There are a TON of beliefs out there regarding fitness, and unfortunately fitness magazines and click-bait articles don’t do a good job of clarifying truth. Why? Because they rely on people reading and re-reading their articles, and there is only so much they can say. So they’ll say just enough to propagate myths, without outright lying, but do it in a way that makes you want to read it again the next month in case the information is juicier. This post is one of a series that i’ll be sharing to de-bunk the most common fitness myths I hear.
The idea of spot-fat reduction is something I see SOOOO often in magazines, and it’s also one of the most common questions I get asked by clients.
“how do I get rid of the fat here?”
Have you ever wanted to improve your life, but it seems like you get stuck along the way? Or, you make a decision to commit to change (save a certain amount of money, lose 10 pounds, get a better job or career), and then you try for a bit and get frustrated that you aren’t making good progress so you stop? Then you circle back the next time you are frustrated and make the whole commitment over again, only to experience the same frustrating cycle? If your answer to this is YES, then you know where I’m coming from. We are creatures of pleasure, and we want to see immediate results. When we don’t see the change we want fast enough, we usually give up. Status Quo. Or, are you not even sure what you want, what goals to set, or what you want your life to look like in 5-10 years? Again, we halt in working for something for lack of not knowing where to go. Status Quo.
Ok, you might not be doing it ALL wrong, but if you’re like me then you have probably noticed that whenever we start something new, we aren’t very good at it, and then we get better with practice. The right practice, that is.
Is there a way to exercise wrong?! YES! Should I care? OMG YES!
I truly think that injuries are the most common frustration of people who make exercise a part of their daily routine. First of all, I don’t know ONE person who hasn’t had an injury - so you can empathize with this post. I’ve certainly had my share of them, and when they show up, I agonize over them. The emotional aspects of injuries are the worst part. But how do we deal with this? Should we rest, and how long? Is our body in fact telling us to stop, or should we be trying to maintain a semblance of routine, especially since it takes so much effort to build it? There are many answers to these questions, and each one depends on the person, the injury and the circumstance. But I think there are some very valuable lessons and wisdom to be learned from injuries. To illustrate my point, I’m going to paint a picture (which might sound familiar)…
What do you do when you've lost your motivation? Maybe you went on vacation for a week or two, and came back feeling tired. Perhaps just down (post-vacation blues are a thing!). Or maybe you are injured, and all of a sudden it’s been a few weeks (or months), and you’re just totally unmotivated again. Ugh - it’s the worst. I know what it’s like to struggle to get a routine again. Or maybe your schedule is erratic - you have way too much going on and you don’t have a set schedule, or you’ve been working too much (ahem this is my issue).
It’s so frustrating. I am supposed to be this organized, type-A engineer, and I struggle every day with routine. I had a back injury that sidelined me from all the exercise I loved for over two year, so I know what it’s like to lose inspiration. Have you noticed as well that inspiration or motivation comes and goes in waves?! One day - I’ll be SUPER dead set on eating no sugar, drinking lots of water, and staying away from eating too much. I’ll be golden for a whole day or two, and then the third day comes around and I start telling myself “it’s fine to have a glass of wine or two”, or “what’s a bit of ice cream going to do in the long run?”, or “I deserve a break, and balance is important”. I’m not saying these aren’t true statements, but the next thing I know I’m pounding back a pint of Village Ice Cream (our local obsession), and then I’m in a deep SHAME-HOLE for the next few days and criticizing every fold of skin, and blaming myself for not having the willpower.
This is one of my favorite topics - but one of the most challenging parts of coaching people. The comfort zone is where we live when we don’t feel challenged or stressed, but also where we feel lazy. Routine is the comfort zone. Status quo is the comfort zone.
Now don’t get me wrong - sometimes we need the comfort zone. There are times when we need to stop pushing ourselves, to recover, or restore. I argue though, that some people spend too much time in the comfort zone, and this can really hold you back from your goals. It holds you back from your BEST LIFE. It holds you back from being the BEST person you can be. These are my motivations, because one of my values is constant growth as a person. ..
So maybe I've always used exercise as a stress reliever. I think I managed to avoid dealing with a lot of conflict head on by working it off. Really, I was just "sweeping it under the rug" so to speak, and then the endorphins from my workout would have me questioning my pre-workout self's sanity (I don't advise this self perpetuated cycle).
Exercise does have it's place though, it's worth using it to take a step back, get the blood and endorphins pumping, and then reflecting afterward when your mind is clear.
During my last three years of rehabilitation from an injury that has sidelined me from most high intensity or explosive exercises, I've had the pleasure of exploring some alternative methods of stress relief that still give me a semblance of movement and exercise. The thing these exercises all have in common? They all require you to focus on breath and rhythm of breath. So read here to find out the top 5 that worked to keep me from "crazy" ;)...
![Working [out] with Injuries](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1553571695886-FW6XG96YCM4Z8954HW7L/Screen+Shot+2019-03-25+at+9.41.17+PM.png)
![Just Start...[It's that simple]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1552936461298-JGAA3UX62MJLC08UHX2H/DSC_0455.jpg)
