Busting Eight of the Most Toxic Fitness Myths
What follows are some of the most common, toxic myths in the health and fitness world that are being used to manipulate and control people.
At first, it might be hard to hear some of these. But once you see through these you can get on the path to sustainable, long-term changes in your health.
1. If it’s not hurting, you’re not doing it right
Pain is a signal from your body asking for something to change. It’s not a sign that you’re weak or need to push through. Most of the time if you push through, you’re telling your body to fuck off. And when you do that, your body will just make the pain signal louder until can’t ignore it and you’re forced to listen.
Also, it should be known that there is a difference between acute pain and chronic pain. Sometimes pain is a signal of tissue damage. Other times it can be a signal of fear or mistrust based on past experiences. Learning to work with your pain, respect it and find movements that feel good is important to any kind of pain-recovery strategy.
But pushing through and ignoring pain is almost never a good idea.
2. You have to always push your limits or you’ll never improve
No. You need to learn how to honor your edges and know when is the right time to challenge them. Some days, weeks or months it’s better to focus on movement quality, rest, nervous system care or just going into maintenance mode.
3. Getting stronger is just about building more muscle
That’s just a part of the equation. It’s also about learning how to regulate your emotions. It’s learning to unlearn unhelpful stories. It’s learning how to say no and honor your internal boundaries.
4. Stretching is the only way to get more flexible
Sometimes stretching is the way to get flexible, yes. But sometimes you have chronic tension because you’re stuck in a trauma response, or are dealing with high levels of stress.
Other times you might be tight because certain muscles are overworking and need more support from neighboring stabilizers.
5. Some people just have bad backs (hips, shoulders, whatever)
First of all, there are no real “bad” anythings. There are areas of our bodies that need healing and support. Secondly, a lot of the time what you think is the problem, a bad back for instance, could actually be a weak core or overly tight hip flexors.
6. “Six weeks to six-pack abs”
This is utter bullshit. Unless you are already at a very low percentage body fat and you just need to lose 3 lbs to see your abs, this is 99% of the time a lie. It’s used to prey on desperate people, usually men, thinking that abs will make them happy or get the partner they want.
Sorry dudes, abs are great. But it’s actually being grounded in yourself, knowing who you are, and being a caring, emotionally intelligent human that will help you attract the mate you want.
7. Get the splits in 4 weeks!
Okay, here’s another horrible one. It makes me sick to think that people honestly advertise this way and that it’s not illegal.
The only way you’re going to get the splits in 4 weeks is if some Soviet Union-type gymnast teacher rips your legs open and tears all the ligaments in your groin. No joke, I’ve heard from clients that this happened to them, sadly.
8. The Perfect Program
Sure, there are some things that generally help a lot of people. I give most of my clients breathing practices and TVA / deep core exercises. These things are generally good for most people.
But much of the time these generic, OSFA bullshit programs are an excuse by coaches to not put in the work to do a proper assessment and give you the right progressions for your body to meet you where you are. Lack of proper progressions is 90% of the time why people don’t make progress or injure themselves constantly.
Let’s move beyond the hype and start focusing on what actually works
Long-term change takes work. It’s not always super sexy and it doesn’t always look like the flashy things you see on Instagram (that even I post to get your attention).
But, if you’re willing to consistently prioritize nervous system care, work on the foundations, and really slow down, you can build a healthy, beautiful relationship with your body.
And through that, you can move with less pain and more freedom.
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How Niko Reclaimed Trust and Flexibility in Her Body
For over two years Niko pushed her body with intense excercise. Crossift workouts, weightlifting at the gym and even powerlifting were what she thought would make her strong and powerful.
But as time went on she wasn’t feeling good in her body. The things she thought those activities were supposed to bring her never seemed to materialize. Instead she was left hurting all the time.
I didn’t like how I felt in my body. Everything kept hurting all the time. I thought eventually it would produce the results I wanted, but I just ended up more tired.
Not only was Niko not feeling stronger, but she also noticed something else happening — she began to feel more detached and disconnected from her body.
The push, push, push mentality that she had learned from these fitness practices was no longer serving her. She realized that she needed to try something different to create a deeper level of strength, trust and self-love with her body.
A lot of the exercises were super linear and didn’t create much flexibility. I wanted something radical and something different. I wanted to reconnect with my body to be more self aware. I wanted to relearn how to love myself through movement.
Niko knew the old way wasn’t working and she had to do something about it before she lost the feeling that something had to change
Even when something isn’t working, it can be hard to change. The old ways of moving and relating to your body are familiar, ingrained, and supported by the culture around you.
It can be hard to venture out and do something radically different than what you’ve been taught.
But Niko knew that if she was looking for something different, the opportunity would appear sooner or later.
I knew that I deserved better. I got to a point where I decided it was enough. I got tired of the diet and fitness culture where I wasn’t being heard. It wasn’t personalized to me. After I made the jump I realized I should have been doing this the whole time!
But at first it was difficult to listen to her body and validate her body’s signals
Doing things in a way that wasn’t as quota and performance-based was hard for Niko at first. It was a big shift to start to tune in to her body’s signals and learn to honor the messages it was giving her.
Slowing down was really hard. Doing things like focusing in her breathing, activating her TVA, and rebuilding her body maps wasn’t easy at first.
But the more she practiced being present, the easier it became.
It took me a while to slow down at first. But as I practiced I realized I didn’t have to have this anxiety about what was coming next.
The keys to Niko’s transformation
Learning to get out of her head and tune in with what her body wanted to do, instead of bossing her body around.
Focusing on deep core strength, spinal movement and developmental patterns helped her rebuild her foundations.
Making the practice a priority first thing in the day helped her set the tone for how the rest of the day would go.
Tired of feeling stiff, achey and tired?
If you’re looking for a way to rebuild your body in a way that will build more trust, freedom and confidence, then it’s time to try a different approach.
Reach out and schedule a call and we’ll help you create a plan to feeling your best ever in your body.
How Julia Got Her Body Back After Two Years of Stagnancy During the Pandemic
For the longest time Julia didn’t really need to do much to keep her body feeling strong and good. Growing up playing sports and having an active social life where movement was always included, there just wasn’t a necessity for intentional movement.
But after the pandemic turned her life upside down, she found herself working from home, spending long hours at the computer not moving. The things that used to keep her active and healthy had separated from view.
Even worse, not moving and connecting with others the way she had before, depression started to set in, draining her of even more energy and leaving her feeling even less inspired to do the things she loved.
She knew something needed to change, but it was hard to move alone. The things that felt good before, weren’t as accessible. Tension and aches started to creep in and even simple daily movements had become harder.
I've heard that, you know, a lot of disease starts in the body, like in your 30s, you know, long term things that eventually build over time. So I knew I had to build a solid foundation.
But at first, it was hard for Julia to know where to start or what to reach for. It seemed like the things that she’d tried in the past weren’t going deep enough for her to restore confidence and trust in her body.
She wanted something more functional, more natural.
I've tried it all, like I've tried yoga, pilates, barre, you know, weightlifting, played all the sports and stuff like that. And there is something about natural movement that drew me in, I think, especially because I was sort of like reaching this age where I was thinking about longevity. And I was thinking like, well, what is actually what's the foundation that I can build that's actually going to serve me for the rest of my life and isn't just about like, getting in shape right now.
Trying to use Youtube and figuring it out on her own wasn’t working
Julia was smart enough to realize that she was already too busy with her work and life to create her own program. So she decided to reach out for help.
Knowing that she didn’t have to think about what to do for the day, that she could just show up and do it, trusting that it was designed with her body in made was one of the things that made all the difference.
Rather than second-guessing if it was right for her unique situation, she could relax into the process.
Learning to honor her body’s boundaries was the key to growth
In her days of sports and gym workouts, like most people, Julia was trained to believe that you had to give your max every time to see results.
If you weren’t feeling sore, exhausted and in pain, it meant that you weren’t trying hard enough.
By trying a more embodied, natural approach she quickly realized that honoring her body’s signals was actually the key to unlocking more strength, flexibility and energy.
I didn’t have to do things 110% to see results. I didn’t have to do things to the point of exhaustion or pain to see results. That was really surprising for me.
Prioritizing her body, Julia is now saying yes to what she really wants in life
Perhaps one of the most surprising things is that having spent this time really tuning in with her body, she’s now able to feel what feels like a yes to her and what feels like a no.
Since doing the embodied movement program, she scrapped the idea of having a big, formal wedding which just felt totally stressful, and is instead deciding to use that money to go on a memorable adventure to Norway with her fiancée.
These were the keys to Julia’s transformation
She knew that trying to figure things out on her own would lead to overwhelm and analysis paralysis. Instead, she decided to invest in coaching and commit to a proven process.
When she missed a day or got thrown off track by work and life, she didn’t beat herself up. Instead, she dusted herself off, forgave herself and got back on track.
Allowing herself to listen to her body’s signals and not go to 110%, but trusting that putting in the effort would lead to results allowed Julia to tap into sustainable progress.
Following a program that was customized to her allowed her to relax into the process knowing that she was doing the right things for her body.
Tired of feeling stiff, achey and tired?
If you’re looking for a way to rebuild your body in a way that will build more trust, freedom and confidence, then it’s time to try a different approach.
Reach out and schedule a call and we’ll help you create a plan to feeling your best ever in your body.
How a High Performing Mom Reclaimed True Strength in Her Body
Learning to get out of her head and let her body lead for a change was key to Rebecca’s transformation.
Rebecca is an Embodied Breakthrough client who wears many hats. She’s a project manager, a mom of two kids and 3 animals, a painter and incredible writer who is working on her memoir.
But chronic pain began to interrupt her active lifestyle. From lower back and hip pain to migraines from neck and shoulder tension, she wasn’t feeling settled in her body. She did everything from yoga to rigorous kettlebell training. But something just didn’t feel right.
She felt stuck and knew what she was doing wasn’t working. Most importantly, she wanted a way to feel free and to know herself better.
“I was really oriented around, you know, you push yourself until it hurts and then you do a little bit more type sports, and if I wanted to see results, I started with so many sets, so many reps. And if I wasn't seeing it, do more, and I just wasn't even listening to myself.”
By working through the Embodied Breakthrough program, her lower back and hip pain has disappeared. She’s having more fun in her body, doing spinal flows, getting up and down off the floor in creative ways, and has is experiencing more easy in even just the daily tasks of life.
She’s learned skills like listening and curiosity to develop strength she didn’t think she had, and engaging her breath daily to calm her mind and find her center.
“What if I just ask myself, today what does my body feel like it wants, instead of just starting? And supporting that beginner's brain and curiosity, all the possibilities are open when you're in that space. I haven't decided how it's gonna turn out. I don't know how it's gonna turn out. And anything’s possible.”
Rebecca has been on a journey to discover that our body is our home.
She’s let go of the scorecard and is here to let you know that you, too, can choose to have a different relationship with your body through intentional movement and exploration.
“Today is the day you get to have a different relationship with your body, right now in this moment, by just being willing to. Willing to not have the answers, not knowing if you're going to do it right...just allowing yourself to be open to the learning experience, letting go of the scorecard and getting into just learning about yourself.”
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Let’s jump on a call and help you figure out exactly what's been holding you back with your body. Together we'll map out a game plan to get you back on track to becoming the strongest version of yourself.
You could keep researching and collecting information, or you could finally figure out what you most need to get your true strength and freedom back.
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Tiffany Redefined Strength and Fixed Her Foundations
Tiffany is an Embodied Breakthrough client who has broken through artificial ceilings and is forming a whole new way of being in the world with her body.
Like many others, Tiffany held childhood beliefs of not being cut out for athletic pursuits. But she discovered Crossfit a decade ago, and her ideas of what she was capable of started to change. While putting her body through the paces, she faced recurring shoulder pain that eventually became excruciating and severely limited her everyday activities.
"I was trusting myself that I was coming back to being on purpose, reminding myself yes, you can trust your gut."
She knew that doing nothing wasn’t the answer and that she needed to go back to her foundation. She discovered Embodied Breakthrough and, after her initial call, trusted her gut and committed to herself by signing up for the program.
"My gut was telling me this is the answer, knowing that you need to go back to basics and regain strength from the inside out."
Over the next year, Tiffany had a major mindset shift, learning to be patient with herself and continue to come back to her practice. To slow down and be more gentle with her body.
When she eventually started to add more movement back in, she could tell her mindset had changed, and the quality of her movement had improved. She’s developed inner strength and trust in herself.
"I don't need to give my accomplishments to somebody else. I can celebrate myself now"
Tiffany has learned to focus on what a movement feels like and enjoying what her body can do, like riding bikes and dancing.
"The space that he will create for you will be nothing like anything that you have experienced before. The safety, wisdom and skill that Jonathan has to walk with you on this path...your body is telling you that you're ready, so just say yes"
Tiffany has redefined strength for herself, and she fully believes that you can too. Let her story inspire YOU to seek support, overcome your challenges and say YES to yourself.
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Schedule a breakthrough call and we'll help you figure out exactly what's been holding you back with your body. Together we'll map out a game plan to get you back on track to becoming the strongest version of yourself.
You could spend the next hour Googling or searching on Youtube, or you could get on a call with us and get the support YOU need for your unique challenges.
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