Change Your Perspective (On Exercise)

Today you have a ton of information at your fingertips, thanks to Google and YouTube.

So, knowing how to get and stay healthy shouldn’t be too hard, right?  

However, the stats tell a different story.

According to Marketdata Enterprises Americans spend upwards of 60 billion per year trying to lose weight while the National Institutes of Health puts America’s obesity rate at 68.8 %.  

But people going to the gym is higher than ever.

The numbers just don’t add up.

Throwing money at this problem is not working and information overload is not working either.  And I’m right on the front lines with over 11 years’ experience training clients and over 25 years under the barbell.

Why is it so hard to solve this problem?

Note- Obesity is a complex problem. This is one problem I see.

Scroll through your social media feed, turn on the TV or pick up a magazine. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

You’ll find pictures of photoshopped models telling you how they got ripped in six weeks, or TV shows turning weight loss into competitions.

Or you see some expert hawking the latest and greatest weight loss solution that sounds so convincing.

 Let’s not forget what’s good or bad for you changes on a daily basis, thanks to the mainstream media and research twisted to throw a scare you. Let’s throw The Food Babe under the bus, too.

Scare tactics and shortcuts come at you thick and fast.

When push really comes to shove, you don’t need Google, YouTube, Dr. Oz or the Food Babes of this world. You don’t even need to open your wallet.

All you need to do is change your perspective.

How I changed my perspective

I used to the typical gym meathead, more worried about the size of my biceps and whether or not the gym bunnies were checking me out.

But after training clients with real physical problems and going through some of my own setbacks, my tune started to change. It’s a case of “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.”

It was then I changed my perspective.

When movement was taken away, I wanted it back. That’s when I realized movement is a gift and not a punishment.

Take a good look around next time you’re out and about.

Pay attention to handicapped people and others with limited mobility. I bet they would love to squat, lunge, walk and jump around like the rest of us. This is one reason why you shouldn’t take movement for granted.

Because it can be gone in a flash.  

Not only is movement a gift, it’s fun too

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid, playing with your friends outside or reenacting your sporting heroes in the backyard? Close your eyes and imagine this for a moment.

Your advancing years then brought heavier responsibility, more zeros on your paycheck and added inches around your waist.

Then you joined a gym to punish yourself with mindless cardio and sit ups because you thought (or were told) that’s what it took to lose weight.

If that sounds like you, please stop now.

You’re going about it all wrong

Start moving in ways that please you, like when you were a kid.  Move in ways that make you happy, not miserable. Stop slogging away on the dreadmill or wrenching your neck doing endless crunches.

Instead, jump rope, join a rec league, play with your kids or take your dogs for a walk or play catch.

You’re really only limited by your imagination.

Michelle Segar, Ph.D. and author of No Sweat gets into this concept of moving in ways that please you, avoiding the old way of viewing exercise as a punishment, and how this brings you a lifetime of fitness.

It has worked for her clients over and over and it’s no fluke.

If you combine enjoyable movement with better dietary choices (less food out of a box and more meals with one ingredient food) the Biggest Loser, Dr. Oz, Food Babe, and any other self-proclaimed experts you can now tune out.

Because you got this.

Wrapping up

Your health is a complex problem with multiple layers that far exceed the scope of this post.

I’ll leave that to the scientists and experts to debate. However, some of the solutions are simple and right in front of you. All you need to do is open your eyes (not your wallet) and change your perspective.

If you need direction in the gym, I have a 4 week program for you right here.