Unless you are a pro athlete, or on your way to South Korea for the Olympics, it’s just sweat. Really. Whether you are doing cross fit, water aerobics, yoga, boot camps or Zumba, it is just exercise. It is getting your heart rate up, it is filling your body with those good vibe endorphins, it is making you feel good about yourself and it is sweating. So why is there constantly a new studio popping up that tells you that their way is the best way or a celebrity endorsing a new workout video? My opinion? Ego. And money.
You can’t reinvent the wheel. Moving is simply moving and our bodies only move in certain ways. We flex. We extend. We rotate. We move forwards, backwards and side to side. That is all the fitness industry has to work with and yet it manages time and time again to tell you what you are doing is wrong, you are wasting your time and what you need to do to reach your goals is whatever it is that they are selling. Of course different ways of moving will challenge your body in different ways, but one way of moving is not any better than the other.
I’m sure many of you have walked into your gym and looked around at all of the equipment and thought to yourself “what does this stuff even do?” Or you have looked into a fitness class and heard weights dropping and people walking on their hands and then ran away in fear. Well here is your answer. It all does the same thing. The equipment in the gym is really just there for you to lift it up or get on it and move. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? And the classes? They are there to pump you up and inspire you to challenge yourself.
So as we come to the end of 2017, take this little piece of advice with you as you set your goals for 2018. Don’t listen to the hype. Don’t set a goal of accomplishing something because you read it was the new and cool thing to do. Figure out what it is that inspires you and what keeps you coming back for more and set a goal of being consistent. Because that is what works. Whatever you choose to do to make yourself sweat will not create the results you want to see if you are not consistent. And if you are not consistent then ask yourself why. If your answer is that you absolutely hate it, find something else or a way to love it.
I have had clients struggle for years when it comes to this. They are always doing what other people are telling them to do and they keep failing. The diets fail. The workout videos fail. They fail. I have a client (who is an avid reader of this site so I’m sure she’s reading this right now) who was just that. Exercising was something that had to be done and as minimally as possible. Then she found pole dancing and she loved it. I struggled for years to help her find a consistent routine and all it took was one pole dance. I’ve now lost her to pole dancing (which I am so ok with) and the rewards she has reaped from finding something she loves are endless. Some days she will even work out twice!
Consistency should be the theme for 2018. Just get sweaty consistently. Do what you like to do. I promise you that if you find a rhythm in your fitness, and you stick with whatever you are sticking with, you will see results.
