My Story - Simon Dainton - Guildford Personal Trainer

Fitness - My Own Journey (Part 1)

As a Fitness Professional who helps others achieve their goals on a daily basis, you might think that I was born into a world where I naturally excelled at sport, physical fitness and winning.

But, I'm going to let you in on a little secret...

One I'm not ashamed to admit, and in many ways am proud of, because it has made me the person I am today, both physically and mentally. I haven't always been in shape.

There - I said it. In my profession that might sound surprising, but exercise for me came late in life. As a child I was skinny... really skinny. There were girls stronger than me!

Sure, I enjoyed the usual kids' activities like riding my bike and climbing trees, but physically I was weak. At school I was hopeless at sport.When it came to appointing captains to pick teams, I was never asked.

I was the awkward child you would see standing in the corner of the sports hall, head down, waiting to be picked for a team, knowing that I would be one of the last people to be called out. Even then I felt like I was only picked because the team captain had no one left to choose from!

I put a brave face on it and acted like I didn't care, but the truth is I was embarrassed.

I felt others were judging me on my appearance, and that feeling made me shy away from physical activity even more. I didn't want to find myself in a situation where I would feel that way. Gym class, tennis lessons and sports time always filled me with dread.

I found myself taking on the attitude of 'why should I bother?' and 'what's the point in trying?'

Doing that seemed easier than thinking about the alternative; doing something that made me feel uncomfortable, by placing me outside my comfort zone.

Attending a school with a strong sporting background didn't help matters. The 'cool crowd' were the guys that won cups, scored goals, led the rowing team or won cross country without breaking so much as a sweat! Where was I to fit in physically?

Back then there was so much pressure to succeed at sport. Everything was compulsory. As someone not passionate about sport I was made to feel that I had to perform. I had to make an effort. I had to help win the athletics competition by doing my part in the relays or the long jump. I had to win at least a Silver in cross country or else I was 'dead meat!' (The School Captain's words, not mine).

The more people pushed me to perform, the less interest I had in complying.
My attitude was always along the lines of ' I can't, so I won't '.

If I was going to enjoy exercise it had to be on my terms. For many years I would continue to 'dodge' sport and exercise as much as possible. Once I left school it was easier to do just that. No one was there to tell me to 'get out on the pitch' or 'get moving'.

I could put it to the back of my mind and focus on other things in life, like work and socialising. School had made me associate exercise with competition and discomfort, not enjoyment.

A competitive edge just wasn't in me.

Even years later, when I started training for Triathlon, I had no desire to win. For me it was the taking part - the experience - that I enjoyed, not the desire to beat my fellow competitors.

Click HERE to read the final part of this article.