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There are many balls we keep in the air on any given day. Being a partner, parent, friend, daughter, son, our work, possible hobbies, causes we care about… They all demand and deserve some of our time and focus.

And somehow we have to add health and fitness to our daily juggle. Unless we’re willing to drop a ball or two, it’s unreasonable to think that we can afford to give fitness our undivided attention.

Yet, this twisted perfect-or-nothing attitude often sabotages our health and fitness progress. We aim for a 10/10 score and feel defeated when we can’t maintain it.

What would happen if you’d give yourself permission to score a 7 or 8 in health and fitness?

What would you lose? What would you gain?

-J

The off-the-cuff reply, “I don’t have time”, dodges the question.

There’s always time.

We just decided to spend it doing something else.

-J

When limited flexibility stops you from doing an exercise, you have a choice to make. Either:

1. Carve out some time from your strength and fitness training to improve your flexibility.
2. Don’t address the flexibility problem, but adjust your exercise selection so you can have the same training effect with the flexibility you already have.
3. Keep doing what you’re doing even if it doesn’t feel great.

For the third option, I’d expect an argument that would make Christopher Hitchens pale in comparison. Which doesn’t mean there aren’t any. But still.

If the limited flexibility stops you from doing a particular exercise but has zero effect on your life outside of training, and improving that flexibility doesn’t align with your long-term health and training goals, pick the second option.

For any other scenario, pick the first option.

-J

The immediate short-term cost of skipping workouts or making poor food choices is insignificant. And we tend to ignore the long-term costs because it’s not tangible.

That, and we’re notoriously bad at long-term thinking.

One way to get a glimpse into the long-term costs is to observe folks who are 20, 30, or 40 years of your senior. Look at people who’ve ignored their health and fitness most of their life. And compare them to people who haven’t.

-J

But you can reduce the risk of getting injured.

And mostly it’s about doing the same things as you’d do to improve your health:

Strength training, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, a nutrient-dense diet, and sleep.

There are other things, but they barely move the needle unless those five are dialled in.

-J

The more attention your pre-workout warm-ups deserve.

It’s an obvious one, but it’s easy to half-bake the warm-up when you just need to get the workout itself over and done with.

But the warm-up serves a purpose beyond just getting, well, warmed up. There’s more to it than just increasing the muscle and joint temperature to avoid strains and other annoying things.

You’re also preparing the nervous system for the workout. And ideally, the warm-up acts like a practice round for some of the movements you’re about to do in the workout.

Without those two, you’re not getting the most out of your workout.

The training time’s already precious for most of us. Might as well make it count.

-J

Venting about what’s wrong with the world has its place. We all need to occasionally let our misery steam evaporate into the ether.

But as much of a relief as it can feel in the moment, that feeling doesn’t last. Venting our frustrations just for the sake of venting doesn’t solve anything.

Worse, negativity kills our creativity and enthusiasm. And it’s like napalm for our well-being and health.

The antidote to negativity is gratitude. And it’s within everyone’s reach.

Negative and grateful thoughts can’t occupy our thinking at the same time.

In the end, it’s a choice. If not always easy.

-J

Here’s a thought experiment to dig deep into your reasons and motivations for training.

If you could take a red pill that gives you all the exact same benefits as training, with zero negative side effects, would you take it? 

You’d be nuts not to, right? But that’s not the right question.

The right question is, after taking the pill, would you still keep training?

Even if the training itself wouldn’t give you any additional physical or psychological benefits. None whatsoever.

If you would keep training, why?

And, would anything change in the way you approach your training?

-J

The only reason for an exercise to be in your program is the benefit you get from doing it.

Getting clear on what you’re trying to achieve with each exercise opens the door to variety.

Because there rarely is just one specific exercise that gives you the benefits you’re looking to get.

Sure, there might be some that are more effective or more efficient at getting those benefits.

But unless you’re a robot, or a high-level athlete who needs to maximise every last detail, it’s nice to have a bit of variety.

Especially if you need it to keep showing up.

-J