I was tagged in article on Facebook recently that elicited some interesting responses. http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-01-23/you-say-you-want-to-get-fit-but-do-you-really/8203950
The gist of the argument was that to get change you had to be willing to commit to the long term and not compromise your principals – like not just focus on losing 10kg for summer, or putting off exercise because it’s inconvenient.
I agreed with most of it, though having short-term goals is a good way of helping stick the long course.
I haven’t met many people who are as committed as they’d like to be all the time – whatever the goal – so a bit of psychological assistance isn’t a bad thing.
People struggle to maintain motivation over long periods, so short term goals are a useful tool.
I usually give myself about an 8 week program at a time, by the end of which I’m sick of it and need a change.
The change is also good for you body, as it has learnt to adapt to what you’ve been doing and the chances are the gains you were making have plateaued.
A new regime will re-stimulate your mind and body.
There’s nothing wrong with saying I want to lose a dress size by the wedding, so long as you don’t stop exercising after the wedding. Once the wedding (or whatever the end of the short term goal was) is done, set a new short-term goal.
But even this is not easy, given the lives we lead.
Brisbane has just endured a ludicrous hot spell, where for about three weeks the temperature was above 34 degrees every day with stinking humidity. Who wants to train in that?
Then there are all the other temptations distracting us from our health goals – socialising, work, children, tiredness etc.
It is easy to make excuses not to train- yet when we skip a planned session we inevitably feel worse about ourselves.
Even if it is 38 degrees and the last thing you want to do is train, you know that you will be psychologically, as well as physically, better off if you do.
No one is saying go out and run a half marathon.
But if you can put in a short – intense, concentrated effort you will be proud of yourself, feel good and be more enthusiastic about your next scheduled work out.
Everyone can do this – you just have to find the positive side of the situation to focus on.
Every negative can be turned into a positive. Let me show you:
Negative – It’s too hot.
Positive - I’ll burn more calories in this heat and I know if I can train well today I can train well in any conditions.
That is empowering.
Negative – I’m too tired because I didn’t sleep well.
Positive – A workout today will boost my energy levels (oxygenating the blood and providing an endorphine rush) and it will ensure I sleep well tonight.
Negative – I’m too sore from yesterday’s workout.
Positive – My legs are aching from yesterday’s workout but I can still do an upper body workout today.
Or I can do 20 minutes on the bike at medium intensity to help relieve the ache. Post workout muscle ache is the result of the damage you have done to the muscle fibres in your exertion – that’s how we build strength and add muscle – our body realises it has to adapt and does so. A low-intensity 20 minutes on an exercise bike (or something similar) can help heal the damaged muscle by increasing blood flow to the sore area, bringing oxygen and nutrients to help heal (just don’t overdo it). Some studies suggest the increased blood flow can also flush some of the irritants causing pain.
Negative – I’m too busy.
Positive – Bullshit. Very few of us can say they could not have replaced something they did for 45 minutes in their day with exercise. Maybe it means less time watching TV or perusing Facebook. Sometimes it just takes a bit of planning – find the spot in your day when you can get the heart rate up for 45 minutes – it doesn’t matter how – climb stairs, do body weight squats and push-ups, ride to work, walk to the shops and back – It’s not hard.
Negative – I’m too hungover.
Positive – A small amount of exercise will help reduce my hangover by oxygenating my blood (though you may want to throw up in the shorter term) and will ensure I’m ready to give it full intensity tomorrow.
Negative – I’m stuck at home with the kids/ dog/husband/etc.
Positive – I can do meaningful exercise anywhere, anytime without equipment if I need to. IS your street on a hill? – go out and run up it 6 times, then walk up it 6 (carrying a couple of bricks if you’re hardcore); Run up the stairs 20 times; Do bodyweight squats and push-ups; Skip for five sets of 2 minutes; Do under water laps of the back-yard swimming pool. The options are only limited by your commitment.
The other positives from all of these scenarios are that if you do the workout, instead of making the excuse not to – you will feel better about yourself, you will be healthier and you will be a step closer to the main point of the article above – choosing to make better health a positive part of your life, rather than a shot term negative obligation.