Before I started this blog, I considered writing as a “fitness critic”—evaluating fitness facilities, trends, and products. I opted against it because I feared that the negativity would overwhelm me. I can easily become quite negative, if I don’t counter with positivity. Even starting this post, today, I fear my set me back a bit. But, here I go….
This morning, a friend on social shared an article about yet another “scientifically proven” weight loss product. (He was by the way, sharing this in an effort to educate people that such things don’t work. I like to know I have smart, ethical friends!). My response to his post was: “Do you have friends who are that gullible? (I want to say “dumb”, but that would be offensive.)…. Honestly, I don’t know who is worse, the so-called fitness professionals hawking snake oil or the consumers who buy the stuff ’cause they are unwilling to do the boring hard stuff that actually works.” [Like I said, I have to guard against negativity.]
I don’t want to go down a path of calling people stupid (that would, indeed, be offensive) or gullible, but I do want to address why we can so easily be sucked into fitness trends and products and, hopefully, turn this into a message of encouragement for the would-be exerciser.
Truth be told, exercise is not easy. Exercise is not fun. Exercise—effective exercise—is not accomplished in 12 minutes a day. Weight loss is not necessarily fat loss. Healthy and actually fat loss does not result from wrapping your belly like last night’s leftovers. There are no three or five foods you should or should not eat. There is no trick that the celebrities use to lose 20 pounds of fat in a week. There is no secret to building muscle after the age of 50. Exercise is work! It takes effort.
I like to tell my students that exercise is to me like the guy who is hitting himself in the head with a 2×4. When asked why he does it, he responds, “Because it feels so good when I stop.” Yes, I am an exercise physiologist, and I hate exercising. I hate getting up at 4 AM. I hate the hurt. I hate being sore. (Well, not really. I do actually like the feeling of having worked out hard.) Let’s just say it is a love-hate relationship and that I don’t trust people who say they enjoy exercise—they aren’t working out hard enough, they’re lying, or their brain is not wired correctly (please not the humor and don’t take offense, if you are one of these people!).
So, why do “fitness professionals” who promise the world so easily dupe us? I, honestly, don’t believe people are lazy or stupid. We are simply desperate. We want to be successful, but we don’t know how. We know that exercise can be like as Hoover vacuum, and, when we see fit people claiming to have a “magic” formula, we are intrigued. We want to believe that there is an easier way. Sorry, friends. There is not.
If you want to be lean, fit, and muscular, you are going to have to sacrifice and work. There is no way around it. There is training that is more effective and efficient, but, again, it isn’t easy. It takes proper, focused effort.
The secret to having the body you want? There is no secret. All you need to do is:
- set your goal(s)
- have a plan
- execute your plan.
It is that easy!
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”—Muhammad Ali
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!