8 Ways to Feel More Confident in Your Workouts
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Don’t let your lack of confidence hold you back from getting a killer workout! Whether you are working out in the gym or working out at home, learning how to feel more confident in your workouts will only benefit you! Not only will you actually be motivated and excited to go work out, but you’ll also be a lot more consistent.
So what exactly can you do to feel more confident in your workouts ASAP? This is exactly what I dive into in this episode of Embrace Your Real.
What I discuss:
Visualize your workout.
Have a plan.
Don’t workout at peak hours.
Tune everyone out.
Wear clothes that you feel good in.
Use weights you can actually lift.
Focus on form not weight.
Practice your form.
Interested in my Movement with Julie fitness app? Get instant access here: sale.movementwithjulie.com
You get 5-brand new workouts weekly with both 45 and 30 minute variations and video demonstrations of every single exercise!
If you don’t love working out at the gym, I highly recommend checking out this podcast episode:
Episode 241: Home Gym vs. Public Gym: Pros and Cons You Should Consider
If you would rather work out at home, here’s my complete guide to getting started:
229: 4 Essentials for Crushing Workouts at Home
If you want more from me, be sure to check out…
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
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Free e-book: www.juliealedbetter.com/free-ebook
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in and let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast. I am pumped about today's episode because whether you are working out in the gym or working out from home, I think learning how to feel more confident in your workouts and really gaining advice from people and just always constantly learning will only benefit you to not only have killer workouts, but actually enjoy them every time that you do. And when you are enjoying your workouts, you're more likely to stay consistent and when you're consistent, you're more likely to see results.
And so in today's episode, I'm going to be diving into eight ways to feel more confident in your workouts. But before I dive in, I wanted to share this review of the day, it comes from EmmyHart00. She gave a five-star review and said, "Finally free to embrace my real. I've struggled for years with nutrition, my self-esteem, but I've been binging Julie's podcast and my life has changed dramatically. All of the topics really hit home for me and make me realize that I don't have to be a prisoner to my own mind anymore. I have changed the way that I look at food and exercise and I no longer obsess over them. I am free to live my life and love my own body for what it is in the present time. Thank you so much for all you do. You have changed my life."
Emmy Hart, first of all, I am so grateful. I am so grateful and I loved this part in here where you said, "I don't have to be a prisoner to my own mind anymore." And I think that's really important because I think oftentimes we think that everything that we think in our brain is real and is true. And so, thus, we act on that and I think it's really important that we recognize that our brain can bully us. Our brain can be very very mean and whatever you have that inner voice, that inner bully, I personally name that inner voice Trish. I don't know why, I don't know where that came from, but whenever Trish comes up for some people, I know Karen and I am so sorry to all the Karens.
I feel like Karen, your name has been completely bullied itself, but for my inner voice, it's Trish. And I'm telling you when Trish comes out to play, I'm not having her. Like she has no place in my mind, no place in my heart. And so I just loved that part. I don't have to be a prisoner to my own mind anymore. And so if there's anything that you can take from this review, that is that. Just remember that every single thing that we think is not all true. And so it's really important to recognize that and find ways to combat some of the lies that you are allowing yourself to believe, thus you are imprisoned by those chains.
So thank you, Emmy Hart. I appreciate you so much. I appreciate all of your reviews. If you haven't already left a rating interview, what are you doing, girlfriend? If this podcast has helped you in any way, I just ask that you hop over to Apple Podcasts, type in embrace your real. First, make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. And then all you got to do is scroll all the way down on that page and you'll see the rating and review section there. It really does just help us out. And it also helps future listeners who stumble upon the podcast be able to look at the reviews and see, "Okay, how is this podcast helping other people? Can it help me too?"
So thank you in advance if you do that, I appreciate you so much. Let's dive into the eight tips that I have to help you feel more confident in your workout. Number one, visualize your workout. If you haven't heard of what visualization is, I've talked about it on a podcast before. I have used this tool probably for the last five or so years both in my professional, as well as my personal life. And I can tell you it is hands down transformed the way that I show up. But essentially visualization is the practice of imagining what you want to achieve in the future as if it were true today.
So it involves using all five senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. The process of visualizing directs your subconscious to be aware of the end goal that you have in mind. So not only does it help me feel more confident going into a workout, but my subconscious brain essentially takes over once I start getting into the workout, because it's already seen it before, it's already felt, it's already smelled when I'm going to smell downstairs when I'm working out. Or if you're going to the gym or wherever you do your workouts, my brain has already been through this scenario and thus my subconscious brain can actually start to help me get a better workout in.
There's a reason why the top sports teams and athletes use visualization, because it's extremely powerful. Because essentially you are allowing yourself to feel and experience what it's going to look like and feel like with that future desired outcome. Thus, once you have experienced that, it's so much easier for you to step into that and have that become a reality. Mental imagery is most successful, honestly, when it becomes a habit that you practice daily, but you should also use it before, during, after training. I also, like I mentioned, I use it in my professional life. I use it in my personal life.
So how do I want to show up in my personal life? If I know I'm going to be meeting a friend for coffee or meeting a friend to do a workout, I just completed The Incline yesterday, which is a crazy hike in Manitou Springs. If you ever get the chance to be in Colorado, especially Colorado Springs, you've got to do the Manitou Incline. It literally humbles me every single time. And so when I was driving there at 5:30 in the morning yesterday, I was visualizing myself getting up that mountain not stopping. I was visualizing myself every single step of the way.
I believe it's 2,750 steps. I've done a real on it. I think I did a real back in April when I did it for the first time of the season. This was my second time this season. And I visualized myself not stopping during the whole time. And my goal initially was to get under 45 minutes and I actually got it in 40 minutes and 50 seconds. My ultimate goal by the end of the season is 35 minutes. We'll see. I mean, that just seems so fast to me right now, but I know that ... I say stay consistent and I continuously train for it, I know that I could do it, but this is where visualization is a powerful thing.
So as I was driving to The Incline yesterday, I was visualizing every single step, how I'm going to be feeling, my heart pounding. What are the breathing techniques that I'm going to be doing as I am starting to lose my breath or as I'm starting to maybe get dizzy or feel discouraged, or want to give up or want to slow down, all of those things. And so when I was actually going through the process of it yesterday, when I was actually physically in it, my brain already remembered what I was visualizing on my way to The Incline driving there. And this is, like I said, it's a similar thing that I do with my workouts. I also do it in my professional life.
So if there's a meeting that I'm going to have or if it's a conversation that I know I'm going to be having, I try to visualize how is it that I want to show up? What are the words that I want to say? And again, in my personal life, if it's a conversation, or if it's time spent with Joshua or my family or someone that I love, it's already visualizing it and really putting yourself in there. So that's closing your eyes or if you're driving like I was yesterday, taking that time and really just trying to place yourself in that. It's crazy how effective this is.
There was a study done in France that was published in August of 2005 in perceptual and motor skills. And it showed that mental imagery combined with physical practice actually greatly improves performance, even with beginning athletes. And so I just encourage you to practice visualization, practice yourself the night before. If you're doing a morning workout, practice yourself getting up. How are you going to feel? What are the clothes that you're going to wear? Maybe that means you're setting out your clothes up in advance on the floor or wherever you're getting ready.
And so that way you don't even have to think twice, but as you're putting together, that outfit that you're wearing for your workout, you are going through the process of visualization. And you're visualizing yourself putting that on tomorrow morning as you get in walking to wherever your workout space is in your house or driving to the gym, getting in there, what workout are you going to be doing? Kind of going through the movements, going through the motions. How are you going to be feeling? How do you want to show up? All of those things play a key role, which kind of leads me to number two, which is having a plan.
So a part of visualization is you've got to have a plan. Like if you don't know what you're doing for your workout, it's going to be extremely hard to visualize that. And truly nothing strips you more of your confidence than not knowing what the heck you're doing in your workouts. You're wandering around the gym or you're wandering around your workout area in your house and you don't really know what you're doing. You start to feel self-conscious. You feel like everyone around you is staring at you. You feel like, "Man, this is a waste of time. I'm not actually going into my workout with determination and a plan that's going to lead me to success."
And so having a plan is critical. I know I talk about my Movement with Julie app a lot, but I'm telling you guys, having an effective plan is critical to seeing results. So whether it's my program, or if it's another program that you feel like is going to suit you better in where you're at and what your goals are, so be it. I will say that even though I personally talk about working out from home a lot, it's honestly perfect for the gym as well. So maybe you don't prefer working out at home. I just did a whole podcast on the pros and cons of public gym versus the home gym and why you would do either one.
And I in that podcast, I feel like I was pretty fair in the sense of there's a time and place to work out at the gym and there's a time and place to work out at home. And I'm not going to tell you which one is better, because I don't think that one is superior, but having a plan is so important. And if you are needing a plan, the Movement with Julie app is great because their dumbbell only workouts. Meaning that if you do work out at a gym, you have full access to all the dumbbells. So you're definitely going to be able to get everything in at home. But if you are limited on equipment, all you need is a few pair of dumbbells, a small space, your body weight, a bench is optional and that's really, truly all you need. And then obviously your phone to get the plan.
But when you have a plan, you will walk into your workout with confidence and it will also allow you to truly visualize that workout in advance. Number three, do not work out at peak hours. So this is specifically to those of you who are working out at a public gym. If you have a flexible schedule, try to squeeze your gym time in before the after work rush or avoid lunchtime gym sessions. Usually the gym is pretty crazy between 5:00 and 7:00 PM and the busier that the gym gets, the easier it is to feel intimidated.
And I know just speaking from experience when I would go during those times, I just didn't get the best workout in simply because the equipment was taken. There were so many people I was trying to like navigate and trying to eye ahead of time like, "Is this bench going to be open in five minutes or 10 minutes or whatnot?" So obviously this can apply to everyone, but if you can work out during non-peak hours, that's going to be key just in order for you to get a better workout in and not feel so rushed.
I mean, there is a small percentage of people who you're like, "Actually I love the gym when it's popping. I feel at my most alive, I feel like I can talk to my people" and kudos to you. I am just not one to talk to people during my workout, especially now because I've worked out at home for the last three or so years. So anybody that interrupts my workout, which truly only is either my dogs or Joshua, I'm like, "Excuse me, hello, can you not see that I'm working out?"
But with the exception of those small percentage of people, if you could work out anywhere from early, early in the morning or right before lunch hour or kind of in the afternoon, I have found the workouts when I personally previously worked out at a public gym, I would work out around 2:00 PM and I felt like between 2:00 and 4:00 PM, it was like amazing because the after work crew hadn't got there yet. And so it was way less crowded and I felt more confident just because I had a lot more equipment to be able to work with and not have to worry about navigating through all of those people.
Now, if you don't have a flexible schedule, kind of this next tip is for you. And also if you're working out from home, this next tip is for you as well. Number four, tune everyone out. So ignore the people around you and do your own thing, be in your world and simply follow the plan that you have set. You don't need to look around to other people. All that truly matters is the weight that you're lifting and how you're performing your workout. Concentrate on those two things and those two things only.
I know for me because I work out at home, I am able to kind of blast my music and also because my husband is deaf, he doesn't hear it. So I personally get to have a big speaker and I get to blast my music. But for some people, especially if you're working out at home and you're a mama and you're doing your workouts while everybody's sleeping in the morning or at night or maybe on nap time, put in those EarPods and just rock it out. Like tune everything out as much as you can and just get it done.
I always, always say that quality is much better than quantity. So let's say, for example, that you're trying to get a 30-minute workout in and it's during nap time and you're just trying to crank it out, or maybe your kids are playing and you're just trying to crank something out. I always will encourage you to do one to two rounds of a giant circuit. I'm specifically talking about a 30-minute variation inside the Movement with Julie, because I give that to you for every single workout.
I would much rather you get one to two rounds of a giant circuit in with great form, really intentional movements rather than you rushing through the movements, you have a higher risk of injury. You're not going to be using that mind-muscle connection. And so just really try to tune everything out. Even if that's 15 minutes, 20 minutes, that is better than nothing. I always say that like something is better than nothing and you will never regret a workout. So put those EarPods in, turn up that music, tune everyone out and just get it done.
Number five, wear the clothes that you feel good in. I truly believe that when you feel good, you perform your best. And I'm a firm believer that the clothes that you wear to workout really can impact the quality of your workout. And I know that might sound silly, but for example, if you're wearing shorts that are too tight on the thighs, you're constantly having to pull them down, they keep rolling up or you're just like, "Man, I don't feel comfortable." That will become the focus of your workout instead of the actual workout yourself. So find some go-to outfits.
I know for me, I have been on a hunt this year for the best short that is a no front seam, short, that is flexible on my thighs, because I do have thicker thighs when it comes to the ratio of my waist to my thighs. I feel like there are certain sizes that fit my waist, but then they like completely compress my thighs and they eat my thighs up for lack of a better term. And so I've been on a hunt, but I have found some really good shorts on Amazon and with no front seam that are they're good. They fit the waist, they fit the legs, they fit the booty, and I feel comfortable on them.
So I have found some go-to outfits and I want to encourage you to do that as well. So find your go-to outfits for each day depending on what you're lifting. For example, I know for leg days, I'm always going to wear some sort of shorts because I feel like if I wear pants during leg days, especially in the summertime, I get way too hot. I also either just wear my socks or I wear socks and Converses. And I typically have like an oversized tee or a hoodie with a sports bra underneath if I get hot, I can take it off.
And then for certain days like of the week for my cardio and core workouts, I always make sure that I have my hair braided because I know that if I have it in a ponytail, then I'm going to be constantly like it's going to be constantly whipping back and forth if I'm doing burpees or something like that. And so just finding the clothes and finding the outfits and finding the things that you feel best in over time as you do this longer, you'll get that, you'll get to it and you'll start to learn those things.
But ultimately, you want to wear the clothes that you feel good in and clothes that won't make you distracted from your actual workout and will make you feel more confident. And this is going to vary person to person, but I highly suggest finding out what you feel best in and stick into it.
Number six, use weights that you can actually lift. There's truly nothing that is more confidence-crushing than feeling like you can't do the workout that you've planned. Like you're embarrassing yourself. If you're working out at a public gym and you pick up weights and then you struggle to get through those reps. First of all, I want you to remember that like I had mentioned in a previous podcast talking about the pros and cons of the gym, 99.9% of people are not looking at you even though you might feel like it, but I know that can feel discouraging. And so it's really important that you set yourself up for success by lifting weights that you can actually lift.
It's truly better to start off too light and then slowly increase than to start too heavy not be able to do one rep or worse than that, get injured. So please, please, please humble yourself. I know for me, I am a challenger to my core. Like I want to challenge myself and I don't think that's a bad thing, but it can get sticky sometimes when I try to push for something, that's just not smart. And so I just want to encourage you start off light, start small and people always ask me like, "What is the best weight for me?" And that's going to very person to person, experience to experience. Do you have any previous injuries? All of those things.
And so my kind of rule of thumb is if it's prescribed 10 to 12 reps, if you can get nine or 10 of those reps, pretty, fairly easily with the last two or three reps kind of being difficult, but you're still able to perform them with proper form. That typically means that you have a good weight for you. And this is why tracking your weights for specific movements is so critical. That's also why I program that inside my app. That's why we have that feature in the app because I want women to be able to track these things so that they can look back and be like, "Okay, I remember I did this and I felt really good doing this, or I remember doing this and it was pretty easy."
And so inside the app, you can put the weight and then you can also put workout notes so that the next time that that movement shows up in a weekly workout, you're able to look back on that. But yeah, that's kind of a rule of thumb when it comes to like lifting weights. Kind of a side note, but I know for me, I wish I would've learned that sooner. And so always kind of steer on, especially when you're trying to find what a good weight for you is.
It's always, always, always better to start off too light and then slowly start to increase, which leads me to my next tip. Number seven, focus on form, not weight. Now, most people think lifting a lot of weight is going to make them look super cool, especially if you're working out at a public gym. But again, this normally leads to them compromising their form for lifting heavier weights. Do not be this person. Please learn from my mistake. There were so many times throughout my years, especially my early years where I was in a public gym and I was constantly putting more weight on just because I wanted to look cooler, I wanted to grunt.
It was like this competition that I made in my head, but you're truly going to look so much cooler when you're performing exercises with flawless form rather than just lifting way too heavy and totally compromising your form. And more than that, more importantly than that, you're actually going to have that mind-muscle connection when you are lifting the proper weight. You are focusing on form. And I mean I know for me when I see people lift and they have immaculate form, that is so much more important to me. And that's something that I admire so much more rather than, "Oh my gosh, how much are they lifting?"
I could care less if you're lifting heavier than me, but then I look at you in your form is crap. Excuse me, but it's crap. And so really just focus on form, not weight. And I know, especially inside the Movement with Julie community, there are some girls that say like, "Man, these people are lifting so much heavier than me." And I just want to remind you that in this journey, it is you versus you and you are walking in, you could be genuinely walking in on someone's chapter 19, and you have no idea.
To you it's their chapter one, but to the person it's their chapter 19, and you don't know what happened before then. You don't know how long they've been on this journey and you, quite frankly, don't know what it looked like when they first started this journey if that is you and you're walking in to your day one, and you're comparing your day one to somebody else's day 5,075. Like you just have no idea. And so remember this journey is you versus you.
Do not focus on the weight, instead focus on your form, which leads me to my last and final tip, which is practice your form. This is not only going to help you feel confident in the exercises that you're performing, but it's also going to ensure that you are properly executing them. And when you're properly executing them, that is when you're going to be working your muscles. And when you're working your muscles over time, that is when you're going to see results. So if you have a plan, I encourage you to look at the videos. This is why I have video demonstrations for every single movement, because I believe that it's really important to understand what the movement looks like.
And so I want to encourage you, look at the videos, look at them ahead of time if you can. And this can also be a part of your visualization. When you are visualizing your workout ahead of time, you can kind of browse through the workout and say, "Okay, what does this workout entail?" Look at the videos. Look at the forms that I have in the videos. At this time, I don't have form cues, but that is something that I'm going to be adding in a few months within the app, especially for compound movements and foundational movements.
And so looking at the video demonstrations, mimicking the movement, practicing it over and over again just like you would like think about these professional athletes that implement the mental imagery and the visualization. They practice it ahead of time. They allow their body to go through that movement. So then when you're actually going through the movement, you won't be second guessing it and your body already knows, and is very comfortable and confident in that movement. So that is definitely a tip that I recommend you have.
I hope that this encouraged you. I know for me like I've mentioned before, this podcast truly is to the woman who is just trying to learn more and trying to learn more about workouts, trying to learn more about nutrition, trying to remember certain truths like I mentioned above with that review of no longer being a prisoner to your own mind anymore, and learning how to identify those things. And I just overall want to applaud you for tuning into this episode. I want to applaud you and commend you for taking the time to invest in yourself.
I truly believe that one of the best investments that you can make is within yourself and especially your health and fitness, your health. This is the only body that you're going to live in for the rest of your life. And so why not honor it, why not take care of it and why not always be a learner, a learner in life to figure out how is the best way that I can show up as the best version of myself so that I can in turn serve the people that I love and the things that I love doing better in a better capacity?
So let me recap those eight things. Number one, visualize your workout. Number two, have a plan. Number three, don't work out at peak hours. This one is particularly for my public gym chicas. Number four, tune everyone out. Number five, wear clothes that make you feel good and comfortable. Number six, use weights that you can actually lift. Number seven, focus on form, not weight. And number eight, practice your form.
Again, if you're wanting to start working out with a plan, or if you like the idea of having video demonstrations of every movement and constant new workouts released every week, you can check out my app. All you got to do is go to sale. That's S-A-L-E.movementwithjulie.com. And every single week, I give you five brand new workouts that are released on Saturdays at 12:00 PM Mountain Standard Time. Each workout has two options depending on your time constraints and what you can personally commit to that day. We have a full workout, which is basically the standard workout. Takes around 45 to 55 minutes to complete or a 30-minute variation for when you're short on time, and that takes about 28 to 32 minutes to complete.
All you need is two pairs of dumbbells, your body weight, and a small space. So if you want to learn more, again, go to sale, S-A-L-E.movementwithjulie.com or I will link that in the show notes below. And I hope that you check it out. And I hope to work out alongside of you and thousands of other ladies who are doing this week in and week out. That is all that I have for today's episode. I hope that you found this helpful. I hope that you could take something away from this podcast.
If you have a girlfriend or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this specific episode, I just asked that you shared out with them. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your story. I love connecting with you guys, I love you so much, and I will talk to you in the next episode.
All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so @juliealedbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart and check.The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode.
Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.