Have you ever asked yourself why you are doing something? Sat back and really thought, “why the hell am I doing all of this”
It’s tough, and sometimes leads to a spiral of thoughts and realizations. But take a second and think – what are your goals, reasons, expectations.
When It comes to exercise there can be a laundry list of reasons to why we do something. But when things are boiled down, we see three things most often.
- Feel good
- Look good
- Be healthy
Sometimes these goals are hidden behind other priorities but the root of “why” will often link to one of these three.
With these goals, we see a lot of people having a set date or time they have to reach their goals.
Maybe you have a wedding in 8 months and want to get in shape to look the best you can when the day comes.
So the plan is to work hard for 8 months, then what? Stop? Keep going?
It’s not an easy conversation to have because the mentality is geared solely to that single date. Now we can ask anyone who has made a “timeline” goal: If you reach your goal and lose all that progress within 6 months after, was It worth It?
I would hope they would say no. The goal shouldn’t just be for a specific date, It should be for the long haul. You can have those dates as checkpoints along the way, but what is the point if the changes are just going to be forgotten.
So how do you see results for a LIFETIME?
#1: Taking The Long Term Approach
The first thing to realize is that health and fitness is not an objective thing. It can’t be “achieved”. Every person is completely different and their level of health will differ from yours.
It’s not a negative, actually it’s a positive. If you look at a growth scale for any company, there are ups, downs, flatlines, more downs, more ups, but the meter is still (hopefully) trending upward year over year.
This is how the process WILL go. There will be times when things are flowing nicely – great consistency, great results, and feeling great overall. Other times things won’t be so good – holidays, illnesses, travel, inconsistency. The inevitable thing is that these lulls will come.
And sometimes things are just steady, maybe we aren’t making insane changes but you are still getting your work done, sleeping well, and eating good enough to stay on track.
The idea is to not be discouraged by these low times but to notice and embrace them. We do our best to be on point as much as possible but we can’t get upset when things don’t always work out perfectly.
Expect It, prepare for It, handle It.
#2: Enjoy What You Do
If you are trying to see results for life but hate your form of exercise – change It.
You don’t have to run if you don’t like It.
You don’t have to do boot camps if you hate them.
Find things that you enjoy that still move the needle forward.
Yoga
Lifting weights
Hiking
Biking
Kayaking
Paddle boarding
CrossFit
Running
Obstacle course races
Tennis
Pickleball
Now all these things will have a positive impact on your health in the sense of general movement, but if you have a specific goal, we may have to do specific things.
If your goal is to change the way your body looks by shaping and toning your muscle, then you should try to find some enjoyment in lifting weights. But the same rules apply, find a type of resistance training that you enjoy that will get you the results you need.
We cannot do things we hate for very long, that is fighting an uphill battle.
#3: Work Hard
Now, I was back and forth about putting this in vs. another topic about the realization of long term benefits but I think there is something that needs to be said about hard work.
We tend to shy away from really pushing ourselves. But this is how we find new limits. Things that we may not have thought we were even capable of.
I hear so many people say, “I can’t do that”, “I’ve never done something like that”
Once they try It and crush It – they are shocked at themselves.
What is more engaging:
- Doing the same 5 mile run every single week
- Beating your fastest time in that 5 mile run
When you beat that record you are riding high, adrenalin, excitement, happiness all flooding your system. And you aren’t just excited about beating the record, you are looking back at all the hard work and time that went into seeing a positive result.
But we don’t just get to feel that way without challenging ourselves. Pushing yourself to a point where you no longer feel fully comfortable. That is one of the main keys to finding a long lasting result.
Having new ways of challenging yourself, seeing true progress, and watching your hard work pay off year over year.,
I will say It’s much easier to put a date out there and work hard for a few months.
But actually being able to know that what you do today is affecting your life decades from now is the biggest mental switch you can make. I hope that switch can come sooner rather than later for you!
In good health,
Jeff
P.S. Want a personal roadmap for your fitness?
Fill out This Questionnaire and we will send you a personalized roadmap to start seeing progress!
