Posts Tagged ‘Exercise Motivation’

Excuses & Meme’s…The Great American Way! Part II

Please read part I posted last week to shed light on what I am about to suggest in this post.  Last week I told you that all of us have meme’s and that they act to impede our fitness and nutrition goals.  Today I would like to give you some simple steps that you can apply to change your current mindset so that you can obtain the lifestyle that you truly deserve.

Step #1:  Acknowledge that you make excuses:

No, you’re not in AA but this first step CANNOT be overlooked. If you do, you will pay the price of failing.  You make excuses…yes you do.  There is absolutely nobody that is exempt from excuse making and you are no exception.  That is ok.  The good news is that you can change your mind once you identify your excuses and memes. 

Step #2: Write down all of your excuses and memes:

This is more of a process.  For the next 30 days I want you to write down all of the excuses and memes that you make to yourself.  See last weeks post for examples.

Step #3: State the opposite:

Once you have written down all of your most annoying excuses and memes you need to write down the exact opposite.  For example if you say, “I am too tired to exercise after work”, write down “Because I am proactive and take responsibility for my life, I will exercise before work to increase my energy level”. 

Step #4: Change your Sub-Conscience Mind: 

Your sub-conscience mind is the part of the brain that stores all of your habits.  It steers the proverbial ship.  This is where the vast majority of all your behaviors are stored and processed.  To change your sub-conscience mind you have to do the following things.

            a. Convince it that it is wrong:  You do this by stating the exact opposite of your memes.  The very moment that a negative or damming thought enters your head you must replace it with the opposite thought…even if you have to say it out loud.

            b. Construct a list of positive affirmations:  On this list could be something like “I am in control of my eating at all times”, or “Exercising daily is just part of who I am”. 

            c. Repeat your list of affirmations daily, morning and night: Do this when you first awake and before you go to sleep.  The goal is to be in a relaxed state where not much will bother you and where your mind can be at ease. 

            d. Be in a state of believing:  When you are repeating your affirmations, do so in a state of positivity and optimism

Step #5: Disarm your alarm system!

When you begin doing these simple steps your brain will tell you that you are crazy and that you are acting weird or like a moron.  This is normal because your brain is still convinced of the validity of your previous mindset of excuses and memes.  Persistence is the key here.  If you persist and repeat your affirmations day after day you will begin to believe the things that you are telling yourself and BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF YOU WILL ACT ON IT!  Yes your behavior will start to change in a way that you never imagined possible.

Step #6:  Realize that you never “Arrive”.

We live in a world of complacency, feeling entitled and laziness.  If you are not constantly reinforcing your sub-conscience mind, rest assured you will slip back into old ways.  Stay focused and realize that you have to be proactive to win the battle.  Things will not magically work out for the best if you are not constantly bathing your mind with the things that you want to accomplish.

Step #7 Action:

This is where it is time to get off your butt and get into action.  You can have the most wonderful meditation sessions of visualizations and imagery known to mankind, but if you don’t move you will never change your behavior.  It is much easier to shed your old excuses when you see yourself doing the opposite of them.  Soon you will be excuse free!

Step #8 Making it Long-Term:

Realize from the get-go that this is about lifestyle change for the long-term!  Never allow any short-sightedness to enter the picture here.  When you are planning your visualizations and affirmations make them long term.  You want to adopt a mindset of permanency.

 Well there you have it my friends!  Properly applied these principles can and will change your lifestyle for the better.  Start applying them today…there is absolutely no room for procrastination here.  Remember…life is good!

You may be asking yourself…what the heck is a meme?  The word meme is derived from a branch of Psychology called “Memetics”.  Memetics is the study of human behavior BASED on certain psychological beliefs.  In other words it is the study of mental habits.  If I believe that I am a fat, and unattractive slob, even though it may not be true, it becomes a reality in my own mind.  Take for example the victim of Anorexia Nervosa.  Although their body fat level may be fatally low, they think and believe that they are fat.  They live in an alternate reality that is fueled by their own flawed thinking.  Essentially memes are lies and excuses.  They may contain an element of truth BUT they can be altered by you.  They can be changed.

Now you may be asking the question…well what does this have to do with my fitness and nutrition goals?  The answer is a resounding: EVERYTHING!  Do you know that YOU have memes?  Yes, you have memes that are good and bad.  Here are some examples of memes to help you better understand this article.

“I can’t find the time to exercise…I am just too busy”

“My genetics have pre-disposed me to be fat…there is not much I can do about it”

“I am just naturally lazy…it is hard for me to get motivated to do anything!”

“I would like to eat healthier, but I don’t have time and it is too expensive”

“Nobody understands me…that is why I fail”

“I am too old to exercise”

“I am too important of a person at work to allow time to exercise”

“Eating healthy is boring”

“I am entitled to eat unhealthy…I’m an American” (This is more of a sub-conscience meme)”

“I would be healthier but I don’t have the support of my family”

“I am too tired to work out after my job…I just want to crash”

 I guarantee that many of you reading this are saying to yourself, “yes that is me” or, “well, yes they are excuses but they are true!”  Would I offend you if I told you that none of these excuses are rooted in truth?  Memes have a terribly insidious way of convincing you that they are indeed truthful.  Let’s take the time excuse for example.  In a recent study performed by the American College of Sports Medicine they found that the number one excuse for not exercising is time.  People feel like they don’t have enough time to exercise but what the study found is just the opposite.  People HAVE the time but they don’t MAKE the time.  Simply put it is not a priority to them.  This clearly show’s what a meme is…these people firmly believe that they don’t have the time to exercise but REALITY shows that they indeed do.  So to clarify…the meme is: “I don’t have the time”, but the reality says: “I don’t make the time”.  My friends there are a huge difference here!  Memes are nothing more than false mental realities that we create for ourselves…they are not rooted in truth.

 So how do we change our current thinking (meme) patterns?  In my next blog post I will give you a step-by step program that you can use to dissolve your current memes.  I assure you that you must dissipate your current memes if you ever hope to change your physical and nutritional lifestyle.  I have seen people succeed by changing their memes and I have seen people fail miserably because they don’t take the time to correct the mental before the physical.  In fact it has to be that way…mental before physical.  I think you can sense the truth inherent in these words.  Remember my friends; life is good…stay tuned for next week’s installment.

Wow!  It is already Summer 2010 and man are we feeling it!  I don’t think too many of us object to the warmer weather!  Summer is a time that reminds us that life is to be lived ACTIVELY!  During the winter it is much easier to get into an “office” or “house” routine that limits our physical activity.  Unfortunately some of us get into “vacation” mode during the summer with is great…but it sometimes transcends into our fitness and nutritional way of life as well.  “I will start back on my routine when school starts” is a common theme I have heard countless times.  I must be honest, when I say this is frustrating to say the least.  In keeping with our mission to help change your lifestyle I want to devote this blog to that purpose.

 Step #1:  Re-Focus your Lens

 Most of us view fitness and nutrition as a vehicle to deliver us to a short term destination.  What I mean by this is, “I have a Lake Powell trip coming up in two months”, or my personal favorite, “I have a class reunion coming up in three months and I need to drop 40 lbs.”  It’s as though we are only concerned about our health for a specific period of time and for superficial reasons.  The perspective that is essential to have is that of a long term lifestyle change.  You have to start to think in terms of permanency.  Try this today.  Think of what you want to achieve and then imagine maintaining that for the rest of your life…that is exactly what you are going to do.  No more diets, no more funky workout programs that only last for a predetermined amount of time, just a lifestyle where working out is the norms and healthy eating

 Step #2: Adjust your attitude

 There are many activities in our lives that we do not initially enjoy but learn to love later.  Entering into a healthy lifestyle is very similar.  At first you will find the changes hard and challenging but eventually your daily activities will become habit and you will find yourself enjoying your newfound lifestyle.  It helps to look upon your new life as rewarding and enjoyable rather than daunting and repressing.  Attitude goes further than most people realize and this step should not be overlooked.

 Step #3:  Give your new lifestyle a chance (Be consistent and persistent)

 I have seen countless people get very excited and motivated to start an exercise program but then fizzle out later when the going gets tough.  “I get too sore”, “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t know what I am doing” are some of the common excuses employed preceeding the drop-out of that persons exercise and nutritional routine.  The problem stems from the fact that we need a little will power to change our lifestyle but our current “convienant based lifestyle” mentality kicks in to sabatoge our efforts.  Do not ever give up!  Yes it will be a little hard but worth it!  The only way to change your lifestyle is to give it an adequate chance to change…something very few of us ever achieve.

 Step#4:  Schedule your workouts and meals

 This is where you design your battle plan.  Take a few moments at the start of every week and schedule your meals and your workouts.  This is where you are making your lifestyle a priority.  This is a very important step because it forces you to make time for yourself a priority.  The #1 reason that people fail at fitness is because of “lack of time”.  In my opionion this is an absolute load of nonsense because we ALL have the time it is the act of making the time.  This step is worth the 15-20 minutes invested into it.

 Step #5: Stop being LAZY!

 Yes you heard me right!  Laziness has become an American Pastime as it relates to healthy nutrition and fitness.  If you don’t believe me checkout the latest statistics concerning obesity in America.  This means getting our butts off the couch on a consistent basis and following through with your plans.  If you find yourself offended by this suggestion then please refer to step #2 again and apply it again.

 Step #6: Form a new habit!

 Your habits are a sub-conscience function.  Think about it…do you think of your daily routines?  Do you think about whether to take a shower or brush your teeth?  I hope you are answering no at this point J.  My point here is that you need to be so habitual about exercise and nutrition that it becomes second nature to you on a sub-conscience level.  It is at this point that you will not have to worry about regression or relapse.  The only way to get there is to continue on your healthy lifestyle path day after day, month after month, year after year.

 Step #7:  Maintain your lifestyle and ENJOY it!

 Unfortunately those who have truly obtained a Phase IV lifestyle (a good healthy lifestyle) are the minority in America now.  More than half of the American population is either overweight or obese.  I congratulate all of you that have successfully changed your lifestyle and urge you to enjoy it!  Hold your head high and be of good cheer because now all you have to do is maintain it.  I would also encourage you to spread the word!  Fitness is infectious and you will find yourself influencing many people to change their lives for the better.

 Well there you have it my friends.  I realize that many of you are at different steps in your lives and I would encourage you to apply these principles as appropriate. I would encourage you to always remember one thing…life is good!

Last week we went over the first 5 steps in becoming excuse free in your pursuit of Lifestyle Change.  This week we continue.  If you haven’t read the first installment, I would encourage you to do so as a good preface to what you will read here.

 Step #6:  Remember it is NOT as hard as everybody tells you!

We have been cultured since our youth to believe that “change is hard”.  I would like to challenge this conventional (false) wisdom.  I want to present this to you by first having you sit down in a quiet place and have you visualize EXACTELY what your ideal lifestyle looks like.  Be very specific.  How do you feel?  What do you look like, what is your energy level like, ECT?  Now I want you to shift back into your current state and examine the exact same things.  Now contrast the two lifestyles and you tell me which one is harder to live?

The point is that we think about how hard it is to change…and yes change can be hard but it is NOT any harder than the grief our present lifestyle presents to us on a daily basis.  Obesity, low energy from lack of exercise, poor nutrition and a host of other personal habits MAKES OUR LIVES HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!  So to rectify this I propose that you take a big breath, be confident and bold as you change your habits

Step #7:  ACTION

We all know that sitting around and thinking about our goals, our plan of action and roadmap will do nothing to promote lifestyle change.  You must get off your butt and start moving as planned.  Remember your plan of attack was step # 4 from last week, now it is time to actually execute it.  You may be uncomfortable or not confident in doing it as first, but don’t fear…that will change.  Your self confidence will grow and you start to see the small changes in your life. 

Step #8: Never Blame Anything or Anyone…EVER AGAIN!

This is one of the most crucial steps you can implement.  You may be saying to yourself “well, I don’t blame anybody or anything”.  While that may be true, chances are that you use the “blame game” more than you think.  Blaming others is an indication of your maturity level.  The more you blame, then less proactive you are in changing your own life and you surrender your own ability to make choices.  Your character is dinged every time you blame.  When blaming starts, you essentially surrender your God-given ability to make choices for yourself and not be acted upon by others.  Nobody can ever take away your agency.  So if you find yourself constantly making excuses for your failures or blaming others for them, it is time for a fresh start.  You ARE in control and have the ability to make wise independent choices for yourself.

 Step #9: Positivity Activity

This can be a life changing activity if you let it be.  I want you to take the next 30 days and write down every negative comment that comes out of your mouth.  On the opposite side of you paper I want you to write just the opposite…I want it to the positive opposite.  You will be amazed at how addicted you are to negativity and pessimism.   Remember to succeed long-term you must have a positive mindset.

 Step #10: Recondition your Subconscious Mind!

This single step will take me a whole blog, so that is exactly what I will do.  Next week I will write on this subject in an easy to understand format.  Suffice it to say right now, if you can apply these first 9 steps you will already start the process of re-programming your subconscious mind.

Well there you have it my friends!  I am excited to have you try these steps.  They are rooted in timeless principles that if applied can change your life.  This is my sincere hope. Until next time remember that…

Life is good!

Late last month I posted the first addition to this posting.  I used a hypothetical scenario between a trainer and a beginning client.  You may have noticed that this particular client named “John” was super motivated to begin a new fitness program initially…and then the excuses started to pour in.  This is what I want to touch on today.

Have you ever been in John’s shoes?  Have you ever been super charged and motivated to change your lifestyle only to have your motivation supplanted by your busy schedule? Maybe you are in a high pressure situation at work?  Or maybe you have screaming children demanding your attention or the overwhelming temptation to rest and veg in front of the TV after a long days work?  Whatever your life may look like it is easy to edge exercise out in the name of being busy.  I contend that every time we use an excuse such as “I am too busy” to exercise we might as well say to everybody in the room that “exercise is not a PRIORITY to me yet”. 

Listed below is a checklist that you must be able to answer affirmatively to BEFORE you start your lifestyle change program: 

1-   Have I made my new fitness/nutrition program and absolute PRIORITY in my life?

This is where you need to sit in solitude and really search you soul…sounding cheesy?  This is an absolute necessity!  This is a time for you to dig deep within yourself and discover your readiness to make a lifelong change.  If you find that you are hesitant, doubtful, fearful, or indifferent to making this change then you need to stop and re-evaluate your priorities.  If you find that you are indeed able to make time to exercise on a daily basis then go for it and never look back.  The bottom line here is that you absolutely cannot start a new lifestyle while sitting on the fence.  If work/life is too busy and too important for this change then back off for a while and wait until you are in the doctor’s office dealing with Diabetes…you will then understand that this truly is a priority not just a luxury to be enjoyed at your convenience.

2- Take an inventory of your EXCUSES and then throw them out the window

This is a great exercise that is imperative to do before starting your program.  While still in the same solitude of soul searching I want you to physically write down ALL of the excuses that you have that stand in the way of you accomplishing your goals!  Each and every last one of them!  I don’t care if you think they are “valid” or not, write them all down.  I am not saying that you are not busy…please do not misunderstand.  What I am saying is that all of these excuses are just mis managed priorities.  Nobody is telling you to quit your job or abandon your family…quite the contrary, read on.

3.  Re-Prioritize!

Now I want you to write down your Daily schedule.  I understand that it may fluctuate…that is not the point.  I want you to FIND the time that will work best for you to exercise and make that your permanent time if possible.  If your schedule fluctuates you are going to have to make some omissions to make time for exercise.  Not possible you say?  NONSENSE!  I want you to be a grown up here and MAKE EXERCISE A PRIORITY!  Stop fooling yourself with every excuse that you find yourself making. Do you see what I am saying here?  All of those excuses may be important but if they are more important than exercise then what you are telling me exercise is not important and I cannot buy that one.  It is time to make a paradigm shift and make exercise a priority.  One last thought…do not skimp on writing this one down!  Physically writing it down into your planner will give you the psychological benefit of knowing that you are indeed making it a priority!  Write out your dailey and weekly schedule with exercise included. Now I want you to RESPECT it!  I don’t care how busy you are, when it comes time for your exercise time it is time to put those important things aside temporarily and fulfill your obligation period…no excuses…just do it.   

4. Commit and Burn your Bridge

A fabled general was once said to take his army across the sea to fight a battle of enormous importance.  As he reached the shore, he gathered his troops rallied them and lit the ship on fire.  He continued, “As you can see we have no way of retreat now, we either conquer or perish”.  They won.  Why did they win?  Because they knew they had no other choice.

So how can you burn your proverbial bridge with your new lifestyle?  Here are a few suggestions.

-Inform your family, peers, and friends.  Be specific and tell them when you are starting and what you are doing.  Enlist them as allies and help them help you stay on track.  Make no secrets and make every intention known.  Essentially what you are doing is setting up a convenient accountability system that will make it very hard to fail.

-Set SMART Goals:  The S stands for Specific.  The M stands for Measurable.  The A stands for Accountability.  The R stands for Realistic, and finally the T stands for a Time Table.  This is a great way to make and keep goals that will help you change for the rest of your life.

-Never let the words “I will start tomorrow” leave your lips:  You have committed and you do not have the luxury of turning back now!  If you slip a day, pick yourself up…you are not off the hook, but rather recommitting to the goals that you have written down.

5. Adopt a mindset of Permananency! 

Even though I just advocated SMART goals that call for a time table, your overall goal and focus needs to be set on changing your lifestyle permanently!  If you are getting ready for a cruise great…that is great motivation but what I am asking you to do is adopt a mindset that transcends time limits.  This is the way you are going to be living for the rest of your life!  Five, ten, twenty five years from now you will still be living this healthy lifestyle. 

Well there you have it my friends!  I enjoy a quote from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer stating, “Excuses are nothing more than an option out of the life that you would like to live”.  Please do not short change yourself with tired, worn out excuses that will do nothing more than hamper your efforts to succeed long term.  You deserve better.  God speed and good luck!

In my nearly nine years of service in the health and fitness industry I have noticed a common thread among those starting a fitness program for the first time or the first time in a long time.    I have seen many people start gleaming with hope, enthusiasm, anxiousness, and even fanaticism.  I have also seen some of those same people crash and burn in as little as 3 weeks into their program.  As a point of clarification this is not always the rule.  There are many people that start with that kind of zeal and they continue to maintain it for a very long time.  But for those of you that have not found this kind of success, the common self-defeating thread that I am referring to is a negative state of mind.  It is your mental readiness for exercise. It is the excuses that you make. It is your self-perceptions and confidence to name a few.  In short it is all the mental barriers that you create and manifest as your reality. 

Today I want to speak to those of you who have started an exercise program enthusiastically (or heck…maybe even hesitantly) only to crash and burn later.   We are going to talk about making excuses in particular. I want to speak to you as if you were here in my office right now getting ready to undertake a new lifestyle.  You are hiring me as a Lifestyle coach and Personal Trainer to help you along the way. The rest of this article will reflect that point of view.  For the sake of simplicity I want you to pretend that your name is John and that I am having a conversation with you about your desires to start a new exercise/nutrition program.  We will also see how it pans out in the first 3 weeks.

John:  I am so excited to get started on this program!

Trainer: I am excited for you as well.  John tells me what your main goal is in starting this fitness program?

John:  I just want to change my lifestyle.  I am a white-collar worker who is behind a desk all day and I eat too much junk food.  I have a family and I find myself taking them out to eat too often.  I find myself making bad food decisions because I am so busy.  Heck, my life is so busy sometimes I find myself eating just as a means of dealing with stress.

Trainer:  Ok, so you have a busy and stressful lifestyle and you want to change that right?

John:  Yes.

Trainer: Why?

John: Because I want to get back into shape and have more energy for the things that I enjoy doing!

Trainer:  That’s awesome…so what are you willing to do for that kind of lifestyle?  Are you willing to set aside one hour  of time per day to exercise, track your food and bring it to me, and hold yourself accountable to not only yourself but to me as well?

John: Of course that is why I am here!

Trainer: OK, then let’s get started

The trainer then proceeds to write down John’s goals and commits him by contract to follow the prescribed exercise and nutrition program.  The following conversation is held 3 weeks later in the same office as a follow-up visit concerning Johns exercise program.

Trainer:  Looking at my records it looks like you have only exercised about 25% of what I prescribed for you John?  It also looks like you have turned in 4 days of the last 3 weeks in nutrition food logs?  What seems to be the problem John?

John: I am so sorry about that.  I have had the best of intentions in getting this program started properly but I have found myself in a whirlwind at work and my family has been involved in a community service project for my son’s Eagle Scout. When I get a spare moment I just can’t seem to muster up the motivation to exercise!

The sad part about this scenario is that I see this pattern being repeated over and over again.  When John comes to meet with his trainer in 3 more weeks, if he actively hasn’t tried to change his priorities  the chances for a successful report are dismal.  People like John are always convinced that they are too busy to exercise and that too many important things keep popping up. 

The truth of the matter is that exercise has not become a priority to John YET…that is the ROOT of the problem.  As excited as John initially was, it was not enough to carry him out of his habitual daily routine.  As each day passes the motivation grew dimmer and dimmer and his hopes started to go down the drain. John sunk right back into his comfortable unhealthy and physically unproductive lifestyle.

Today I wanted to paint a picture of what your life may currently be like.  You may share some things in common with John and don’t know how to deal with those barriers.  In the next few weeks I want to share some strategies that you can use to overcome the excuses and barriers that stand between you and your fitness goals.  Next week I will begin to talk about shifting paradigms.  The way you see yourself (in shape/ out of shape/ capable non-capable) and the confidence that you have to succeed in a fitness endeavor almost completely DETERMINES WHETHER YOU WILL SUCCEED OR FAIL!  It is that important.  Stay tuned.