Does this scenario ring a bell? We make the conscious decision to embark on a fitness journey. Whether it’s fueled by the promise of a new year on the calendar or a shift in life’s seasons, our motivation peaks, and we’re determined to make this commitment a reality.
We get up earlier, work out five days per week, eat “clean,” journal, meditate and get in the best shape of our lives, both mentally and physically.
Then, a kid gets sick. Doctors’ appointments and having a kiddo home from school puts us behind in work. We stay up late to catch up on work and miss our early morning workout.
A work lunch pops up. Well, there’s no way I can stick to my “diet” at a restaurant. I guess today is a wash.
Which leads to “I’ll start over on Monday.” Which soon turns into “I’ll try again next month.”
Before we know it, another year has passed, and we’re making the same promise to ourselves that “this is the year,” yet we trust ourselves a little bit less, because we’ve made this promise before and let ourselves down.
The problem isn’t lack of discipline or willpower.
Derailment is part of life. We just need to make a little perspective shift.
Problem: The issue is how we see health and fitness. Society expects a lot, with parents devoting extensive time to kids’ activities and constant work connectivity. Balancing marriage, friendships and exercise is challenging, leading to thoughts like “It must be nice to have time to work out.” In other words, we view taking care of ourselves as a luxury.
If you view fitness as a luxury, you’re always going to have a sense of guilt when you prioritize it.
This is where the perspective shift comes in.
Ask yourself: How do I want to present myself to my kids, spouse, colleagues and friends?
You likely aim to show up confidently, fully engaged and connected. You want to be an example of a purposeful life.
It’s unlikely that your vision of your best self involves being tired, stressed and neglecting your own needs for others’ expectations.
The truth is, our actions, not just words, impact everyone around us.
We are either inspiring a higher-level existence or reinforcing unhealthy social norms.
If we let that perspective sink in, the most important shift in our thinking takes place.
Spending time on our health and fitness is not a luxury. It is a responsibility.
Solution: Once we make the fundamental mindset shift, once we give ourselves permission to prioritize our health and fitness, it’s fairly straightforward to put a game plan together.
My framework has three components: clarity, strategy and speed.
Clarity is simply getting specific on what we want to accomplish. How do we want our body to look, feel and perform?
From here we can translate the vision into specific fitness goals such as losing fat, improving our mobility, or building muscle and strength.
To use the analogy of a GPS system, clarity is the equivalent of typing in my destination. It’s where I want to go.
Strategy is putting the pieces together. I don’t put a time frame on my clients’ strategies. Rather, I look at what they need to do consistently that will over time get them the results they want. I never get glued to a strategy; the plan must be flexible and adapt to the changing seasons of our lives.
In the GPS analogy, strategy is my route. It connects me from where I am to where I want to go. Just like any journey, the routes change as we go. Sometimes we have to take detours (i.e., change strategies) based on what’s happening in our lives. This is fine as long as we have the destination in mind … there is always another way to get there.
Some seasons in life are equivalent to blue skies and open road. The route doesn’t change, but we can step on the gas and use these seasons to make accelerated progress.
The final component is speed, acknowledging the varying seasons of life. At times, our bandwidth for fitness diminishes, and encountering storms on our life journeys may create a slowdown. This kind of deceleration is normal. The key lies in adjusting our speed according to life’s conditions, persisting toward our goals, even if progress unfolds more gradually than anticipated.
Managing expectations is crucial for speed, requiring an understanding of life’s circumstances. Slower progress in certain life phases doesn’t imply stagnation; it demands adaptation. By aligning our pace and expectations, we can continue advancing, navigating through the diverse speeds of life with resilience.
For more guidance on your health and wellness journey join us at Lyngso Fitness Academy where we help men and women experience true freedom in every aspect of their lives, starting with physical transformation.
LyngsoFit.com
If you view fitness as a luxury, you’re always going to have a sense of guilt when you prioritize it.
Spending time on our health and fitness is not a luxury. It is a responsibility.