Be Mindful of Excuses

A lot of people say they hate the gym, and this is their reason for not being fit and healthy. You don’t have to ever go to a gym to be fit. If you have a pair of training shoes you can go for a walk, you can go for a run, you can go for a cycle if you have access to a bike.

You can use your bodyweight alone; you can tidy the garden or your yard. Being active has a huge impact on your overall wellbeing. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you need to be a gym rat to be fit. Anyone who’s ever worked on a farm will attest to the fact that farmers in general don’t need to go to the gym; the same can be said for a many physical occupations.

A lot of people also say that it’s too hard to work out, it’s supposed to be hard you must realise that to change you have to work hard and hard work in terms of fitness training is hard, really hard. You are both the sculptor and the marble. Don’t let this put you off in the beginning this can be quite a shock to your system, you’ll get faint, you’ll breath hard and you may even vomit. This happens to everyone, and you will get better.

I should also say that you need to make sure you see a doctor or your physician before attempting any form of training. This goes without saying and is common sense. The last thing you want to do is genuinely injure or hurt yourself.

A personal truth that I learned from my own journey is that you cannot cheat your way to the feeling of achievement you get when you reach a goal. It might seem silly but something as simple as being able to fit into an old pair of jeans can make you so proud of yourself. Throwing on that old jersey or dress and it fits loosely or seeing yourself in a picture and not thinking about how overweight you look now.

These aren’t your core motivation by any means, but it all helps, and you cannot cheat your way to that achievement.

Another truth is about how you feel. I used to sweat an awful lot when I was overweight, this meant that I could never wear shirts that weren’t very dark or very light for fear of my enormous pit stains or back sweat stains showing and embarrassing me.  I would always wear a tight vest tucked deeply into my trousers so that there was no chance of my belly accidently revealing itself in public. Simply put I was very self-conscious and self-critical.

I look back now and realise that it was all symptomatic of my weight and the insecurities it created. Having had those insecurities and not having them today I can tell you it’s a much nicer place to be to not to be so self-conscious and negative towards myself.

I’m aware that this is a very personal note on this, and I hope people can relate in some shape or form. When I talk about the truth about fitness really what I’m referring to is that it’s a personal thing, I don’t compare myself to an athlete who’s been training their entire life. I admire them and I aspire to perhaps have their level of dedication and discipline but I’m smart enough to know now that if I were to sit around and lament why I don’t look like the athlete or celebrity who’s dedicated years to their chosen craft with expert tuition; I’d put myself in an ineffective and unproductive mind-set that’s only going to hinder my progress.

Choose your idols wisely and don’t ever lurk in their shadow as you’re not comparing like with like, you have your own circumstances to contend with as well as your own mind which unfortunately does need to be brought to heel to help your rather than hinder you.

The truth about health and fitness is that it’s incredibly personal. You might not care for being able to run a marathon. You might think squatting 200kg is a stupid endeavour. You might question the mental capacity of someone who willingly steps in ring with someone whose objective is to knock them down e.g., boxing.

That’s OK you can have your opinion so long as you’re informed and you’re not just dismissing something that you know absolutely nothing about or needlessly commenting. The reason I say this is because that thing you might be dismissing e.g., running or strength training might just well be the thing you need. It’s so easy to dismiss something you know nothing about but it’s just ignorance to do so.

Don’t let fear dictate your mind-set. Working smarter for yourself means that you can entertain the thought of a different style of fitness training without immediately dismissing it. Don’t just say you dislike something if you know nothing about it instead ask genuinely how it might benefit you.

Why should I care about fitness?

Here’s why, quality of life and being capable. It’s as simple as that, it doesn’t matter at all what way you choose to train so long as it’s executed effectively. You of course 100% need to watch your diet as its key for your health and wellbeing but fitness wise you do what you love smartly and with balance. You need to be capable of running even if it’s only a couple of miles or kilometres. You need to be strong enough to lift yourself or possibly others. You need to be self-sufficient you should be capable of looking after yourself.

You might take years to re-train your body after neglecting it to be able to run 5km. You might take years to be able to squat or dead lift your body weight. That’s fine, Rome wasn’t built in day, remember our long-term viewpoint day-by-day and bit-by-bit.

Your body is capable of great things, things you don’t even realise. Nobody should pass away without experiencing the power their body possesses. Don’t waste your ability and your body. There are people out there that would pay any price to simply be able to walk for a day. Don’t waste your good fortune. 

Remember, chin up, chest out and handle it.

Yours,

Stephen