouldn’t sleep the night before, or be able to eat within about 6 hours of the match. It then extended to training and I would just get stupidly worked up about it- to the extent where it affected my playing because I was so flipping nervous. Now whilst any nerves are completely valid, I was wasting my time worrying about something that I just didn’t need to be worried about.

So what helped me. How did I build up my confidence and feel less nervous both in the team and just generally in fitness.

1)Train Train Train

-It’s a bit of a double edged sword this one- because in order to feel less nervous and less worried and more confident you’ve just gotta go out there and train… no matter how hard it is or how nervous it might make you. I think one thing that really helped me overcome this fear is the thought that, “You never regret exercise…” and it’s so so true. No matter how nervous or tired you may feel, Get out there and train.

2)No one actually cares

This one is a bit of a hard one to accept.

When you’re running, no one is actually looking at you. When you’re gyming no one is actually looking at you. Although it feels like you’re panting hard enough to wake the old lady three streets across and you’re sweating enough to cultivate crops, no one actually cares what you’re doing. They’re way more occupied with their own lives (ahh we love the selfishness of humanity!) Anyone who is looking at you is:

a)super proud that you’re out there doing it/envious

or

b)checking you out- we love to see it

Also team sports wise if you muck up people will remember it for about 10 seconds and then completely forget about it. Although you may think it was the absolute worse thing in the world, I guarantee that if you mentioned it to a teammate after the match/training they wouldn’t have a clue what you were going on about! Not really worth your worrying.

3)Listen to v motivational speeches pre workout

-sounds cringe. Sounds obvious. BUT this was actually so incredibly helpful

The lovely charne recommended some motivational speeches to the team (and if you don’t know who charne is, listen to my podcast) and one in particular just absolutely flicked a switch with me. I could be at the lowest of my low confidence wise, so tired I could cry- and I would listen to this speech and be ready for anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLsevsePhdA

4)Listen to my friends

-so turns out friends are the best counsellors you can find. I can’t tell you how many times I was so nervous pre match, and I went and had coffee with my friend Talia. She would completely build up my confidence whilst force feeding me rich teas to settle my stomach. Or how the night before a match/training or on a night out, I would go to Charne and explain how super nervous I was… and she would give me a cuddle and build up my confidence once more. We love our lovely friends

(p.s- training with friends in the gym or running with friends also actually really helps to get over those initial bad nerves)

5)Its all in the mind

-At the end of the day, these nerves and this lack of confidence is all in the mind. Overcome that mental barrier by committing to your training regardless of your nerves and you’ll be on your way to knocking that annoying wall down.

So obviously these are just a few little helpful tips… and many of them are v obvious. But I feel like sometimes it helps to have the obvious simple things reiterated- or it does for me anyway!!!

Overall, just remember that you getting out there and doing it is amazing, no matter how bad or slow you may think you are or how gross and unattractive you may feel. Keep at it and if need be refer to my tips and tricks- and it’ll get easier each time!