It’s hard to find the right balance in your quest for overall health and fitness. There’s so many choices of training to choose from, I think it’s easy to get overawed by all the fitness stimulus out there. I mean how many times have you seen the advertisement “this is the fitness breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.” There’s a million ways to get it but do they make it how we like it?
So what should we do?
Naturally people are drawn to pursuits where they find some degree of success. In the book ‘Outliars’ by Malcolm Gladwell, one of his theories dictates that kids are born earlier in the year (months January-June) are more likely to succeed in ice hockey. Generally, kids born earlier will be bigger and more developed during the growing years than their younger counterparts. These kids have the size advantage and can pummel their way to the top while smaller kids will get bashed a few times before quitting the contact sports and taking up athletics or mahjong.
“Everything ain’t for everybody, we (are) cut from different cloths” – Eric Kelly
These cynical yet wise words from boxing coach Eric Kelly really hit the nail on the head. I think a lot of people think that just going to a gym is killing it, when in fact you need to ‘hook in’ while you’re there to make it worth while. Remember George Costanza from Seinfeld, pretending to be busy at work, this is how some people train. They could achieve the same or more in a fraction of the time and money, they just need to get fair dinkum.
Experiment.
If currently things aren’t working well or you’re getting stale, try a new sport or training program and see how it goes. It can be as simple as training in the morning instead of night. I sometimes run laps in the opposite direction to reinvigorate my mind. Cling to anything that is going to help.
Eureka!
I was recently listening to a girl belting on about the great ‘body shape’ results she was getting from ‘Extender Barre’ classes. Extender Barre is a combination of ballet, pilates, stretching and strength. It’s the latest ‘hot thing’ out of the U.S.A. She did finish the spiel by saying this was the only fitness regime that she had stuck to because of the enjoyment and noticeable success.
It cuts both ways.
Once you find what you like, you need to hang tough, keep practicing and progressing. Like the Extender Barre girl, my hairdresser was telling me about his running program (from yesteryear, he’s a big unit now) and how it progressed from runs of only 500m increasing to over 10km. All achieved through his persistence and drive for more positive progress.
D & D.
Decision and dedication. Decide on the goal and plan of action, then dedicate yourself to extended practice. Nothing good comes easy and gains in fitness get exponentially harder, the better you get. Be practical with training and take all the factors into the equation. Time, lifestyle, existing fitness base. It’s best to look for something sustainable. Don’t train-the-house-down for 2 weeks then find yourself on the sidelines injured, sick or fatigued for the next 3 months. Cough, cough.
Supreme health and fitness can be achieved with relative ease. You just need to find something you like and have the motivation to keep fronting up. Increase the pressure slowly so you don’t break down and give up the ghost completely. Find what works best for you.
Remember it’s horses for courses.