PHYSIOLOGICA: Are your memories of school gym classes putting you off exercise as an adult?
Does the Image Below Bring Back Bad Memories?
If this image brings you out in a cold sweat, then you’re not alone. I’ve been in the fitness industry since the 90’s and one thing which keeps cropping up is the bad association people have about fitness from school. This baggage of bad memories and experiences could be literally ruining your health.
“When I left school, I promised myself I would never subject myself to that kind of torture again...thank goodness I started Personal Training and learnt that exercise can actually be fun ”
When I started out as an instructor, I lost track of times that I would see people coming in for inductions dressed in shorts and sports tops that they’d had for years, sometimes covered in paint (obviously having been used for decorating etc). They’d sheepishly admit to not having stepped inside a gym or fitness facility for years.
When I enquired and went a bit deeper as to why this was the case, often they would discuss the trauma of school gym classes or games, and you could see that years later, they still squirmed at the memory.
So why was this?
Overweight or not Athletic at School?
Most kids are not natural athletes, we remember those that were - these lads and girls that seemed to pick up any sport and excel at it. The others would look on in envy and shame. The kids who were not, often were overweight and struggled with exercise, they sometimes left out of teams or excluded from games. This humiliation by other kids who as i’m sure we can all remember can be incredibly cruel, unsurprisingly soon dreaded school exercise.
Add in the varying physical maturity of individual kids, and you can see it’s often a diaster in the making. Within a school year, children vary hugely in physical maturity, I myself scraped into my school year by a Month and was one of the smallest. This meant that due to my small stature, team sports were hard. Many of us will have dreaded the time when two of the star ‘athletes’ were chosen to pick teams, and inevitably the less athletic, overweight or smallest were last to be picked and often only taken under protest.
Looking back this was an incredibly cruel way of deciding teams, and its hardly surprising that many people were mentally scarred from this.
Poor Range of Sports and Activities
Many have not played sports since school. If you didn’t have the aptitude or the desire to play a certain sport, there was little choice and it could become pretty unpleasant very quickly, especially - given the above. Many of us will remember cross country running in all weathers, wearing only shorts and t shirts.
Limited options meant that sport became a chore, rather than what it should be, exhilarating and fun. To be fair to the teachers, they made the best of it, against the moans of the kids and it would have been almost impossible to cater to every child’s requirement and preference. Some carry these memories through to adulthood, and choose to reject sport and exercise due to being forced into unwanted or unsuitable sports as a child.
Bad Teachers
Teachers have a difficult job, in difficult conditions BUT some seemed very unsuitable to even be teachers. We had a pretty good games/gym teacher at school but listening to many people over the years, that’s clearly not the case with all. Some teachers seemed to be unaware of the pressures on kids in this 11 - 15 year period. Many kids were self-concious about their bodies, looks, and abilities. Girls and boys were going through puberty with all the additional associated pressures that brings. So again, another reason to be put off sport and exercise for life.
Exorcising the School Ghosts…
Despite all the possible bad feeling and negative thoughts brought along from school, it’s important to remember the overwhelming number of positives which come with exercise - whether with a PT, your own training or playing sports.
Improved heart, circuatory and lung health
Improvements to mental health and stress reduction
Improved muscular strength and bone density
If you’re nevous, overweight, self concious or just a bit unsure as to how to start, then there’s a few measures you can take to make it a more pleasurable experience. Use a Personal Trainer to get you started, train with a friend if you can, and do something fun.
Set a 3 month goal, remember ANY exercise - even just walking will be better than being sedentary, so find something which will work for YOU. Start small, maybe just 20 minutes twice per week and build, give yourself chance to start enjoying the feeling of getting fitter and stronger.
If you need help, just click the button below, and see how we can work together to get you there.