Last month I flew home to visit my mom, which is always a pleasure: she's a smart, thoughtful and funny lady, so our visits inevitably feel too short. We were both expecting a regular visit--some walks, some cooking, some Lady Gaga and/or Spice Girls blissing-out: standard stuff. What ended up happening surprised us both. After an afternoon running errands, she expressed frustration at her level of fatigue carrying bags while I was still springy, and that frustration was tied up in some bigger concerns about her body. I suggested (as I had fruitlessly in the past) that if she were interested I could put together a little home work-out routine for her. She said yes, and has been super enthusiastic ever since. I couldn't be more proud of her dedication! She went from a healthy but not terribly active 52 year old to someone who drops down in a clothing store to show off to her husband that she can hold plank position for a (very impressive) 30 seconds.
I know a lot of people have plans for bodily transformation, either losing weight, or gaining muscle, or improving in their sport. (A lot of folks don't, and are content in their lives and their bodies--right on! This is not aimed to make people feel like they should change, only to help if they already want to change.) I also know that those folks who have plans for bodily transformation struggle with starting. Starting taking care of your body takes hearing the right thing at the right point in your life. I happened to say something that struck a chord with my mom last month. I've tried to recall what I said, so that if someone stumbles upon this blog at that moment where they want to start, maybe my tiny bit of experience can be helpful.
1) Working out will always be hard, but it will never be harder. If you keep your work outs hard, you will make progress. You will get stronger (or faster, or more agile--whatever your goal). If your work out is easy, you're wasting your time. You will not improve, you will not get closer to your goal; you aren't challenging your muscles, so you will never make any progress. Nothing would lead to frustration and temptation to quit like feeling like you're working out and not making any progress. DISASTER ZONE! Why do that to yourself? Keep your work outs challenging! For instance, in lifting for strength, there is no reason to ever lift in reps higher than 15. (Some people say "no more than 12," others "no more than 8;" the outside number I've read is 15, so I'm sticking with that.) If you can do more than 15, it is too easy and you should increase the weight to keep the work out challenging. Maybe at first you can only do 8 reps of the new heavier weight, but by keeping up with it you will eventually get stronger, and you will get up to 15 reps again. So in a short period of time, you have increased your weight but returned to "this is too easy" territory. I find that very motivating: it never got harder, I just got stronger.
This means that I am working just as hard as Mr Marmot when I dead lift 135lbs x 5 and he lifts 205lbs x 5. We are both giving it our everything, lifting to the point of almost losing form on that last rep. The weight doesn't matter. The challenge is what counts.
2) Do it for yourself, for keeps. This is one that's easier said than done, and true for any big lifestyle change. I've known buddies who tried to stop smoking for a bet, and hold out long enough to win and then start smoking again. I've known folks who want to lose weight for an event where there will be a lot of photographs taken, and eventually the weight comes back. Making a change in your body is something you have to do for yourself, and no one else. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. You don't have to show anyone anything.
3) Do something you like. I know the Marmot and I go on and on about lifting, and we both have a tendency to overstate our case on things when in reality our positions are more subtle. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to spend time in your precious life doing something, you'd damn well better believe in it and do it fully; I love lifting, so I geek out reading about it, I think about it, and talk about it to whomever will listen. But if you get your joy from cycling, aim for that century! If you love nothing more than the fluidity of ballet, or the adventure and sunshine of rock climbing, or the community of team sports, or the time alone with your thoughts in endurance running, then by all means, do that full-on and don't look back.
4) ...but still, really y'all, you should also lift weights. Seriously. Do it for your bones. Do it for functional fitness. Do it to correct imbalances in muscular development that come from repetitive motions that are common to many sports. Do it for joint health, for brain health. Just lift.
What happened when you arrived was you hit ground that had been fertilized and tilled, with a cloud waiting nearby. I was ready. I wanted to do something different. I wanted this, and all the times you'd tried to encourage me before I didn't really want it for myself in this way.
ReplyDeleteSo I was ready, I wanted to change. And then we hit everything -- clothing, fitness, food. Food has been a slower change, of course, but with the rest you handed me the baton and I took off running (serious mixing of metaphors going on!). The thing that made the lightbulb go off for me was the first point you listed, above. I say it to myself all the time. I say it to everyone I talk to about strength training (i.e., everyone I ever talk to). To me, that's the magic statement. It never gets harder. You just get stronger and can do more.
I daydream about doing plank. I giggled with glee when my kettlebell arrived today. I feel so much better in my body, about my body. I sleep better. My posture is different. My attitude is different. It's a game changer/life changer.
And anyone who reads this: Pancho is a fantastic trainer, assisted so ably by The Marmot.