What if I told you the real reason people fail at fitness is not because they lack discipline? It’s not because they’re lazy; most fitness programs are actually setting people up for failure? Do you really need two hours a day to workout? 15 to 30 minutes is all you really need. Motivation is going to come and go. A good system is what’s going to keep you steady. If you’re not having fun, you’re not going to do it. Meet people where they are, not where social media says you should be. You’re not lazy. Take the pressure off. That weakness that you’re feeling is also the strength that you’re building.
Hello! Welcome to episode one of the VC fitness podcast. My name is Vanessa Carlson, and in today’s episode, I want to talk to you about why most people fail at fitness. And before we even say anything. Hear me out. It’s not because they are lazy. So what if I told you that the real reason people fail at fitness is not because they lack discipline?
It’s not because they’re lazy or there’s something wrong with you. It’s not any of that. In fact, I think in my experience these last 20 years that most fitness programs are actually setting people up for failure before they even begin. All right. So let’s dive right in. As I mentioned, I have been in the industry for at least 20 years as a instructor, coach, trainer, physical therapist, working in hospitals, clinics, outpatient, industrial health.
And I have seen a trend from hearing, listening to people hearing what they’re saying. And I want to overcome today some of the myths that are going around. And these are the top three. One, people think that they don’t have enough time. So let’s just kind of dig into that. Do you really need two hours a day to workout?
Do you even really need one hour a day every day to work out? Not necessarily. Right. 15 to 30 minutes of exercise and movement is all you really need. Another myth that I hear is I’m too out of shape, right? Everyone has to start somewhere. Everyone is a beginner at some point in their life with something, whether it was their career, whether it was riding a bike, whether it was walking.
It’s just figuring out what is it that you need right now. And as you build your stride and momentum, constantly checking in with your body and saying, okay, now what does my body need and crave to hit my goals, whatever that is for you and the other myth. Myth number three is I just don’t have enough motivation. The reality is motivation is going to come and go.
But systems having a good system is what’s going to keep you steady. And most fitness programs I’ve seen throughout the years maybe are too intense, right? And may not be what you need to complicated. Like my goodness, you shouldn’t need like your doctorate or PhD to figure out your workouts. Or they maybe have a one size fits all approach and not really tailored to your unique needs of your body, or maybe your personality more focused on your appearance.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good. Don’t get me wrong on that. But I’ll give you an example. I had a or. I have a client and we’ve been working out with each other for a year. And this is one thing I learned from her a year ago when our first assessment during our consultation, she said, I want to feel better, have more energy.
I want to feel stronger and build this habit. Because she has never worked out and she is in her late 40s. And in doing those three things, she’s lost 44 pounds, she’s lost over 26in and now is able to do more physically. She has more mobility than ever before, even in her 20s and 30s. So again, it’s okay to look great, yes, but sometimes if we focus on what is it that we want to feel like, what is feeling strong look like focusing on those things, building the habits and all the other things that fall into place, fall into place.
Some fitness programs I’ve seen really don’t have much accountability, right? And that’s the beauty of the hybrid program I have with my clients using the app. I can see when they’re working out, or maybe if they haven’t worked out, I can check in with them and see what’s going on. How can I change their program? Or maybe it’s a quick conversation, hearing their heart and boom, they’re off to the races again.
Feeling good, feeling seen and feeling motivated. Some fitness programs maybe are ignoring the injuries, or maybe some medical things you have going on, or don’t have the education needed to help you, or ignoring the real stresses you’re going through on a day to day, and the real life challenges that you encounter day to day. So when that’s happening, no bueno, right?
Like, it’s hard to get in a workout when you don’t have that support or feeling seen or heard. And at VC fitness, we try our hardest. These are the top three things. First, the fun first approach. Because if you’re not having fun, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, you’re not going to do it. And the beauty about exercise and fitness is that there’s so many different things that you can do, and I love coming alongside people and helping them figure out what’s going to be the best thing for them right now and then as a change, build strength, mobility, time, whatever, changing it with them.
And which is why I think it’s so good. I’m so grateful that I have my background in Pilates or I did a physique show. I love to live. I love hit being outside, working out outside, and so implementing things that someone is going to actually enjoy and feel like, yes, I can do this. The other thing at VC fitness is that we believe safety matters.
This is where I really love to use my physical therapy brain and just I’m so grateful. The experience that I’ve had working in different settings and with BC fitness, we do our assessment to kind of see what your body is telling me. We call it our reach and rise, and in doing so, that brings up really great conversation, right?
And that’s me telling you this is what I see. What do you think? Maybe it’s lacking range of motion and the hip and the shoulder weakness and one limb versus the other. Decrease in balance whatever. Because we don’t want to reinforce those compensatory patterns. We don’t want to get hurt. If anything, we just want to build from that as we grow in our workouts.
And the third thing at VC fitness that we strive to do is meet people where they are, not where social media says you should be. It’s good to have a goal, it’s good to strive towards that. But we got to see where we’re at, what is our baseline right now, and then how are we going to make that foundation strong and build from there?
Because when you are having fun, when you’re understanding, okay, I am doing this particular stretch or this particular exercise to address ABC, I’m going to get def right. And so when you are having fun. You’re understanding what you’re doing and you feel like, okay, I’m being heard, I’m being seen. This is fitting my body and I can do this.
You’re going to find yourself being more consistent, okay? Most people just don’t know where to start. And I know we live in the information age. There’s so many things out there. YouTube shorts and all the things, Instagram Reels and all this plethora of information AI. Well, that’s great, but how does it apply to you? And that is my message, is that no, you’re not lazy.
Take the pressure off. No one came out of the womb knowing the proper way to squat and lunge and lift and move and things to be aware of. Let someone who is passionate, who is motivated like me, a team at VC fitness come alongside and help you so that you can get that momentum, get that stride going and feel good doing it.
And so my challenge for you today is what can I do this week? Instead of creating this mountain that seems impossible, I have to work out every day for an hour, and then you’d find yourself not even working out in 3 or 4 days. Maybe it’s adding in a 15 minute walk after dinner. Maybe it’s a 15 minute routine or exercise before you start your day.
Maybe if you’re only drinking one bottle of water, it’s like, okay, my goal is 64, let’s kick this up to 32oz. So finding something, 1 or 2 things, 1 or 2 things like this week I am going to one get in a 15 minute workout or two, I am going to increase my water to 64oz, whatever that looks like to you and write it down.
Put it on your Google calendar, check in with yourself and then actually do it. Okay. Motivation is how do I say overrated, right. And we’re going to get into that in our next episode. That motivation really isn’t enough. But that’s again for the next episode. So again, you’re not broken. You’re not an alien.
You’re not alone.
I actually was talking to a client this morning, and she was telling me those three things I mentioned.
She felt like she was two, too weak. She felt like there wasn’t enough time right in the day, and she felt like she wasn’t motivated. And I’m glad she was able to share those things, but it made me remember that we don’t need. And I reminded her, we don’t need 1 or 2 hours. It’s 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there, and we’ll yield that compound effect.
It’s a real thing. There’s a whole book on it and it’ll help you now for your present self and then also for your future self in the next decade. And I also reminded her that motivation is overrated. The fact that she’s showing up right, taking care of herself and doing the little things that’s what matters and enjoying it.
And then the also just going over with her that it’s okay if you feel weak, I think, I think sometimes we just get so upset with ourselves and so hard on ourselves. But whether you’re the weakness is curling an eight pounder or the weaknesses are pulling up that 50 pound dumbbell that that challenge, that weakness that you’re feeling is also the strength that you’re building.
Hallelujah. So keep that in mind. It has to be or will be a little bit challenging, right? So that you can build muscle, build endurance, build resilience and challenge yourself. So that’s okay. That that struggle that you’re feeling is actually also the strength that you’re building. And when I reminded her of that, she’s like, oh, okay, I’m not crazy one.
I know that I’m not alone. Two this is normal. And three, I’m actually doing something about it and I’m headed in the right direction. So I hope that blesses you. I hope that motivates you. I hope you get up, get in a workout, and of course, I would love to meet you, work out with you, and get to know you.
You can take advantage of our $1 Reach and Rise assessment. You can go on BC Fitness Live or message us at (207) 467-5509. And again, it’s only a $1 first time assessment. I’d love to meet you and work out with you and help you on this journey. You’re not alone and stay tuned. Make sure you check in for episode two, where we’re going to talk about how motivation is a little overrated.
people think that, oh, I need to be motivated. And really motivation is not enough. But stay tuned. We’ll talk about motivation and episode two ciao for now.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.