Those Extreme Exercise Programs – Not Smart
Don’t put yourself in a position to be yelled at or demeaned when you are exercising. That kind of “motivation” backfires. Do exercise that makes you feel good and proud, not lousy.
After all, don’t you want to find a routine that will work for the rest of your life?
Our culture’s quick fix mentality is propping up the diet mentality. And the diet and fitness industry are happy to oblige with STUPID, yes stupid solutions. Sorry- but really it is simply stupid to embark on an unsustainable diet, or exercise plan. Right?
Isn’t it miserable to lose weight and gain it back- fast. Isn’t it awful to get in great shape only to flab out again?
Well, every time you start a diet or extreme fitness program say to yourself, “I a going to diet or go on PX 90 or whatever and get thin and then I will gain it back.” Don’t stop at “I am going to diet and get thin…” Because, as you KNOW, that is not the ed of the story.
And those exercise programs that require an hour a day of intense working out backfire, just like dieting does. And frequently, trainers “bully” overweight exercisers thinking that they are “helping” them.
I am not saying that you shouldn’t exercise! Of course, if you are listening, your body is telling you to get moving! Every time you are stiff after sitting in a chair all day, or out of breath after you climb stairs your body is giving you a message: move!!
But, find something you like and something that its into your schedule. I taught fitness and was a trainer for years. The people who succeeded at maintaining an exercise routine were the ones who were reasonable in their goals. They worked out a sustainable amount.
They weren’t the 7 day a week “gym rats.” Eventually, 99% of those fade away.
Those in a nice, reasonable routine make it through the years with good fitness levels. They don’t work out the hardest, or the most. But they work out consistently.
And that is where fitness is: consistent, long term participation in exercise, or as I prefer to call it, sports, that you love, For me, it is tennis. If I had to jog on a treadmill while some trainer yelled at me, I would leave.
Find something you enjoy- and just get started. It can be ten minutes three times a week to get started. If your body trusts that you won’t punish it with an hour of jumping after you haven’t worked out for 5 years, you will be working with your body, not against it.
And then, progress into a reasonable sustainable schedule that works in your life and that you actually enjoy. If you say there isn’t anything, you haven’t given yourself a chance.