Category: Daily

Our current culture of social media fame amplifies the loudest, and most narcissistic. The online narrative of the fitness industry is a shadow of a butt away from soft porn. It’s what gets the most “hearts”. And because those hearts are a cheap signal of success, there’s no shortage of the content.

And so we, the fitness industry, go the lazy route: skin gets likes. Each one being a virtual stroke on the ego. But there’s a price. It further alienates those who really need our help: the non-fitness people. That’s you.

We, the fitness industry, are too self absorbed. We are too lazy to observe and listen what the people most of us are meant to serve want and need. We think we know what you want. We are certain we know your needs. After all, we follow the likes.

We fail. We take shortcuts and anchor our content, not on what gets people to think and act. But on arousal and what gets the quick like and creates the most publicity. Making this whole circus a painful alternative reality.

The point of this rant? Not sure if there is one. But it’s worth noticing if the mainstream fitness narrative is pushing you down or lifting you up. Every “heart” is a vote for more of the same.

Then again. What do I know? Maybe tomorrow I’ll post a photo of me doing the naked splits on two eagles while licking caramel ice cream off a third.

Also, I can’t do the splits. And I’ve eaten way too much cake lately. Both to go naked or to stand on eagles.

Immediately. Once you accept that you’re going to feel challenged, uncomfortable, frustrated, and at times, struggling. None of it is easy. But the sooner you recognise that it’s the same for everyone else, it gets easier.

Instead of hoping for smooth, you prepare for the coarse. Instead of yarning for easy, you expect for it to get even harder. Acknowledging that there will be moments when you want to stop, retreat and fall back into your old habits will somehow make it all more bearable.

And then one day, it will get easy.

Changing how you feel. From lethargic, weak and in pain to strong and full of energy.

Changing how you engage in the world. From physically timid and reserved to someone who has the courage and deep desire to explore. Having the strength and energy to strive outdoors. Be it hiking or some other silent outdoor activity.

Changing how you age. From nervous and worried to someone who feels confident about the future.

Changing how you see yourself. From unfit to someone who can inspire others to take action.

Changing how others around you see you: as an inspiring role model who’s actions, habits and principles are worth emulating.

And because of the example that you set in your community: changing how others engage in physical activity. The long-tail, domino effect? Changing and reducing the emotional and financial burden of chronic illness.

Yeah, that sounds worth it.

When you’re dealing with an injury, there’s no need for a watered down rehab program that slows or stops you from reaching your goals.

Yes, we want injuries to improve. But most people also want to increase their strength, fitness and the possibility of fitting into old pants.

The good news? We can do it all at the same time without relegating to a rehab only mode. Even better, we’ll likely recover quicker from the injury by doing it.

With my clients, I plan their programs and workouts based on their goals, equipment, and even on what they enjoy (but we also need to do the stuff that we dislike).

Then I’ll adjust ONLY the exercises that need to be adjusted because of the injury and rehab. We’ll tick both the fitness and rehab boxes by choosing an alternative exercise that is the closest to the original exercise and can be done without aggravating the injury.

A person with a shoulder injury might not be able to do kettlebell swings or push ups. But they might still do a deadlift or an isometric push up variation.

Similarly, a person with a knee problem might not be able to do a full squat. But they might do a squat to a chair / box.

Then we sprinkle in whatever is going to help them get over their injury and/or whatever homework their physio/osteo/chiro gave them.

Voila, progress and rehab bundled in one.

Exercise, or a more inclusive term, physical activity. But not because it burns calories. An under appreciated perk of physical activity in fat loss and weight control (or management, you choose) is its effect on our hunger cues.

Physical activity refines our hunger in two ways.

First, it can help us differentiate between a genuine hunger and fake hunger. Have you ever felt hungry, or had a cosmic craving for glazed donuts before a workout, but went ahead with training without eating?

Only to discover that as you started moving, the hunger or craving went away. Ding! A case of fake hunger. In contrast, those times you’ve started a session and felt like passing out or lethargic, it would’ve likely been a sad-face-case of genuine hunger.

Second, engaging in physical activity makes our bodies want real, nourishing, wholefoods. The body wants to replenish whatever it used with the stuff that is healthy for us. Instead of the sweet stuff we typically crave.

As long as we’re not on some super-strict, calorie-restricted diet. But then again, why would we ever?

Here’s a random third point that has nothing to do with hunger cues. Because I like to over-deliver and don’t believe in brevity in my current state of being. Physical activity helps us form our identity as a someone who looks after their health and wellbeing. And damn, whether we do it consciously, us humans like being consistent with our actions.

Meaning that our identity in training will often spill over to the rest of our day-to-day life. We’re more likely to make healthier decisions simply because it matches the narrative of how we see ourselves and how we want others seeing us: a fine individual who’s consistent with their actions.

And yeah, please forgive me for sounding somewhat Victorian food puritan earlier for using words like “nourishing” and “replenish”. But they got the point across. Right? But also, I won’t do it again.

A fact: we don’t like to lose face in front of others. Especially if the others are people who’s opinion, we respect a great deal.

How could we use this to our benefit when trying to change a habit or reach a goal?

I’m glad you asked. Here’s how.

Writing a goal on a piece of paper, signing our name under it and making it public is all it takes. We’ve made a promise. And now we’re on the hook.

It’s unlikely that this on its own is enough to keep us going. But it can give our efforts just enough extra juice to not give up during the times of struggle or doubt.

Hiring someone for motivation is tempting. Paying them to tell you to do the things you wouldn’t do otherwise seems like a shortcut to reaching your goals.

Sure, the enthusiastic and inspirational delivery of a person’s vocabulary can give you a push. But that’s rarely the kind of motivation that leads to a lasting change. There’s too much friction.

The shift towards deep motivation often coincides with a shift in life. When the status quo becomes more painful than the possible change.

It’s not until the pain of the old exceeds that of the new. That’s when the intrinsic motivation kicks in and the friction dissipates.

And that’s when a real change can take place.

An attempt at defining the pillars of lifelong fitness.

Focus on making progress towards your goal instead of making yourself tired. Walk away from most workouts feeling like you could do more.

Progress can be about turning up. Sometimes it’s progress to not go backwards.

Compare yourself to your previous self. Not to other people.

It’s ok to skip an occasional workout and go do something else. Even if it has nothing to do with exercise.

There’s no single exercise or movement you have to do. If something doesn’t feel right, find an alternative. Also, you’re no longer an eighteen-year-old. Train accordingly.

The older you get, the more emphasis you need to put on rest and recovery.

Include movement into your days without labelling it exercise.

Take part in physical activities you enjoy, even better, love. Then sprinkle in other activities which enhance and complement what you love.

Find others who love what you love.

Eat healthy and nutritious meals most of the time. And sometimes don’t.

Learn to cook healthy and delicious food. Or marry someone who knows how to cook and is willing to cook for you. Failing that, hire a chef.

Putting in the time to manage stress and fatigue is never a bad idea.

Spend as much time outdoors as you can.

Sleep. A lot.

And yes, this is a cliché, but listen to your body.

It’s tempting to base our actions on what the relatively short-term consequences will be. The next few minutes, perhaps tomorrow, maybe in a week’s time, or in about a month or two.

But the focus of our zoom leaves out more than it allows in. It makes us vulnerable to instant, or at least semi-instant gratification.

How would our actions change if we’d promise ourselves to frequently zoom out? How differently would we behave if we’d be thinking five, 10 or 20 years from now? Instead of what gives us pleasure now.

There is nothing inherently wrong with zooming in. Doing it and living in the moment is a beautiful thing. When we do it in tiny bursts.

The danger of using too much zoom too often is that we completely miss the wider picture. It stops us from making the most informed decisions for our individual and collective, long-term health and wellbeing.

Somewhat unintentionally continuing on yesterday’s “girl push up” topic. One of the ladies I train sent me this today. One of her goals was to do a ONE push up.

A simple way to get strong with push ups (or anything, really) is to do a set of them daily. Do one rep (elevated if on the ground is too difficult), and keep at it until you can do two. Two turns to three, three to four, and so on. Never fail a rep, always leave a bit “in the tank”.

One rep might not seem much, but it all adds up. Then one day you realise you’ve done 500 over the last few months. That’s something.

A fact: Of the 500, all were real, gender neutral push ups. Drip by drip.