Fitness from a holistic approach
Fitness doesn’t just come from the weight room floor or group exercise room. It comes from within and without. I use a holistic approach with clients. I coach you through the emotional, nutritional, and lifestyle changes, that along with exercise and mobility, create fitness.
Nutritional. Emotional. Movement. Tackling the Big Rocks of Fitness.
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Nutritional. Emotional. Movement. Tackling the Big Rocks of Fitness. ~
IS THE SQUIRREL YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL?
A squirrel attempted to cross my path while driving home this morning. He darted out halfway into the road. He stalled, he completed a half turn and then stalled again. He seemed to briefly think about what to do, turned again and continued to cross the street in the path he first attempted. He made it across, but not without a lot of indecision and wasted time. I genuinely got a belly laugh from it.
After my snickering subsided, it occurred to me that people can often behave like that squirrel. We insecurely go one way, question that path, suppose they may change tactics for a split second, only to revert back to their original line of travel. What does that accomplish? Do we end up safely at our destination? Are we efficient? Is this effective?
When it comes to health and fitness, we often follow the same pattern this squirrel exhibited crossing the road. We set a goal like losing weight and gaining muscle. Without thoroughly planning, we start exercising and eating better. We gain some momentum. Sometimes in this forward motion we lose a little weight or get slightly stronger and eat just a little better. Then the improvement stalls, we get stuck not knowing what to do next, or our resolve stalls or even ceases. We plateau and cannot figure out why what worked two months ago doesn’t work now.
The body is smart and will outwit us in our efforts. It will get used to an exercise plan or a certain amount of calories. It needs to be periodically challenged and given a new, more novel stimulus. The calories we consume cannot be too low or too high for too long either. They must vary depending on the current goal (I say “current” because we this should change occasionally) and activity level. Even the types of food we eat need to be varied.
This requires a modicum of planning and education. We need to plan our workouts, our meals, and our calorie needs around the goal we are pursuing at the time. And remember, even our goals need to change every now and then to see progress. If we plan, we can avoid a plateau. If we act like the squirrel did and not decide upon and devise a new path to our destination, we may just stall out again and fail to lose fat, fail to change our physique, and fail get stronger. We may become dissatisfied and quit or continue on the same path and procedure without further change and like the squirrel’s method, become ineffective, inefficient or downright ridiculous.
Don’t blindly and haphazardly cross the road on your journey to health and fitness. Resolve upon a goal and gain knowledge on how to achieve it. Be flexible and allow those goals to change. Research for yourself or hire a professional to help you plan. Figure out what foods and ways of eating (hate the word “diet”) work best for your goals. Again, this requires research or outside assistance. It also needs tweaking from time to time. Have a plan, fully execute it and stay the course. In other words, don’t be the squirrel.
GYM STOICISM
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.” Epictetus -Stoic Philosopher
One basic tenet in Stoicism, in a nutshell, is the belief and application of the belief that you can only control your own thoughts, emotions and actions. To achieve peace within and happiness, focus on controlling these things. You cannot control these things in others. Attempting to control these outside of yourself will lead to upset.
There is a place where one can have a little more effect: the weight room. We can control matter ( other things) depending on the way we control ourselves with learned skills. We can attain these skills with study and practice (again, your actions within your control). Your muscles move a heavy object. You exert force over something else. And when your force moves it well, when your actions are successful, you may feel triumphant and proud. The heavier the weight, the happier we are when we recognize that we could indeed control things outside ourselves through moving this matter.
Attempt difficult feats that you are certain you are capable of (after much training)and make it progressively more difficult after it gets too easy. Then, bask in the glory. Each increase in difficulty, will bring with it more feelings of victory over something outside of yourself.
However, you may fail to complete an exercise due to forces outside of your control, such as the force of gravity on an object that may make it more difficult or impossible to move. Or perhaps, the equipment you need is lacking or being used by someone else. Maybe you don’t have the required skills or knowledge of how to adequately perform a movement. These difficulties may challenge your happiness. So what can you do in cases like this to still get a sense of “glory?” Stoicism to the rescue again! Control your feelings on the defeat and accept that the only thing you can change about the situation is your reaction to it. Try positivity. Think or feel that though you failed, with a little more knowledge or practice, you may succeed in your next attempt. This can be hard, but remember, if you can employ this tactic, then that is one more difficulty you have overcome. Once again, you can feel glorious in not allowing an impedance to affect your emotions and attitude.
Stoicism is a rather practical philosophy. It can be applied in so many areas of your life to help you get through difficult situations. Weight lifting and trying to achieve your health and fitness goals are no different. Because you are trying to control the outcomes, you are trying to control your actions. When you succeed, you can feel “glory” in overcoming a difficulty. When you don’t, you can apply this philosophy and still feel happiness by allowing yourself to feel it despite the negative outcome. With each defeat you can feel “glory” by controlling your reaction to this difficulty. And the bigger the defeat, the more “glory “ you can attain by not allowing it to affect your emotions towards it.
GOT GOALS? ARE THEY SMART?
Goals. You have them. I have them. Around this time every year we set new ones for the new year. You have to be S.M.A.R.T. about them to do your best at accomplishing them. Following the SMART approach will help you avoid frustration and help you tackle them.
"S:" Specific. Avoid setting vaguely worded goals. For instance, if you want to move more in 2018, you could say, " I will take 10000 steps a day." No random number is set. It is concrete.
It is also Measurable; the "M." There are many ways to track and measure the adherence to the goal you set. What tools are at your disposal to ensure you stick with your plan? Find something to help quantify.
The goal should be Attainable. Every day is different. Account for that. Life may get in the way. With that in mind, set a goal that is manageable, even with a hectic life. Using our step goal example, if you have a desk job for 8 hours a day, you may not be able to set a goal of 20,000 steps a day that a construction worker may be able to easily. Account for life circumstances.
Goals should be Realistic. What can you do? What is out of the question for you? If goals are realistic, you are more likely to adhere to your plan. It helps you avoid frustration when your goal is relevant to your life, personality and will work with tools that are available to you. Again, 20,000 steps a day that some one with a job where they are on their feet all day can do easily may not translate well to an office worker's life.
Lastly, Timely or Time -bound goals are necessary. How long will you give yourself to work on your goals? Do you have a start date and end date? How long is your plan doable? Setting a vague timeline for accomplishing it will not lead to focus. Again, be realistic with this timeline. For instance, give yourself ample time to achieve your goals or work up to completing them. Going from 2,000 steps a day to 10,000 right out of the gate may lead to injury.
The new year will be upon us soon. Start thinking about your resolutions now. Sit down and write it out with the tools above. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, attainable and timely. Follow your concrete written plan and see yourself succeed.