It's about time I wrote my first blog post about fitness and nutrition, right?
I'm not really sure what the holdup has been to write this post, but I'd say the biggest issue is that nothing of significance has changed lately in my training regimen. During the summertime months I tend to be more conscious about not carrying as much body fat, but to be fair I don't think my annual fluctuations are significant enough to really worry about. Like most other fitness enthusiasts I know, I tend to make a bigger deal out of these things than the average person, so the unfortunate end result is that I found myself taking in less nutrients, keeping my weight down, but then agonizing internally about why nothing seemed to be changing with my workout intensity or my ability to make gains. So, effectively I sabotaged my own results.
Just as I tend to sympathize and get along well with automotive enthusiasts, I find that I'm drawn to fitness enthusiasts as well. For anyone who has put in the hard work required for training, diet, and the sometimes self-loathing that seems to go along with it, these people become kindred spirits, as well as sources of inspriration. It's true that we workout to feel better overall, but there comes a level of frustration with training that is hard to explain to the non gym-goer. Most people exercise to achieve goals, and those goals can be difficult to attain at the best of times, impossible at the worst of times.
As I've told some of my best friends, one of my greatest life regrets is that I stopped exercising with any regularity between the ages of 25 and 32. I wish so much that I could have those 7-8 years of my life back to dedicate to fitness, since building a solid foundation takes time. Of course I'm glad to have re-discovered it in 2006, but I cannot stop wondering where I'd be today if I didn't give up all that time. I have become quite happy to serve as a source of information for co-workers, friends, and even a few gym buddies who want to get more serious about their own fitness goals, and I must say it's a real privilege to be thought of as a source of knowledge in that domain.
The first question most people tend to ask is along the lines of "what is the secret to getting in better shape?". Of course I would have been one of the people asking that question just 8 years ago, so I do really understand and appreciate the spirit of it. But, the answer I like to give tends to catch people off-guard despite its simplicity. The answer of course, is that there is no secret. The pursuit of better fitness and health must be a lifestyle to be truly effective, and you have to figure out a way to embrace the lifestyle in order to truly succeed with it. Suffice to say that the person at the gym complaining about being there and wishing they were somewhere else isn't going to be the most successful in attaining their goals, yet you may be surprised of how many of those people are out there in gyms across the world.
I do have a few funny stories to share along these lines, but want to save them for a later blog entry. I should add the disclaimer that I am not a certified personal trainer nor a nutritionist, and do not consider myself an expert. However, I do like to share what I know and hope that some of my experience and attitude about health and fitness might help others!
I'm not really sure what the holdup has been to write this post, but I'd say the biggest issue is that nothing of significance has changed lately in my training regimen. During the summertime months I tend to be more conscious about not carrying as much body fat, but to be fair I don't think my annual fluctuations are significant enough to really worry about. Like most other fitness enthusiasts I know, I tend to make a bigger deal out of these things than the average person, so the unfortunate end result is that I found myself taking in less nutrients, keeping my weight down, but then agonizing internally about why nothing seemed to be changing with my workout intensity or my ability to make gains. So, effectively I sabotaged my own results.
Just as I tend to sympathize and get along well with automotive enthusiasts, I find that I'm drawn to fitness enthusiasts as well. For anyone who has put in the hard work required for training, diet, and the sometimes self-loathing that seems to go along with it, these people become kindred spirits, as well as sources of inspriration. It's true that we workout to feel better overall, but there comes a level of frustration with training that is hard to explain to the non gym-goer. Most people exercise to achieve goals, and those goals can be difficult to attain at the best of times, impossible at the worst of times.
As I've told some of my best friends, one of my greatest life regrets is that I stopped exercising with any regularity between the ages of 25 and 32. I wish so much that I could have those 7-8 years of my life back to dedicate to fitness, since building a solid foundation takes time. Of course I'm glad to have re-discovered it in 2006, but I cannot stop wondering where I'd be today if I didn't give up all that time. I have become quite happy to serve as a source of information for co-workers, friends, and even a few gym buddies who want to get more serious about their own fitness goals, and I must say it's a real privilege to be thought of as a source of knowledge in that domain.
The first question most people tend to ask is along the lines of "what is the secret to getting in better shape?". Of course I would have been one of the people asking that question just 8 years ago, so I do really understand and appreciate the spirit of it. But, the answer I like to give tends to catch people off-guard despite its simplicity. The answer of course, is that there is no secret. The pursuit of better fitness and health must be a lifestyle to be truly effective, and you have to figure out a way to embrace the lifestyle in order to truly succeed with it. Suffice to say that the person at the gym complaining about being there and wishing they were somewhere else isn't going to be the most successful in attaining their goals, yet you may be surprised of how many of those people are out there in gyms across the world.
I do have a few funny stories to share along these lines, but want to save them for a later blog entry. I should add the disclaimer that I am not a certified personal trainer nor a nutritionist, and do not consider myself an expert. However, I do like to share what I know and hope that some of my experience and attitude about health and fitness might help others!
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