You may not realize it, but you are being bombarded every day by an assault of images, standards and ideals. Television, celebrity “news”, infomercials, news reports, advertising in any form – they are all designed to entice, motivate, shame, encourage or inform you. What are these images and reports telling you? Do they make you feel good about yourself, or do you believe you are below average - struggling to keep the pace with the rest of the world? Face it – no sportswear company would sell a single t-shirt if their spokesperson was a 44 year old man with a pot belly and a passion for fried foods and late night TV.
Similarities
People are more alike than you might think. According to a recent national survey by the CDC, only one in five adults engage in a high level of overall physical activity, and one in four gets little or no regular exercise. Many of us get motivated and we will exercise and eat better for several weeks, and begin to see results. Then we go on a business trip, celebrate a birthday, go on vacation or just get tired and bored. We are up against many obstacles in our quest for personal health and fitness – availability of fast, cheap food, hectic-to-frantic paced lives, pressures from home, job, community and children can cause us to “false start” many times each year.
Avoid being a statistic! - It seems like pretty depressing news so far. How does Average Joe battle his own weight and the “weight of the world”? I understand that each person has different, complex life circumstances and there is no ‘easy fix’ to solve them. However, there are a few things we can do to keep us moving in the right direction.
Make small changes - 60% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. 80% of those resolutions are broken or forgotten before the end of January each year. Most personal trainers will tell you to set a realistic goal in a realistic time frame. Once that goal has bee
n reached, adjust it to keep yourself motivated.
Write your goals down – Unwritten goals are the easiest to forget. Set your sights on a 5K race, see if you can swim for 20 minutes without taking a break, or join a recreation team at the local YMCA. Set a goal, write it down and go for it!
Anticipate setbacks – Life happens. Unexpected trips, day care issues, illness, fatigue, bad weather – these are all examples of things that can interrupt your daily exercise routine. Average Joe has ran in place for 30 minutes in a hotel room – no workout room, pouring rain outside, on a very limited time schedule…adjust and adapt. You may not get your best workout in, but you can at least get your heart rate up.
Celebrate small successes – How many of you judge your health by a number on the scale? Stop weighing yourself twice a day! Instead, try a weekly weigh-in at the same time each week. Evaluate how you are feeling – exercise promotes mental health. As you change fat into muscle, your weight may not change drastically, but your clothes are less snug, you have a little spring in your step and that cloud that normally follows you seems to have drifted away.
Accountability – It is tough out there alone, people! Grab a friend or two, get a trainer, or run with your dog. People who struggle to keep their exercise habits consistent can really benefit from a training partner. Look at your history – if you have trained alone for years and keep falling into the same trap, then maybe a trainer would work for you. It is harder to ignore someone you are paying for a service!
Decompress – Many of you are thinking “I can’t add one more thing to my crazy life!” Average Joe knows what you mean! Evaluate what your daily activities are. You can schedule exercise just like any other kind of appointment. You must find some way to decompress, relax, and unwind to relieve stress.
Average Joe struggles with the same things you do. Life and work are not going to slow down. The small steps you take today will help you establish healthy patterns that can stay with you for life.
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