Something I've been thinking about lately is; why.
Why do we exercise.
What's the first thing that comes to mind for you?
The obvious thoughts for me are the usual things like 'to be healthy'.
But what does that even mean? It's very difficult to quantify 'being healthier'.
Even when I compare the extremes of the days around my diagnosis, when I was undoubtedly at my least healthy...to now when I feel I'm probably the healthiest & fittest I've ever been.
Now, it doesn't take much of a google search to reel off a list of the health benefits of doing any form of exercise, but that's not what this post is about. I'd like to focus more on what you can achieve by improving you cardiovascular strength and muscular strength.
Here's a great analogy I heard recently.
Why do you buy a drill?
Nobody buys a drill, because they want a drill.
You buy a drill, because you want a hole.
To take this a step further, why do you want to make a hole in something? Well lots of reasons, that depends on where the hole is, and what size it is...it could be to hang a picture of you family on the wall so that you be reminded of the people that are important to you. It could be to put up a curtain pole, so that you can make your bedroom darker, to improve your sleep, so that you wake up each day refreshed and ready to tackle life.
It could be that you're building a deck in your garden, to give yourself a place to relax & unwind in the sunshine.
The possibilities go on...and its the same with exercise. You don't necessarily exercise because you enjoy the act of that particular exercise session (although some exercises are more fun than others...more so than owning a drill!)...but its more about what that exercise enables you to do, or the things you can achieve with a greater level of strength or stamina that is achieved with exercise.
So, rather than thinking about the drill, think about the photograph of your family that you hang on the wall, because you were able to make a hole in the wall with your drill...the bigger picture in so many other ways.
Don't focus on the run your PT scheduled you for tomorrow when the weather forecast isn't in your favour or the strength session at the gym when the sound of a glass of wine & a Netflix on the sofa is much more appealing right now...rather, focus on what you will be able to achieve as a result of showing up for those sessions.
For me, showing up for those sessions it meant I was able to complete a fairly gruelling 10k Tough Mudder along with a team from my gym.
2 and a half hours of trudging through mud, across lakes, over walls twice as tall as I am, and more...because of the culmination & consistent training & exercise I choose to do.
So in summary, one of the key aspects of enjoying exercise and adhering to a program it is to kow that its bigger than that one session. Its not about the 30 minutes in front of you right now....its about the lifetime that's ahead and what you want to achieve within it.
Focus on the deck you want to build...not the drill you need to buy to do it.
I hope you found this useful, if you want help with your training program drop me a DM to get started.
Peace out
Mark
Comments