As the famed (and eminently quotable) football coach Lou Holtz once said, "When all is said and done, more is said than done."
Too true, Lou. Sometimes I feel like all I do is think, talk and write about fitness.
But for the past week and a half, even amid more-confluent-than-usual edit deadlines and general busyness, I made my own fitness a priority.
So yeah, I'm "just doing it." On my way again, official training program in hand. Knock on wood, but I think I've gone from a loooong, slow ramp-up to being excited to work out hard again, often. And that feels really satisfying.
What I wasn't quite prepared for, however, was the disgust I would feel with the current state of my body. And trust me, I know that's not at all where I should be coming from -- I'm chanting every feel-good mantra I can think of, namely, "Start where I am, start where I am, start where I am." But I was horrified the other night when I replaced my first set's squat weight in favor of something a bit more ... petite.
What I said aloud was, "Totally fine, probably a blessing in disguise. I can start from the ground up and work on perfect form." What I said inside was, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! I'd already started out with less weight than I used to warm up with!"
During cardio, I felt like I wasn't entirely in charge of my own body. Or, more accurately, that I wasn't in charge of my own body in its entirety. Every so often, I would feel ... not exactly a jiggle, but perhaps a little wiggle. Whatever it was, it was definitely other, and I couldn't help but be horrified.
I recall the intimidation of the starting point from other times I've reintroduced my bod to a regular fitness regimen after a break, and a month from now, I know I'll be in a healthier place -- physically and emotionally.
But it's all about how to get to a month from now, isn't it? Avoiding the essentially pessimistic "back in the day" mindset, a la Al Bundy (pictured above). Figuring out how to make fitness, in some form, a nonnegotiable part of your daily routine.
Sometimes it may take an additional boost to avoid a backslide. And sometimes, just sometimes, you have to get that boost on the cheap. Last week, Experience Life's associate editor, Kaeti, asked me for some help researching how those with specific fitness goals are more apt to succeed than those who work out with less direction.
In compiling a few leads, I came across the article "20 Ways to Stick to Your Workout" by Men's Health features editor Adam Campbell.
While I found myself nodding along to his suggestions about signing up for a race and switching up workout partners, something about the twisted No. 20, "Blackmail Yourself," also struck a chord. It says:
Now, I'm not condoning this as a long-term motivation strategy -- using punishment and extrinsic motivators works directly against Experience Life's "happy, healthy, for-real" message.
Take a picture of yourself shirtless, holding a sign that shows your e-mail address. Then e-mail it to a trusted but sadistic friend, with the following instructions: "If I don't send you a new picture that shows serious improvement in 12 weeks, post this photo at hotornot.com and send the link to the addresses listed below...." (Include as many e-mail addresses -- especially of female acquaintances -- as possible.) "It's nasty, but extremely effective," says Alwyn Cosgrove.
I'm not even condoning trying this as a short-term motivator. I'm just saying it's an intriguing -- if rather perverse -- suggestion, and for me, even the idea of laying it out there so boldly could provide a kick in the pants, should I need it.
So maybe, to give my motivation zero wiggle-room, I'll threaten myself with sending that email.
I can totally relate to this post... Sometimes I feel like the memory of how fit I have been in the past almost seems to hold me back from starting back into things after a break from working out. I'm competing against some version of myself that I remember from years past and it's very uninspiring.
I guess I just try to remember that each workout takes me one small step closer to where I'm hoping to be (again). And that each tiny weight lifted is a building block towards the massive plates I'm eyeballing over in the corner.
Although the photo idea does have an amazing amount of inspirational potential...
I've found that erasing your memory works quite well. Like Men in Black, just purchase one of those flasher things and BAM! you never knew you were fit.
If you aren't fortunate enough to obtain one of those flashers, I've found that you just have to wake up each day at a time. Don't think about it as "i have this 8 week workout i need to do" or "i need to be THERE, not HERE" or "i used to lift a whole lot more, this used to be a whole lot easier." think about it as "today this is what i must accomplish" and set a realistic goal. before you know it 2, 3, 4 weeks go by and you are not as mentally bashed, you've added plates to your bar, you've run a little faster. at least that works for me, when i'm motivated, which usually isn't when it is cold like this! stupid winter.
I find that the hardest part of getting back into shape is the irritation I feel with letting myself fall out of shape.
I want to be one of those superpeople who are featured on the cover of magazines for winning nine million races in all seasons and times of their lives. Instead, I am getting really good at rock band, yoga, cooking dinner from whatever is left in the kitchen the day before grocery day and avoiding my running shoes at all costs...
I've been thinking a lot about periodization and how that could work to keep us from having to plunge into these negative mental places when we are cycling out of our top fitness stages and into the resting fitness stage. I don't think, even as top athletes, we are trained enough in the cyclical nature of being fit.
Well put, guys. Which is why, to borrow a phrase from my friend Laine, so many athletes end up feeling like shame-cave-dwellers for taking time off. Or why others don't take time off at all until they develop an overuse injury or the like. Periodization is very important! Which is why we harp on it at EL. For a list of articles, click here. :)