So you come from some traumatic events and the health affects are now showing. You are ready to do something about it, feel better and move forward. Now what?
Mental and emotional states are usually fragile and motivation can be fleeting. Does not matter if you used to be a superstar and life was perfect, everyone has their falls and are humbled back to the beginnings again.
The first thing I had to do was not beat myself up, it does not help and the pressure you put on yourself just defeats you. For some of us this is our worst enemy. I had to learn the balance between my extreme drive and being militant to a fault.
Using your body and health goals or fitness goals to inspire your action as well as restore your mental and emotional state is one of the easiest things you can control and accomplish. Most times is more of a mental block than a physical one. Even if there are physical issues there is always a way to be active, but we let our mind have its way with us and usually self sabotage in some way.
Of course you want to minimize that but when it happens, you don't roll over and give up! Here is the part many fall into the crack on, getting back up after you binge or take a few days off. Many times we just say 'ah, whatever, I messed up now so who cares....." instead we should say 'ok, back at it tomorrow.' Don't dwell on the fall, its not as big a deal as we make it out to be, that's the 'beating up on yourself' part.
Commitment and integrity is something you will hear me talk about a lot. These traits are inherent and if you have them you usually apply them to your interactions in life and to yourself. If you don't then you probably find you have problems sticking with your own self set goals and promises made to yourself regarding things like exercise and nutrition. If you want to succeed in anything, especially health, you need to groom your integrity and commit to your goals. It also makes you reliable and strengthens your relationships with others who will see you as a person of your word. You do what you say. I'm sure you have met those who were difficult to interact with because you knew by past experience they are someone who is not consistent and says things but you can't count on it or they say one thing and do the opposite, so you just don't take anything they say seriously. How often do you feel like interacting with that person? Do you want to be that person?
I am not saying we live for others or should act or be in any way for the sake of others, but this one, its for your own sake. Its self improvement and so powerful. I truly believe it makes the difference between repeated failure (insanity, doing the same thing over and over.....) and success.
These are psychological ideas I find useful and by no means am I saying these things as if I have mastered all this. These are things I discuss because these are things I NEED to work on as well.
Going forward into my fitness goals today, like anyone, I have nutrition, exercise and aesthetic goals. These goals can vary among us but in general its a similar pattern. Once you determine what you want, then you start to incorporate the appealing ideas you feel may help get you there. You get a coach or do it yourself but this is the first part of committing. Don't overly stress on the formula or execution. That is part of your learning as you go but just start doing something and don't make any of it stressful. Anything that starts to be a hassle, you will eventually quit. The accuracy of your formula is tweaked as you go.
Many get stumped at this point and procrastinate beginning or get overwhelmed and don't bother.
I go into this recent fitness commitment with the mindset of doing things I like and not having to force anything, you can do that you know. Took me half my career to figure that out and really feel, apply it. There is no need to do exercises that are uncomfortable, programs that you know will work but you hate, eating foods you don't like. I know this from experience and I am telling you this with pure confidence so look at finding a fit, not getting stuck on ideas that don't feel right for you just because you think it maybe the only or fastest way, that's a lie.
There is a ton of info out there, none right or wrong, everything out there worked for someone. The dynamics of each individuals need and preferences is so wide, that is why there is so much fitness info. Even so some say do this it works, other say don't do this its bad......listen and learn but remember it may or may not apply to you no matter how strong the opinion of the person or professional you are speaking with. Always test things out for yourself within safe measures.
In the end, you will never really know until you communicate with your body, try things, see how it responds and let your body have the time to let you know, 2-14 days into things and your body will tell you alot if you listen. Don't fight it or force it or get angry at your body because its not giving you what you want.......its telling you, you're are not giving it what it needs! That battle can go on forever and you will never win, the body will not be battled, it needs you to work WITH it. This is my experience over many years, took me a long time to learn this but when I did over the past 5-7 years I got the best, easiest results of my life and felt the best ever while doing it. It was also the healthiest, most holistic route I had ever taken.
My plan is to go ahead now and enjoy the process, have comfort through this fitness journey while getting the most amazing results ever, in a short period of time. You can all do it this way with great success.
During Week 2 of this blog I will get into some meat and potato's of my fitness plan beyond the mental and emotional prep I had been discussing this week. I will cover my stats on week 3 with my detailed outline, sharing my exercise and eating ideas for myself. I am not just posting formulas in this blog series, but walking you through the whole process. Us trainers use this when working with our clients so I am going to be my client and treat myself as such. I will probably be gentler on myself if I see myself as a client, we would never treat our clients as poorly as we beat ourselves up so its one way for me to soften the militant approach I normally take with myself.
This blog in a sense is my accountability, so that is covered too. I don't do workout partners, its not easy to match schedules with others right now. It is something you can apply if it helps you and makes your fitness journey more enjoyable but for me at the moment, it would be a stress and hindrance. Just another point made about no right or wrong, just what works. Whatever you choose to apply to your practice you want to make sure its something you will not be doing begrudgingly, dragging your feet and forcing it. Choose ideas that will motivate you with eagerness.
My motivation is knowing what my body can be, having been there, and wanting it back even better. I have deteriorated especially in my legs and butt with 2 major knee surgeries over 2013 and 2014. I healed well and fast, but I was going through some tough stress so I was not training, did not really do much physical therapy and did not eat enough. I am so grateful for being so fit already, its the reason my knee come back great anyway and why I don't look and feel worse than I do. I will get into more detail about specific goals, in my next few posts. They are pretty similar to what most of you are probably looking to attain.
Over the next 12 weeks, if you join me and do what you can on your end to follow along, set a plan and execute it, we will all be sporting some big smiles and fitter healthier bodies by Spring! Even if you are active already, lets use this to take you to the next level, achieving new goals.
Do not hesitate to share in the comments area, I would love to hear about your fitness journey and be inspired by you! I invite you to join me while we support and lift each other in health ;)))
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