When it comes to health and fitness, most people have a goal to attain which tends to lean towards reaching a particular weight or achieving a particular look. People look to exercise and the newest diet to sweep the market in order to reach those goals. Based on my experience, people see these methods as a means to an end that once they’re where they want to be that they will be that way forever… That would certainly be a Utopia.
Unfortunately, our world is far from that ideal. We soon realise that working out takes effort and changing our diet is a complete restructuring of who we are. Due to these reasons, a lot of people abandon their goals and repeat a vicious cycle of dieting and exercising then abandoning then dieting and exercising then abandoning… Ad nauseum. Or they attempt it once and banish the idea of being who they want to be forever and concede defeat to reality and are just willing to accept their genetic predisposition. It’s not the person’s own fault all the time however. Sometimes it can be a case of poor training methods conducted that may have lead to injury or boredom. It’s also statements and reviews on failed diet methods that have promised a million things but only delivered on one thing, utter frustration. (May offer boredom as well!)
This is an integral part of the personal training industry and everyone has their individual reasons for abandoning their health and fitness dreams. People have an incredible vigour and enthusiasm at the start but somehow, somewhere lose sight of what they wanted to achieve. What was once on the top of the priority list has now fallen to the wayside. In principle it may seem like a self-indulgence to seek one’s own personal fitness and well-being but it also is a responsibility you have to yourself and to your loved ones. No one likes to see someone they care for in a perilous state of illness and weakness yet all that can be prevented with a little bit of effort both in regards to diet and activity.
How health and fitness should be seen is through a different light. It’s not a certain destination that people should arrive at where everyone is immaculately fit and firm and extremely health conscious but rather it is journey that should take a lifetime and should be enjoyed along the way. By enjoyment I don’t necessarily mean that you yourself become a fitness junkie but that you find a method through nutrition and fitness that appeases you and keeps you on track. When it comes down to it though, no one method is the absolute solution to everyone. What works for most people might not work for you, so should you do it? It might pay off to experiment with various exercise methods and programs and broaden your horizons before being set with one, but even then you may wish look further abroad to suit your current capabilities and interests. In my experience, having an open mind about fitness approaches can enrich you both physically and mentally. If you’re a hard core boxing fan, why not give a bootcamp session a shot and test your mettle outside of the ring? If you’re a yoga yogi, why not try your flexible finesse with some gymnastics training to improve your relative strength? Are you running a marathon a week? How do you think you’d fair with some weight training in a gym? It might help improve your marathon times.
This past Saturday, I had done a 5K fun run with a client of mine. The difference was it was run at night by neon light. It was incredible watching people make their way through the course lit up with amazing colours despite the unforgiving rain that lingered with us all the way through. What was more incredible to me was the fact that my client was running very consistently throughout the whole course which she thought she would never see herself do. Ever. She has an extensive history of weight training but never trained for running endurance before. Needless to say, she’s hooked and has been encouraging me to participate in future running events. Encouraging me! Having been exposed to a new approach to training has reset her goals and revived her vigour and enthusiasm. If you are thinking about revamping to a new training method then I recommend to begin slowly to expose yourself to a new endeavour before diving into it. 5K isn’t a far distance relative to common running distances but it’s a good start to get the buzz for running itching. My client has also tried every diet under the sun and up till recently hasn’t budged past 114kg. I asked her to follow a particular way of eating which isn’t very conventional but a different approach. At 102kg to this day, she has waved goodbye to 12kg she will never miss… And the fat is still dropping off! (Watch this space regularly for more updates) My client had hit a wall along her journey but redirecting it and finding another way around has got her back on track.
Race starting line
My client all lit up, ready to go
Never concede defeat just because achieving your goals presently might seem futile. There are a myriad of methods to put up to trial in order to restart your journey. Trial training methods and ways of eating before you decide to throw in the towel or fix things surgically. There’s a lot on offer out there in the world but not everything will work. Part of the fun is experimenting with all that’s out there because when you find that golden method, the one that works for you, you worked hard and earned it and now it’ll pay off in dividends.
At Pro-Fit, we offer one trial personal training session to introduce to our methods of training and tailor it to your needs to get you back on track. And if you feel you have increased your fitness capabilities, you can join our Jump Start program which is all bodyweight training will test you and set you up in a group environment to challenge other healthy people like yourself in this fitness journey. A destination implies there will be an end but make fitness the thing that sets you off on a whirlwind adventure that lasts a lifetime.
