There are four very important components to any exercise regimen. These include, warm-up/stretch, cardio, strength training and rest. Many people just do one of these, or they leave one or two of these out, and they wonder why they don't achieve the results they desire, or they end up with an unwanted outcome such as injury. I've seen a lot of people focus on cardio and completely neglect the strength training aspect. I've been guilty of this. I had been active all of my life, yet I still always struggled with my weight. Once I effectively incorporated strength training as a part of my workout, I finally began to see the results that I desired.
Perhaps people avoid strength training because it seems to be the most challenging of all of the necessary ingredients for a good workout, or maybe we don't do it because we lack the proper knowledge and technique thus making us fear that we will do it incorrectly which leads to us avoiding it all together. I also believe that the majority of the images of exercise that we see in the media are cardio as opposed to strength training.
This thought process is very similar to how we view things in our lives that have a higher level of challenge or appear to be out of our reach. The truth of the matter is that they are not out of our reach. They are out of our comfort zone. We have it within us to do whatever we want... if we want it bad enough and are willing to put in the work, research, practice and application of all of the skills and knowledge that we acquire.
Many times our two biggest setbacks or road blocks are what others think of us, and sadly, what we think of ourselves.
We can't let other people's opinions of us, or the self-defeating opinions that we have of ourselves become our reality.
Push against the limits people try to impose upon you. It's very similar to weight lifting, which is also fittingly referred to as strength training, resistance training or to bench press. At first a certain amount of weight might seem heavy, but the more you push or press over time, the easier it becomes and as a result you can continually increase the weight. The final outcome and benefit is that you become stronger. You also become leaner because you cut or burn fat, or turn that fat into muscle. The fat represents the unwanted mess in your life. That stuff that holds you back and holds you down, and when there's too much of it, a lack of energy and poor health are the outcomes.
This week I challenge you to look at your challenges in a different way. Instead of avoiding them, embrace them. Think of tackling them one by one as a necessary part of overall health. You can start off small and slow, but your best is no longer enough. Push yourself a little more each time, whether that means more reps (repetitions), or heavier weight. More reps represents not giving up, not taking "No" for an answer and incessant practice...behaviors which all lead to mastery and success. Heavier weight represents mastering the less challenging obstacles and tackling one that is a little harder than the last every time.
When you think you've done your best, take it a step further and PRESS.
No comments:
Post a Comment