There’s a major misconception about fitness. Your greatest fitness challenge isn’t getting fit. Your greatest challenge is staying fit.
“While it’s not necessarily easy to become fit, there’s nothing special about anyone who becomes fit.”
Think about that. Anyone can become fit. Anyone.
Sure, it does take discipline with diet and exercise, but it can be done. But the misconception now begins…because fitness isn’t something to achieve. Fitness is something to sustain.
Your fitness isn’t a sprint. Nor is it a marathon. It’s your life. It has no start, halfway point, or finish. It simply is. And while reaching and accomplishing physical goals is praiseworthy, life is actually more than losing weight or hitting new personal records in the gym.
Because what good are those “gainz” if in less than a year or two or three… you gain the weight back (and often more) and/or fall back into old and destructive lifestyle habits (pertaining to diet and fitness)? Your progress was…temporary.
So how can you ensure your fitness path is one promoting lifetime sustainability and more likely to ensure your quality of life as long as possible?
Are you planning to live a perfect dietary life forever? Didn’t think so. So you might as well get started on learning how your body responds to a more healthy, albeit imperfect, approach. Weighing and measuring your food is quite simply NOT sustainable. Nor is eating without “cheats” sustainable.
Nobody cares what your personal bests/records are. Endlessly pursuing record-breaking lifts will ultimately end in something broken…your body. There are plenty of ways to challenge yourself without constantly increasing the poundage.
A few recommendations: shorter rest, higher volume, greater emphasis on mind-muscle connection, technique work, new/unfamiliar exercises
Lucky for you, your body has a warning system. The first warning is “discomfort.” If discomfort is ignored usually minor injury follows. If ignored, a minor injury can lead to a major injury.
Take care of your body, that bad wrist, shoulder, knee or back…you’re going to have to live with it for the rest of your life. Taking “one step back” for a few days or weeks is much more beneficial long term than being forced to stop training due to injury for weeks, months, or developing a lifelong nagging injury/bodypart.
Taking steroids, fat burners, testosterone boosters…you’re not going to learn how your body responds when you’re NOT on them. Trade short-term gratification for the long-term gratification that comes from learning from a diet and fitness journey that teaches you the tools you will need for a lifetime. These “shortcuts” do have physical, mental, and long-term costs.
Drinking excessively with your buddies can be fun, eating dessert is obviously gratifying, and skipping training for a date with the TV is a lifestyle easy to succumb to. But the choice is yours. Learn to say “No,” and learn to not give a fuck what someone else thinks. It’s your life, and you’re the one that lives with your decisions.
Don’t know what to do in the gym or unsure about diet? Hire a qualified trainer to get you started, ask a friend who has the experience, or searches the Internet for websites, forums, or instructional videos! The Internet is the world’s best library card. You will certainly have to filter out what information is solid and what isn’t, but take that step of responsibility for your body.
In life, change is constant. Your routine, work, family, responsibilities, what your body responds to, food intolerances, health challenges…your life will not be the same from year to year. While you can expect to learn much about what works for your body through your education and efforts, your pursuit of health and fitness will never be over!
Change with the times. Become a lifelong learner and take responsibility for your body, fitness, health, and future.
It makes sense to view fitness from a view of sustainability. However, our culture is instead bombarded with more of the message of how to achieve fitness (temporarily). With these seven tips you have a start on your path and remember:
“Your greatest fitness challenge isn’t getting fit. Your greatest challenge is staying fit.”
Mario Singelmann is a writer and Director of Fitness for Paleo Movement Magazine. In 2013 he became the first Paleo athlete to earn professional status as a natural bodybuilder. As a trainer/Diet and Fitness coach he has assisted hundreds in their health and fitness transformations. Mario is also the CEO of Get Game Group, offering lifestyle and relationship coaching to men and women. Originally in the field of Education, Mario has qualifications to be a school superintendent, three years experience as a teacher and assistant principal, and has coached football, basketball, soccer, and track. Between his background in Education, coaching athletics, Health and Fitness, and Get Game Group, Mario has worked with all ages and both genders successfully. To contact Mario visit www.getgamegroup.com or mario@getgamegroup.com .
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