"Everyone looks silly starting out": Judd

I've just started playing tennis, and I'm terrible at it. My shoulders are a bit funny, and I can hit maybe one in five shots.

Coming from the place of being a professional athlete, people expect me to be naturally good at sports. All sports. It was the same when I took up cycling. When I first jumped on a bike, I failed a lot, but I stuck with it because I loved that there was huge potential for improvement.

I've also recently given three new sports a go for OneLife: boxing, arm wrestling, and - funnily enough - ballet. While none of those sports are really viable long-term options for me (they didn't really grab me), they were all learning experiences. They gave me a greater appreciation of how much skill and physicality is involved for the professionals who taught me their crafts.

What I've learned through all this is how beneficial it is to get out of your mental comfort zone and give new things a go.

Now, look: trying to learn ballet wasn't exactly good for my street cred. But I've got four kids - who am I trying to impress? The most important thing was that I had fun with it and I learned something I didn't know before.

In reality, everyone looks silly starting out. No one is born with the skills they need to be an athlete or a really fit person. Even if you're naturally good at something, you still need to go through the hard yards of learning the techniques and honing your skills. You can't know how to do everything, and no one expects you to. Failing your way to success is the only way.

Whether you're just starting out exercising, or you want to mix it up and try something new, it's natural to feel a bit self-conscious working out in front of others. For example, you might feel uncomfortable at the gym because you're not sure how to use the equipment, or you think people are judging you for getting puffed on the treadmill so quickly.

Everyone cares about what other people think of them, but if you let your ego get in the way of working out, you're doing yourself a disservice. In reality, people are thinking about you a lot less than you realise. Everyone has their own things they're overcoming, and they're probably just as worried about being looked at as you are.

You can't let your ego get in the way of your health. I promise that the fear of looking silly doesn't matter in the bigger scheme of things. That short-term discomfort is a lot easier to get through than the risks that come with long-term inaction, and I guarantee that the first time doing something is always the hardest. The second time will seem nowhere near as daunting, and it just gets easier every time after that.

Honestly, if you're looking hard enough, you'll find an excuse to not do anything. But if you want to be fit and healthy and feel the positive flow-on effects in other parts of your life, then you need to break down those mental barriers that are keeping you stagnant. Embrace a bit of discomfort, park your ego to the side, and work out what's more important - your pride or your health.

And for the record, after a bit of time on the court, I'm getting better at tennis. Hopefully, in the near future, I'll be hitting two shots out of five.

Former Australian Rules footballer Chris Judd is familiar with how to get your heart rate up and push yourself physically. Twice winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal, Chris is an honoured sportsman and father to four children, Oscar, Billie, Tom and Darcy. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.