The world is so busy, right? Remember when the world was simpler? There were no stalking ads showing up on multiple websites. You did not see sponsored posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Linkedin. Those days of simple Internet surfing are in the past. In fact, another big change the past 5 years has been around the need to exercise. You cannot, not have exercise as a part of your program. You have to exercise in order to keep up with the times. Remember when exercise was a part of gym class? Or sports? Today you have to devote a part of your life to exercising. Therefore you must get a gym membership and develop a social support system around fitness. Many people enjoy races and other community events around fitness because it adds a tribal element.
The problem with not exercising has become more complex. If you do not exercise currently, you will undoubtedly develop lower back pain. You will develop pain because you are sitting, or standing in a static position too long, without a variety of other movements. You have to pay for your own fitness. You pay in hours of commitment and the dollars subtracted from your paycheck. Welcome to 2016. If the trends continue, you will have to accept more responsibility for your health because being healthy is quickly becoming more expensive.
A client just returned to personal training with me after taking two years off. He said he quickly lost all of the benefits from personal training once he stopped. You cannot afford to stop exercising anymore, even if you stop personal training. Every time you quit exercising it becomes harder to get your body back into shape. Not because of some biological reason. No, getting yourself back into shape becomes harder because mentally you remind yourself of what you lost. That daunting voice which reminds you of what you could have by now is relentless. Often you cannot out work that voice.
So, please, take some time for yourself. Start to make a list of the exercises you enjoy. When could you start to add in one exercise in throughout your day for fun? What if you could concentrate on one exercise each month? How much progress would you make in a year? A better comparison would be, what would happen if you made exercise absolutely impossible to avoid because it was so simple to do? Yes, at times in your life you need to spend hours in the gym. However, there are also times when you need to spend time mastering a few simple movements.
I am not saying you need to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. If you could pick one exercise each month, you could make progress towards mastering 12 movements by the end of the year. If you are interested in concrete results, try this challenge for one year. I guarantee you will find easy ways to organize exercise into your daily life. You may even become satisfied with how your body looks, feels, and moves.
Here are 3 questions to ask yourself:
- How could I simplify my life so I could exercise one more day per week?
- Who could I ask to join me for a 30-day challenge where we get in as many more days exercising one movement as possible?
- If I had to take a year off of working out, what are the 12 movements I could not live without doing?