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
When it comes to food, the trainer in me thinks nutrients first, convenience second and flavour third. But, I can’t get away with eating beans, spinach and chilli seven days a week. For a few very good reasons.
First, my wife’s a chef by trade. She thrives on variety, flavours, texture, and all that. (And after 15 years, I admit that she’s onto something.)
Two, kids don’t love chilli. If it’d be up to them we’d be eating pasta, tomato sauce and occasional broccoli (“I am a giraffe.”) on most days.
So our weekly meal planning has all the potential to turn into an all-out war. And, let’s not forget that I eat mostly plant-based. The rest of the family doesn’t.
Somehow we’re able to pull through most weeks and end up with a variety of delicious, mostly nutritious meals that are simple enough to cook. And we all win.
Yet it does take a bit of an effort to plan, shop and cook. At least with my unpolished grocery planning, shopping and cooking skills.
But we have a secret weapon.
We’ve been using the Paprika app for years to plan our weekly meals. We also use the meals –> shopping list function in it to do our weekly online grocery orders.
And as we’ve populated the app with recipes over the years, it took me about 30 minutes to plan and order our weekly meals this morning.
If your current weekly meal planning sits somewhere between chaos and not planning, check out Paprika. I get nothing out of recommending it. I just think it’s an awesome app that makes healthy eating that little bit easier.
-J
There are certain aspects of health and fitness that tend to get less focus than they deserve. With that in mind, I created a quick movement and health checklist for you to run through at home.
It’ll take around five minutes and you don’t need any equipment to get it done. Some of it is stuff that you’re well aware of, and some might be new to you.
I wanted to make it simple, quick and somewhat effortless to complete. So there were certain things I left out because, although important, they didn’t fit into those three descriptions.
Either way, I’d love to hear what you get out of it.
-J
Adding an extra 45-minute workout each week might not be possible right now.
But most of us can find a minute here and another five there throughout the day.
Strip away some, or parts, of the modern conveniences.
Find ways to make your everyday life more physically demanding than it needs to be.
Burn fat, not oil, whenever possible.
Find ways to sprinkle more physically demanding tasks into your days.
-J
The level of strength and fitness you need obviously depends on what you’re training for. What you need for day-to-day living is usually less than what you need to climb one of the Everest Base camps.
No surprises there.
But as with money, you want to have a bit more than what you need. You want to feel you don’t have to spend everything you’ve got to just get through the day. And it doesn’t hurt to have some reserves, for those just-in-case moments.
When the neighbour needs help moving the grand piano. When the only way to avoid a public meltdown is to carry the tired kids or grandkids through the airport. When Robin’s too tired and Batman can’t be bothered. And you’re definitely not going to call Spiderman. Because laaaaaaaaame.
And if you are climbing the base camp, I’d say you don’t want to feel completely wiped out before heading back down.
It’s easy to get caught up in doing more for the sake of doing more.
But it’s just as easy to deceive yourself into thinking that you’ve got enough.
-J