Hi folks,
Hope all is well! Oh and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!
A little story from my rugby playing days at Queen’s University in Kingston.
After a Saturday afternoon match all the lads were at the beer-up (social with opposing team) having our usual grand ol’ time. A group of us were trading stories about weight room antics and other fitness related shenanigans.
Like most of the population, varsity athletes do not necessarily love working out. They do it out of necessity to perform at a high level and as part of the commitment to their team.
Anyhow, one of the props on our squad, big Cam Matte, regaled us with a classic story which had us nearly pissing our pants. I will attempt to do justice to Cam’s yearn.
During our off-season most of us weight trained to prep for the coming competitive season. More often than not we would do so with a buddy/partner for a number of reasons such as safety (spotting), motivation, and simply because “misery loves company.”
Cam was no different and he had his usual training partner. As much as some of the lads were less than enthralled with fitness training, Cam’s partner, I’ll call him ‘Bones’, notoriously despised the weight-room and working out.
Well, as the story goes, Cam had called his partner the night before a training session to confirm and coordinate meeting up for the next morning. All was good and everything was set for the next morning to toss around some rocks at the Queen’s gym.
The morning came quickly and once Cam was out of the rack and had stuffed some pizza from the night before into his gullet, he called Bones but was unable to reach him. Cam decided to stop in at Bones’ place to see if Bones was still counting Z’s.
Sooo, Cam arrived at Bones’ crib and knocked and knocked with no response. Cam opened the door slightly and called out to Bones and still no response. At this point Cam was almost a little concerned.
Cam decided to walk in and see what was up. He called and called and checked all the common areas, washrooms, etc. Nothing! Finally he went to Bones’ room, knocked on the door and called out again. Still nothing.
Cam slowly opened the bedroom door to find a recently slept in bed, but no Bones. Just as Cam was about to turn around and head out he heard a slight rustling coming from the closet. This was very very strange. Cam called out again and no response. He creeped over to the closet and flung the door open.
Sitting in the corner of his closet curled up with his knees to his chest his head buried in his forearms was…Bones.” Cam began to laugh hysterically realizing that Bones had heard him coming and hid in the closet hoping to avoid the dreaded work-out! We never let Bones live that one down.
Why do we hate working out so much and dread it like we are walking the plank to a watery grave? Why is it so difficult to stay on a consistent fitness schedule? These are the million dollar questions and I have yet to hear from anyone, from fitness experts to psychologists to life coaches and everyone in between, a valid all-encompassing response as to why we will avoid exercising almost at any cost.
Personally, I don’t believe there is one particular reason responsible for this phenomena of exercise avoidance. We know it is important and good for us. It enhances our lives in many different ways: it improves mental acuity, heightens emotional well-being, strengthens immune response, and augments physical attributes such as flexibility, mobility, strength & endurance. These are just a handful of reasons to include regular exercise in your daily life.
What the hell is stopping us from consistently exercising and basking in all of these wonderful benefits? Is it lack of motivation? Lack of knowledge? Maybe you have an injury holding you back? Have you been feeling depressed? Maybe you just lost your job and you can’t financially do it? No time, being pulled in a hundred different directions? Or, like Bones, you just fu**** hate exercise.
I would be lying if I said that I have never let any of these issues hold me back from my health and fitness regime. Heck I would be super fibbing if I didn’t own up to the fact that I have allowed each and every one of those reasons to derail me at some point in my life.
The crux of this is all of us have been there and will continue to sporadically be in those situations in the future. It is a fact of life and these circumstances are all legitimate and are not to be dismissed nonchalantly by anyone, including yourself.
The important thing to remember is if you find yourself in a situation such as outlined above you need to get out of it as quickly as possible. The longer you are stuck there, the harder it will be to get back on track. I am quite sure that many of you already realize this!
I always remind my clients about Newton’s First Law frequently referred to as the Law of Inertia. Simply put (very simply) an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest. So if you are stapled to the couch you are more than likely to stay there until someone kicks your butt to get up and start moving (as I often have to do with my kids).
The good news is once you start ‘moving’, getting into a fitness program or “whatever else floats your boat” the more likely you will stick with it. Hence when life gets you down kick yourself in the butt or get someone to do it for you.
Now this may seem a little harsh (the idea was to show you that action is necessary) but the onus is on you to formulate a plan to get out of those adverse situations when they occur.
My next post, Part II of “Hating Exercise and other reasons why we miss workouts and what we can do about it,” we will look at some strategies you can employ to reduce your downtime and keep things going in a progressive and positive direction.
See ya soon!