Tomorrow is a NEW day!

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  No matter what your fitness goals are, the path that leads you there is not always smooth and there are usually bumps along the way.  Achieving them takes work and effort.  The journey is not an easy one for anyone.  However, the key to reaching your goals is to stay the course despite any road blocks that you might encounter along the way.  I know many of you will respond with the thought "Easier said than done!" and I would agree with you.  But the eventual reward is worth the time and energy...and its the reason we have these fitness goals in the first place.

          Regardless of having well-intended goals, ones that result in a better / healthier version of yourself, we often lose sight of our goals if we falter along the way.  Too often a small hiccup, like a missed day at the gym or an overindulgence of a favorite dessert, can completely derail you from achieving your goals.  However, as Winston Churchill once said, "Perfection is the enemy of progress."  In regards to your fitness goals, don't harp on the set backs, but instead, focus on your positive steps and achievements.  Furthermore, don't let one small blow knock you off of your fitness journey.  Keep in mind, that one small bump in the road does not mean the journey is lost.

          No matter what body change you seek...to lose body fat, to gain lean muscle mass, to increase your endurance, to lower your cholesterol...the change does NOT happen overnight, or from any one single session at the gym or meal in front of you.  And just the same, there is no one slip up that brings you all the way back to square one.  So with that in mind, recharge yourself with encouragement knowing that even without being perfect, you can still very well be making progress!

           Here is the best news yet, tomorrow is a new day!  It is your next opportunity to start fresh.  Tomorrow gives you the ability to put your mistakes behind you and start making healthier choices.  Rather than dwelling on a shortcoming, you can take a deep breath, dust yourself off, and start new!  Beating yourself up about a failure doesn't lead to progress.  However, failures can actually be good things if they are something that you learn from.  The day you have a set back, reflect on what went wrong, and then move forward from it the next day.  Put the past behind you and move towards your healthier future!  Regardless of what you have been through today, tomorrow is your next best day to reach a fit new you!

The 10 Commandments

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  As we strive to reach our fitness goals there are some basic things that we know we should be doing, and things that we shouldn't be doing in order to achieve them.  For example, we know that we should be exercising, and not sitting on the couch binge watching the latest episodes of our favorite series.  And we know that we should be making healthy food choices instead of overindulging on some decadent dessert.  In other words, we know that there are "right" things to do, and "wrong" things to do that will affect our level of health and fitness.  In most cases, these things are pretty fundamental and not overly complicated; they are elementary rules that will lead us in the right direction.  These simple rules to follow are like those outlined in the Ten Commandments, which provide the basic moral compass for Christians and Jews to follow.  No matter what religion you follow, you probably are aware of these as they provide the basic foundation for being "good"; things like "thou shall not kill" and "thou shall not steal."  The Ten Commandments are rudimentary and not some overly complicated section of a by-law that has some loophole that needs expert interpretation.  They are rather simplistic but utterly essential.  They are rules that simply must be followed day-in and day-out.  Sure there are many other lessons, guiding principles, and local and federal laws that need to be followed, but if one follows those 10 basic rules, they are probably going to do well in life.  In a similar way, you should have a set of basic guidelines, commandments if you will, that you follow to help you reach your fitness goals.  These rules need to be just as basic, but with the same absolutely have-to follow them importance.  So as you strive to reach a fitter new you, set up a list of a few to several all-important guidelines that you should not waver from.

          Without getting into a full theological lesson and for those who are unfamiliar with the Ten Commandments, the story basically goes that God himself gave Moses a list of 10 tenets, inscribed in stone, that He wanted His people to follow in order to live a worthy life.  Of course, other rules to follow come later, and also get more and more complicated.  But this short list, set in stone, provides the foundation.  They are uncomplicated, and the symbolism of them being set it stone suggests that the are resolute; and through following them, one would be considered spiritually "good."  Without interfering with anyone's spiritual and / or moral character I suggest that you make a similar set of Commandments, essential rules to follow, that will help you lead a fitter and healthier lifestyle.  Your Fitness Commandments can include things like "Thou shall stretch every morning,"  "Thou shall include a serving of vegetables with every meal," and "Thou shall exercise at least X number of times a week."  Make them simplistic enough that you can follow them.  Also, make them salient enough that you need to follow them.  And just as the religious Ten Commandments are believed to be inscribed in stone, put your Fitness Commandments down somewhere tangible to signify their importance.

          Although I suggest that you set up your Fitness Commandments so that you believe them to be absolutes, please do not become so fanatical about them that you feel the need to punish yourself if you break one.  Without imposing on your actual religious beliefs again, let me remind you that we are all human, and from time to time "sin."  I admittedly have used God's name in vain while driving in New York traffic.  The point is to use them as the foundation for what you do and don't do to reach your fitness goals.  These should be the basic, underlying principles to the decisions that you make throughout the day that affect your health and fitness.  For example, one of my personal Fitness Commandments is "Thou shall not use a fast food drive through."  I try my hardest not to frequent them, but occasionally, like while on vacation with my family, there is little other option.  

          Establishing a set of Fitness Commandments causes you to lay the framework for making healthy decisions.  It provides a basic structure to judge your choices against.  In a sense, it gives you a moral footing to base the decisions that affect your health against.  It puts a little more emphasis on why something like exercising regularly is "good" for us.  You don't need to be an extremist...just on the right track.  Setting up a set of Fitness Commandments is a fundamental way to reach a fit new you!

Flip the script

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  It has been a long time since I have made a new post and I apologize for that.  My excuse is that it has been a particularly busy time of year for me being a teacher, and with both of my kids starting new schools.  Even though it is a valid excuse, it is still an excuse.  At the gym, I hear people make excuses plenty of times about why they have fallen off of achieving their fitness goals.  And like my excuse for not posting new material, some are more valid than others.  However, a particular excuse that bothers me more than others is the one that centers around a perceived disability; the key word there being perceived.  It is too often that I find people holding themselves back from reaching a better state of health because of some self-limiting factor.  Sometimes these self-imposed factors are physical, and other times they are mental/emotional.  In either situation, its the person themselves that keeps them from reaching their goal.  There is something there that they feel which holds them back.  It often leads to a downward spiral.  But truth be told, they can probably do much more than they think.  While I can appreciate them finding it difficult to do "much more" when they are already in a negative space, they should realize that simply doing something small will lead to improved health.  The slightest improvement would still be a step in the right direction.  Doing something healthy in the unhealthy is a way that they can flip the script.

          Physical injuries that are relatively benign can often become debilitating if the person suffering from them perceives them to be much more limiting than they actually are.  I have witnessed this in two different scenarios.  The first involves elite athletes who experience pain or something uncomfortable while going through movement.  They become so afraid that they either are already injured, will become injured or make an injury worse that they completely shut down and stop moving all together.  Of course if there is a significant injury, they should seek the proper medical attention including assessment, treatment and rehabilitative measures which often does include rest.  But what I am talking about here is when an athlete becomes "gun shy" to movement because of the mere thought that they will make themselves worse and/or re-injure themselves.  This can manifest as a player who never returns to form even after being cleared from the injury by medical staff.  

          The second physical injury scenario I see is much more prevalent; this is the case of the every-day person who suffers from an injury and then severely limits their physical activity to avoid it happening again.  When you're not a professional athlete, an injury can be costly in both the expense of the treatment and time lost through missing work.  The recovery process can be a true burden.  It is therefore understandable why someone would want to avoid going through it again at all costs, even if their avoidance is excessive.  But the tragedy of this situation is when the injury keeps the person from ever moving again for fear that they will have to go through the same thing all over again.  The person would rather not move at all.

          With both of these scenarios, whether you are the elite athlete or the weekend warrior, the person has to realize that as long as they received adequate medical care, and were cleared for physical activity, that they can be physically active again.  The body does heal.  Often times, because of the care received and the new awareness of the body, the person who suffered the injury is actually healthier than they were before the injury.  Many times they can actually be stronger!  What I would recommend to these people, even while injured is to do something, anything physical that doesn't hurt.  For example, someone who has an upper body injury can go to the gym and do cardio.  Or, even with a muscular injury, there is always some other muscle that can be trained to improve the area that was impacted...after all, physical therapy uses movement and exercise to rehabilitate and injury.  More importantly, after the treatment has been received, and the person is cleared to resume regular activity, that person should remain active.

          The third scenario that I see this take place, and is often the hardest to overcome, is when someone has a mental/emotional hang-up.  The person is relatively physically healthy, but they allow some preconceived, self-deprecating notion to get them from striving to become healthier.  They know exercise is good for them, but they have some thought about themselves that still holds them back.  It is in my opinion one of the worst disabilities because of how it creates a very vicious negative spiral.  The example I have witnessed more than one time is the person who is overweight, and is reluctant to start going to the gym because of their negative self-image.  This person realizes that they need to have a healthy body change, but they are unwilling to do what they need to do to create that change, like getting to the gym.  They say that they will not start going to the gym until they "lose some weight first."  Usually they say the plan is to watch what they are eating, and then eventually starting a training routine.  But that unfortunately doesn't always pan out that way.  Again, what would be a better solution is to start doing some physical activity.  If getting to the gym is simply too overwhelming emotionally, then they should start by going for a regular bike ride, or taking a walk after meals.  The change only comes from change itself.  New movement has to start, and be the start of the change.

          Whether someone suffers from a physical injury or has an emotional issue keeping them from reaching their fitness goals in the grand scheme of things, it needs to be looked at simply as a set-back or a temporary road block that can be overcome.  The situation that you are in is all really just a matter of perspective.  There is that cliche, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right" that attests to this.  Ive never really been a great fan of that saying, but I get its point about having a positive attitude about your current situation.  However, what I feel to be a bit more factual is that whether you think you are injured, or limited from reaching your fitness goals in some way, you are probably in a place where you can be healthier.  A small, simple change that improves your health and puts you on the right track to reaching your fitness goals is all you need to get you going.  Reducing your activity, not moving at all, or waiting to become active is most likely the last thing you could do to be healthier.  You don't have to over do it, but just do it as they say.  Moving is good!  Moving is medicine for the body and soul.  Sitting idle literally gets you nowhere...especially in regards to your fitness goals.  So do what you can, no matter how insignificant it may seem.  Because doing what you can is the movement you need today to help you reach a fit new you!

Choose Your Own Adventure

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  The other day I was having a conversation with one of my clients about setting and reaching fitness goals.  We noted how whether or not we actually meet them comes down to the choices that we ultimately make.  I explained to her what I tell my Jr. High Health Ed. class students, that all of the decisions that we come to, and the choices that we make have some consequence; and some are better or worse than others.  While that might be pretty easy to grasp in itself, what might be a little deeper is that the current state we are in, whatever the predicament and scenario, is a result of all of the choices that we have made in our lives up through to this point.  Yes, some choices have a greater impact than others, but they all contribute to being who and where we are today.  I can also appreciate that sometimes, for some people, the quality and / or quantity of options that are available are more or less numerous than for others.  But, as I said, ultimately we have to make our own choices and these directly affect us.  It reminds me of the Charles R. Swindoll quote "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it."  While that can be a bit heavy to absorb, I mention it here because it does apply to you achieving your fitness goals.  Whether you are someone with a "fast metabolism" or someone who has a condition that can make it hard to maintain a healthy body fat percentage, how you handle your own health, such as the food choices that you make, is in your own hands.  Maybe you are some who has a physical disability that may make it harder to be physically active, or are a world class athlete who has suffered and injury and you think your path to your fitness goals is road blocked.  I'm here to tell you that you can still turn it around no matter where you find yourself.  It is up to you to make the choices that will put you on the path to reaching your fitness goals.  Take a look at where you are, think about where you want to go, and make the choices that will help you get there.  It might not happen overnight, but where you are today didn't either, it took all of the choices you've already made to bring you here.

          When I was a kid, one of my favorite types of books to read were the Choose Your Own Adventure fiction books where instead of reading the book from cover to cover as you would with a traditional book, you were allowed to make choices as to how the story played out.  After reading a few pages to get a bit of the story it would give you an option, such as something like "turn to page 87 to get away from the wolves by jumping in the river, or turn to page 91 to climb a tree."  Then, depending on the choice you made the story would continue, such as you chose to jump in the river and now you are heading for a waterfall, turn to page 108 to swim towards shore, or turn to page 111 to ride the rapids to the falls.  The books tried to create a "real" experience for the reader by allowing you to make choices that ultimately dictated where you wound up.  And sometimes those choices had more dire consequences than others.   Again, you can see how this would pertain to all areas of our lives, but keeping your fitness goals in mind, the choices that you make do impact where you eventually wind up just as the stories in these books unfold as you make choice after choice.

 Our lives are obviously more complex than what may occur in a fictitious children's story based on fantasy and ruled by only a couple of choices at a time, but let me give you some examples of how I could see this playing out if your fitness goals were re-imagined as a Choose Your Own Adventure title.  Here are some decisions that I can see you encountering as potential starting plots and follow-up jumping points..  You go to make breakfast and you realize that you are all out of what you were looking forward to eat...do you skip breakfast for the day or do you stop somewhere on your way to work...you decide to stop at a deli on your way in and you are at the counter and have to decide...do you go with the egg whites and turkey on a wholewheat wrap, or do you get a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll.  Here is another, you are exhausted after a rough day at work and you are heading out for the day...do you choose to skip the gym and go straight home, or do you stay true to your fitness goals and get to the gym...you decide to go to the gym but when you get there someone is on your favorite machine...do you decide to goon a different machine until that person gets off, or do you say its not in the cards for me today and turn around and head home.  I am sure you can think of plenty more that may have happened to you even today.

Here is something else to consider, the pages in those books have already been written so the options are finite.  While reading one, your story is dictated by your choices but only to a certain degree.  You can't choose an option that isn't already within the book.  Because of that, you can learn which decisions you should and shouldn't make based on what outcome you are looking for.  If you make a choice to go to one page and you don't like the outcome, you can try the other option.  Read the same book enough and you will know what outcomes are the result of what choices.  And that is basically true with life as well.  How many times have you heard someone with a digestive sensitivity say "I am going to pay for this later" right before they indulge in a food choice they know isn't good for them?  Or think about how you feel waking up when you know you needed to get a good night's sleep but decided to watch just a few more episodes of the show you are binge watching.  I know I am pretty bummed with myself when I make the choice to skip the gym on a day I had the opportunity to get there.  It isn't something new; it is something that we should have learned through previous choices while in the same scenario.  So think about where you are now, and how you got there.  Then think about what choices you can make going forward to get you to the outcome you were hoping for....with those outcomes being achieving your fitness goals.

Some say life is an adventure.  You are tasked with dealing with what comes at you as it does.  However, you can steer your course towards your goals through the choices that you make.  It doesn't have to be overwhelming, just take it one decision at a time.  Think about where you are trying to get to, and what choice would best get you there, or at least in that direction.  Base your decision not only on what you are looking to achieve, but on from what you have learned from previous experiences.  Each decision and choice you make is an opportunity to bring your further along your quest to achieving your fitness goals.  What choice can you make right now that would further get you to your goals?  Start with just that one and see where the journey leads.  Make your subsequent choices with the end prize in mind.  Making healthy choices based on the consequences that they bring is a novel way to reach a fit new you!

Fitness > Fashion

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  I had recently ran into a former training client of mine while leaving the gym the other day.  It was someone that I had not seen in several years and we spent some quick time reminiscing.  After that brief encounter, I continued on my own to think about what the gym was like when that client used to be a member at that facility.  It had me thinking about the exercise and nutrition trends that had come and gone over that time.  Back then, Curves was the popular fitness facility, and nowadays its CrossFit.  And, the nutritional thing-to-do was the Atkins' Diet whereas now people are all about one version or another of the Keto Diet.  I started to think about how frequently new fitness trends come and go.  That in turn got me thinking that this could be a cause of why so many people cannot "stay the course" to reaching their fitness goals.  I find that many people start the endeavor and then fall off at some point.  Maybe it isn't because people are becoming bored with what needs to be done...the routine of it all, but maybe its because there can be a bit of confusion as one trend ends and another one starts.  Could it be that just as someone gets accustomed to the routine that it changes again and then they are left in an odd place?  New trends are good in that they can provide a fresh way of approaching fitness, something new and exciting.  But, when the trend is more of a fad than a lifestyle change, it will no longer be viable as it fizzles out.  Think of it like fashion.  Every season there is a new hip and trendy fashion that all of the magazines are raving about.  It gives designers and consumers new colors and styles to seek out.  However, after a season or two, the "look" becomes dated.  Its even more evident over longer periods of time.  If you were attending a decade-themed party, you would know what was popular during the time period...think about how differently you would dress for a 60's, 70's or 80's themed party.  The fashion doesn't translate from one decade to the next...for the most part at least.  However, there are some articles that have persisted for many years and became staples such as flip flops, little black dresses, blue jeans and a good 'ol, basic pair of Chuck Taylor's.  If you want your health to be timeless, and your fitness journey to not just be a fad, you have to base your routines around staples and go-to's that aren't just fashionable.  Styles may change dramatically, but what the body requires to be healthy does not!

          Fashion is definitely not my specialty.  My own fashion has been described as utilitarian at best.  However, I can certainly appreciate it from afar, and understand its importance.  It certainly has an appeal and creates an attractiveness.  Fitness can have similar beneficial, fresh components as well.  When something new in the fitness industry comes out, it provides an opportunity to draw new people in, and reinvigorates those already in the field.  Although I am not a fan of CrossFit for a number of reasons, I do commend them for their appeal and that it appears that they have helped many people become incredibly motivated to reach new goals and improve their personal bests.  In a different but similar way, Curves provided many who were new-to-exercise at the time an opportunity to get started in a comfortable environment.  And I myself have never been more re-exhilarated to help my clients than after attending my first IDEA fitness convention and learning tons of new things.  So there is certainly something to be said for bringing in fresh new concepts into your fitness quest.  But, without the standards, the fresh concepts can become more fad-like.

          Another reason people would seek out a fresh change to their fitness routines is that they have experienced some change within themselves.  The number one change that we all encounter at some point is aging.  How many times have you had the thought that you cannot still do what you used to do 10, 20 or however many years ago?  Yes, it is inevitable, that we all age and our bodies do break down over time.  Depending on what stage of life you are at, there will be things you wish you can still do that you were able to do while younger.  So you may be or SHOULD be looking for something new to do.  But let me be clear here that there are two sides to this.  First, is yes we do need something fresh as we enter new stages of our lives.  But this is because the fitness goals that we have at different stages require different plans to achieve them.  It is likely that your fitness goals will be different in your 70's as they were while in your 20's.  However, what has not changed and still remains, like those Chuck Taylor sneakers, as the standard is what you would still need to do in order to achieve those goals at that particular age.  What I mean by that is the same things that someone who has one set of goals needs to do at a particular age now, has not changed all that much from what someone of that same age needed to do 10 or 20 years ago.  The same regular exercises and healthy eating would still apply.

          It would be naive to think that fitness doesn't change some amount over time due to a number of organic factors.  Change isn't necessarily a bad thing.  As a Health Ed. teacher, I can tell you that we are very fortunate that we have advances in medicine on a regular basis.  And in terms of the fitness industry we need these advancements as well.  Typically they occur through the implementation of new research and more commonly through the advancements in training equipment.  But just because a new piece of equipment comes out, doesn't necessarily mean that it is needed or even of value.  Sometimes new equipment comes out just as a fad.  The Thigh Master comes to mind here.  There is constantly new things being brought to the fitness market with the hopes that it will catch on and be the next new thing, or even new version of what is already out thee.  Fitness equipment vendors now have multiple pages of offerings for the variety of foam rollers.  While new equipment can be beneficial, you need to ask yourself is it needed or is it excess?  Another great question to ask would be is will this be clutter or convenient.  A smartphone for example is in my opinion a great tool and a necessary innovation.  A smartphone reduces the amount of clutter, in that it eliminates the need for a laptop, camera, CD's, and standalone G.P.S. in your car.  But often times we are marketed things that just create clutter...specialized kitchen tools and appliances are common culprits here, and can be left without.  You can think about gym equipment in the same way.  Yes, some new equipment is great, useful and at the very least allows you to want to try something new at the gym...and there is no better fitness motivator than actually wanting to be active.  But all gyms from decade to decade carry tons of those blue-jean like standards of dumbbells and barbells.  So don't neglect those while you are at the gym!

          Please don't dismiss what I am saying about needing your fitness routines to be less trendy and based more on standards since I am the type of person who is most comfortable in a pair of Levi jeans and t-shirt.  As I have pointed out, a fresh approach to fitness does have its importance.  I just want you to remember that reaching fitness goals is most times easily achieved by simply keeping the standards in mind as with regular exercise and making healthy food choices.  There isn't anything novel about that.  The Law of Thermodynamics representing the balance of calories in and calories out (within reason) is just that, a scientific law because it does not change.  And if you look at current nutritional trends, like the Paleo diet, they are based on what people were eating thousands of years ago...talk about something standing the test of time!  I think of someone on one of these diets is akin  to someone shopping in a vintage store.  Although I always profess that it makes no difference to me what gets you moving, i.e. something new, old, fresh or whatever, as long as it gets you moving, I still routinely defer back to starting simple and sticking with what is tried and true.  You don't have to reinvent the fitness wheel.  You don't have to be doing the latest and greatest fitness trends because the basics do work!  When you feel good, you look good.  And when you look good, you feel good!  That goes for not matter what your fashion sense is.  Heck, dare I say, most of us who are into fitness want to look our best while wearing nothing anyway!  Keeping your fitness routines fresh and hip is certainly fun.  But keeping your routines centered around the standards will never go out of style.  A consistent routine that stands the test of time is the transcendent way to reach a fit new you!