Resisting resistance.

When progressing from fatness to fitness you will notice that there are three types of resistance training. The most commonly known is the one in the physical world, which envolves pushing/pulling weights or doing distances. Anyone, even someone who wouldn't want to be caught dead in a two mile radius of a dumbell, must have some idea of what that means.

Type two is your own resistance. It's overcomming your self imposed boundries. It's breaking through old and crippling habits. Tough, very tough indeed. But since it's yourself you're up against, you do kind of know what to expect or to come across. The reward of that battle is very tangible. You see it, you feel it, you live and you breath it. It's a self rewarding process that will turn you into a new you, you'd never have believed was lurking inside untill you started sweating him/her out.

But then there's resistance training type three. Truly a fearsome foe. It's third party ignorance. You know what I'm talking about. It's the smoker trying to quit, amongst family members and colleagues blowing smoke in his/her face. It's the resiliance of others that for some reason, have a difficult time with you making the right choices in life. Why? Maybe because changed behaviour for the better puts the finger on their own wounds.

And it's not just the hardline non-believers that will collectively try to halt your progress in order to proof to you that it can't be done. And even more so, try to proof to themselves that indeed their own mental and physical immobility is ok...'cause if you can't overcome it, why should they?' Your failure allows them to stay in their comfort zone.

Strangly enough, there is also a vast number of people new to fitness out there that will put the same kind of stress on those that are already further down the road. You wouldn't expect them to join the negative minded mob, because they have already made the choice to change things for the better. So what's their opposition all about?

What I say "third resistance" is not the people themselves I'm talking about, but rather their own mental resistance (type two) yet to be overcome, reflected on those who are past that stage. It's in their line of questions, their confronting sceptisism, their disbelieve and sadly enough very often their self pity. They will fight you with everything they've got. The thing to keep in mind though is that they are not fighting YOU, not really. They are fighting themselves, using you as a punch bag.

Newcomers 3^rd resistance is only natural. It's the contraction pains of someone new being born. Let it happen, don't fight it, don't laugh...try to understand, be supportive, be you. A day will come when the newborn will experience it's own share of type three resistance. It is a pivital moment in anyone's progress, making one realize just how far they have come.

Haven't got a clue what I'm talking about? Feeling resiliant towards my line of thinking. That's ok. It will pass, in time, it will pass. You 'll be fine.

Take care,

Karl