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most people have had the experience of starting a new fitness plan, only to abandon it completely or revert back to their old habits. Name one person who hasn’t made working out part of their New Year’s resolutions at some point in their lives!
We often start with tons of enthusiasm, launching head-on into a brutal workout routine. Perhaps we’ve tried to cram as much exercise into our downtime as we pos-sibly can, or suddenly begun moving at a pace that’s frankly beyond us. Too often the end result is that we crumble as soon as we start feeling even slightly overwhelmed.
It’s actually quite possible to become overwhelmed at the very thought of starting to exercise, even before you take the first step. To go from feeling that you don’t have the energy to start moving, even a little, to hitting the gym or working with a personal trainer is a huge shift!
Lacking follow-through on a decision to get fit, whether we’ve started and stopped, or never started at all, usually boils down to a matter of time, fear, energy or motivation.
Who hasn’t thought, I’m too exhausted after my commute to work out, or, Once I’ve put the kids into bed, I’m beat, or, I can’t work out because I can’t afford a gym membership?
Heck, in my line of work, I’ve heard it all, including the excuse of, I’ll go to the gym when I’m in better shape. (Spoiler alert: Fit people aren’t born fit; they work at it!) If you use that as your primary excuse, you’re never going to be fit.
How about this classic line? I spend all my time driving my kids to their sports and extra-curriculars; it really leaves me with no time left to exercise. The message you’re giving your children is that you’re out of shape because of them. And the underlying message is that physical activity is something you have to give up when you become an adult or a parent.
Eliminate YOUR WHY NOTS
CHAPTER 3
I followed Dai for almost two years on social media before attending my first community workout. This man changed my life. He showed me that being busy raising my daughter can-not be an excuse for not exercising but rather it must be the reason that I do.” —Mat
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36
Dai Manuel’s Whole Life Fitness Manifesto
Some people are intimidated—even scared—by the thought of a fitness program, and they simply don’t know where to start. They don’t know how much time they need to put into it, so they feel unable to create a plan. Others are recovering from an injury, such as a broken leg, in which case remaining inactive might seem like a way to avoid pain or re-injury.
The fact is all of these excuses are exactly that; they are crutches and they stand in the way of our lives. We can choose to allow excuses to prevent us from looking after ourselves. We can use every out at our disposal. Or we can choose to change our mindset.
Kick Away Those Crutches!
So just how do you kick those metaphorical crutches to the side and stand hap-pily on your own feet? How do you remove your own perceived barriers and flow into that moment when you just know what needs to be done, and you’re ready to do it? For some people, the best first step toward becoming active is one that may seem paradoxically inactive: meditation. I often recommend that my clients ease into The Whole Life Fitness Power 30 by starting with just 15 minutes of mindfulness, and 15 minutes of personal development (there will be more in later chapters on how to spend that time).
This advice may come as a surprise, but I have found that dialling into your mind and spirit is a great place to start, because it offers a solid route to understanding the body’s purpose as the vehicle that takes you through life. Taking this type of holistic approach—looking at the mind as well as the body—really helps you to connect with your why. This prompts a mental shift into taking responsibility and acting decisively, instead of making excuses. It’s important that you avoid pointing the finger or offloading your excuses out-side of yourself. own them!
We’re