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"Hate Going To The Gym? Then Just Do These 10 Moves."
"Lose 10 Pounds in Your First 10 Days." "8 Minute Abs." "15 Minute Cardio Workout That Will Get You Results!" Fitness Articles. Chances are, we all have either seen one of these headlines or read an article that reads similar to these. But what is this really doing to our wellness culture? We need to talk about this because it is articles like these that have made us soft in more ways then the obvious. So what do we really think when we read these articles? I believe articles like these are beginning to break down the very foundation of our health and wellness. When headlines like these are promoted, we begin to believe that there is maximum success in doing the minimum, creating a lazier approach to moving, feeding and caring for our bodies. But should we really be surprised when we adopt such articles and not see the results we were hoping for? Did we really think we only needed to do abs for 8 minutes to transform our entire bodies from overweight and sluggish to slender and speedy? The catch is this. All of this information is wonderful and in most cases, partially truthful. However, unlike today's expedited shipping, instant news feeds, and immediate communication, wellness takes time, patience and continued repetition. My dear friends, listen. If these articles motivate you to move towards a better, more energetic lifestyle, then by all means, read them. Talk about them to friends and even adopt them in your life. However, if it promises too easy to be true, chances are...well, you know the rest. We need to eat cleaner, exercise daily, reduce the toxins around us and in us, and we need to dedicate time to regular sleep today, tomorrow, and the next day, and... The good news is there are many ways to make this easy-"ER." Dare I even say, "enjoyable?" As a fitness professional, I never want to convince you that maintaining a healthy, well-balanced, stress-free life was easy. If it were, I would be unemployed. I realize there are days that make this work more difficult. We all have them. But isn't it great to know you have resources to make the more difficult days a little more bearable? But being our best, most well trained selves is oh so worth it! Everyone has a desire to feel better, to have more energy and maintain a reasonable weight. Everyone would love to save the money they are spending on medications and therapy to spend it on more enjoyable things. Everyone wants to live life to their fullest, make positive memories, and have plenty of energy to do so. Being real about the effort it takes to be on this journey makes it much more obtainable, and kind of fun! Published with Love By: Merianne Colletti
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Fitness is all the rage these days - music to my ears! Through education, support and encouragement, people are taking their health more seriously. Since the evolution of technology making our lives easier, more desk jobs and less labor work, there was a depleting effect on activity. But thankfully, we all are realizing we need to find our exercise in other ways; doing things we enjoy rather than doing things we have to do to survive.
Your steps towards healthier living is a long term commitment. We begin to train our bodies from the moment we are born with sitting up, rolling over, crawling and eventually walking. We continue to develop our bodies until the age of about 18-20 years of age. Then we get to reap the benefits of our hard work. About the age of 30, our bodies begin to break down slightly faster than it rebuilds. So exercise and training is of critical need to preserve what we worked so hard to build throughout our adolescent years. When people decide to kick their fitness habits to the curb, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to coast - and rather put ourselves at risk to rebuild. At age 40 - 50, our bodies begin to break down even faster. Women and men can lose approximately 1% of our bone mass each year. Menopause puts women at a higher risk of bone loss. At the completion of menopause, women can lose up to 5% of bone mass per year for the next 8 to 10 years! Training through these life changes are critical to ensure our independence in later years. Men are not exempt from this decline, as 1/3 of all men will develop osteoporosis in their lifetime, now that we do not have the labor intensive lifestyles we once lived. As we get older, our rate of breakdown occurs faster and faster. Our bones, muscles and supportive tissues become brittle and weak without movement. If there was ever a need to keep training going, it would be now. Currently 70% of people over the age of 70 cannot raise 5 lbs over their heads. In activities of daily living, this can inhibit people from reaching high shelves, or carrying groceries. All of these changes as we age can be controlled and maintained if we just take the time to do a little exercise everyday. A small investment in movement, can result in great investment in the later years. No one wants to be dependent on others. Everyone loves his or her ability to freely move through life. This is an investment that is surely to have a great rate of return. Just keep showing up. Published By: Merianne C. Colletti, ACSM CPT March 2016 Let’s face it. If we don’t want to do something, we won’t. Whether it’s not fun, costs money, or it’s too hard; we are the first to find a way to get out of something we are just not looking forward to doing. But why do we use excuses to avoid something that is potentially good for us? When do excuses become the more important part of a positive outcome?
I can’t tell you how much effort I have seen people use to convince me that they are unable to adopt healthier habits. Really, it’s quite impressive. (No, this is not where I publish all of the excuses and the people who used that, although that does sound like fun!) Listen. Everyone has limitations. Everyone. Some may have physical reasons. Others may have time constraints. But at the end of the day, if the excuses you are using become the focal point and are robbing you from enjoying life, it becomes a problem. When you are faced with something that you must do that doesn’t sound fun, costs some money you would rather spend on something different, or is just plain hard, instead of trying to avoid it, what if we just ran at it? What would it look like once we charged over the challenging hill and saw what life looked like from the other side? What if we actually felt better about ourselves? Trust me, taking new steps towards the unknown can be really intimidating. All of us are uncomfortable at times when we are faced with changing what is comfortable. All of us. But the only way to make uncomfortable become comfortable, is by doing it – over and over again. Learn to despise your excuses that rob you of changing what comes easy to you. No one ever promised this journey was going to be easy. Instead, take a deep breath; take some time to wrap your thoughts around your challenge; grab someone you trust to be your guide; but then walk…no RUN towards it! Charge into it! No matter what the outcome, you will be bigger, better, and stronger for it. At the end of this journey, no one will want to celebrate your excuses – they will want to celebrate your strengths! Published With Love By: Merianne Colletti
Written By: Merianne C. Colletti |
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