Overcoming Obstacles

Posted on January 9, 2012 by mmfitness

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a nice weekend and are off to a great start this Monday.

Today I wanted to address something that has come up a lot in my conversations recently with both friends/family and people at the gym. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to overcome obstacles when it comes to either getting in shape or staying in shape, and so I wanted to talk a bit about that here. Whether it be a limitation (real or self-imposed) due to an injury, or a perceived lack of time or ability, financial concerns or a stubborn mindset, chances are, at some point we’ve all let some kind of obstacle stand in our way of meeting our health and fitness goals.

I’m certainly no exception to this; when I injured my shoulder about 4 years ago, I let it sideline me entirely for a few months. I basically used it as a opportunity to feel sorry for myself, telling myself I couldn’t take this class or that one because it might aggravate my shoulder, and that I should probably avoid the weight room entirely because I might injure myself worse, blah, blah, blah. I somehow managed to convince myself at the time that the only thing that I could do at the gym was jog or walk on the treadmill, and truthfully I could barely convince myself to even do that a few times a week, even though nothing was wrong with my legs. I re-gained about 8 pounds with that injury. I’m sure in my heart of hearts I even knew I was being ridiculous at the time, but I let the situation get the best of me, and, hey, sometimes we can make pretty convincing arguments when we perceive an obstacle to be overwhelming.

The thing is, we often let obstacles becomes excuses. And really, it’s that mindset that it’s going to hold you back 100% of the time. Luckily I learned from that injury and was able to snap out of my funk before I got too far off course; I got myself into physical therapy eventually and learned corrective exercises to rehab my shoulder, got back into the weight room and worked the rest of my body, and went back to the classes I’d avoided (always giving the instructor a head’s up before class that I had an injury so that they could help me modify where need be). I re-directed my energy, and instead of continuing to see the injury as a roadblock, I figured out a solution to get around it. And without having to carry around that mental burden of my obstacle (which is always the hardest part), I dropped the physical weight I had gained, just like that.

It’s important to remember that how we feel on the inside truly does reflect on the outside. When we make excuses and allow an obstacle to get in our way, we’re really dealing with something much deeper than that. Whether it’s fear, depression, self-loathing…that mentality that is holding us back, allowing us to come up with excuses for why we can’t do something is the same one that is manifesting itself on the outside, keeping us from looking how we want to look, and being who we want to be. It’s only once we’re able to truly let go of that mindset, and turn these instances that could be considered obstacles into opportunities instead, that we’ll be able to be who we want to be, and we’ll get where we want to go physically.

So what’s holding you back? I guarantee that no matter what “obstacle” you are facing – insert whatever it is here, whether it’s that you don’t think you have the time to work out, or it’s too expensive/cold/crowded, etc., or you’ve got too much weight to lose and are embarrassed to be seen in a gym, etc. (you get the idea) – there is a solution. There’s a way around it. I know it’s tough, but if you make no excuses, you will be unstoppable.

Goals, Not Resolutions

Posted on January 3, 2012 by mmfitness

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a great time this holiday season, but now it’s time to toss out the leftover Christmas cookies move forward and set our sights on new goals and accomplishments for the coming year.

For most people, this time of year means plotting out your New Year’s resolutions. Truthfully, I’ve never really been into this whole idea myself, I think in no small part because the very word itself annoys me. To me, a resolution implies making up your mind to do something, but it neglects how you will get there. And we all know that the how is the most important part – it can mean the difference between going a crash diet and eating more veggies and moving more in order to lose weight in a healthy way. I often I think that people’s “resolutions” are lofty at best, and not fully fleshed out in terms of how you are going to get to the point where you achieve your goal.

Now goal, on the other hand, is a word I’m much more comfortable with. Since getting into goal-setting this past year, I’ve experienced the profound positive effects that creating (and achieving) goals can have on one’s life. As a result, I’m starting to re-think the whole resolution thing; I can really appreciate the sentiment behind it, but instead of resolving to do anything, I’m going to map out a plan of action and create some SMART goals to make sure that what I want is achievable, and that I’m able to take specific steps to ensure that I’m holding myself accountable along the way. I would challenge you to re-think the notion of resolutions as well, and instead chart out the steps to achieve your goals for the year.

Relatedly, one complaint I’ve heard a lot lately is regarding how packed the gyms get this time of year. Believe me, I totally get it – frankly I used to get pretty annoyed with this myself, with all of the newbies cramming into the gym on January 1^st, trying to make good on their decision to try and lose weight and taking “my” spin bike or hoarding the weights for a month until they fell off the bandwagon entirely by February. But then I realized that these January Joiners have just as fair of a shot of making it as anyone else, and if a resolution is what gets them in the door in the first place, who is anyone else to judge them for taking the opportunity to possibly get hooked on exercise and change their life around? Furthermore, I think there are actually a few positives that we can take away from this situation:

If you know that the gym will be slammed after work, or that your favorite class will be packed, instead of looking at it as a bad thing, why not instead use this as an opportunity to mix up your own routine? Exercise before work instead, or make plans to try another class. Take your workout outside if you can, or rent or buy a new exercise DVD that you can do from home occasionally. Continually keeping your body guessing is good for muscle growth, avoiding plateaus and keeping you interested in your workouts, so switching it up could potentially help you achieve your own goals even faster.
You stand a better chance of finding a workout buddy this time of year. Everyone has a friend or family member who vows to lose weight over the Christmas ham, so why not go to the gym with them, or plan an at-home workout together instead? Or, you can step even further outside your comfort zone and actually go talk to one of those gym newbies, rather than giving them the death stare when they hop on your favorite treadmill. They’ll probably appreciate having a veteran like you show them the ropes around the gym, and if you hit it off, you can help keep each other accountable for working out long past January.
If your own interest in exercise is starting to wane, use the heightened sense of enthusiasm and energy in the gym to your advantage to help reinvigorate your own workout. Sometimes seeing all of those people all gung-ho can really help to motivate you and reignite that spark that reminds you why you stick with your own workouts year-round.

Were you ever a January Joiner? What tips would you give those who are just getting into fitness and exercise to help them stick with it the rest of the year?

Also, I’ll be addressing a lot of questions I’ve gotten recently in some upcoming blog posts – feel free to email me or leave a comment with any questions that you might have and I’ll include those as well. Ask away, I’m sure no matter what it is, you’re not the only one with that question, so don’t be shy

Maintain, Don’t Gain

Posted on December 12, 2011 by mmfitness

Good Morning! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I was able to do a little bit of everything that I needed/wanted to do – relaxation, socializing, holiday shopping – so I felt satisfied.

Has anyone tried the 12 Workout Moves of Christmas Challenge yet? I posted an update on my Facebook page last Wednesday that I made it through 6 rounds before dinner, and wow, it was so tough. It is a killer workout – I thought those arm circles were going to be the death of me (tip: to make the move more challenging, make smaller circles. To make it easier, move your arms in a larger circular motion. <- I definitely needed to make it easier after three or four rounds!) This is definitely a great addition to your workout routine during the busy holiday season, just do as many rounds as you have time for. Something’s better than nothing!

Speaking of the holidays, we all know how tough it is to stick to your food and fitness goals this time of year. I know that I personally have four holidays parties this week, and it can be tough to enjoy all the social gatherings if you’re trying to lose weight this time of year. I remember when I was initially trying to lose weight, my plan was to try to continue to lose weight through the holidays, and I put so much pressure on myself to stick to that plan that I told myself I wouldn’t indulge at any parties.

But after one miserable soiree where I spent the whole time looking wistfully over at a pile of brownies, I had an epiphany – I could switch to maintenance mode for the holidays. What if instead of trying to lose weight, I tried to just maintain where I was? I was using Livestrong’s The Daily Plate website at the time, so I could easily adjust my calories to maintenance level (even if you don’t use an online program, as long as you know your BMR and activity level, you can gauge how many calories a day you need to maintain your weight).

Maybe doing that is obvious for some people, but for me it never clicked before in my Type A brain. Adding back in a couple of hundred calories a day was such a liberating feeling, I remember. It meant that I could actually enjoy those events (without being ridiculous, of course) and by taking that pressure off of myself to try to be perfect during an already-stressful time, I felt much more at ease and happier with myself overall. And because I was less stressed, I didn’t feel the need to binge on those brownies, and I ended the year weighing exactly the same as I did at the beginning of December. Sure, it stalled my weight loss for a bit, but it’s much better than depriving, then gorging yourself, then waking up on January 1st five pounds heavier, right?

Now I am all for using smart strategies so that you don’t overdo it too much at parties, but I do want you to consider adopting this maintain, don’t gain philosophy for yourself this holiday season. Forget the notion of “Surviving Family Get-togethers” and “Sneaky Ways to Lose Weight at the Office Christmas Party” and all of those other articles published around this time of year. Just workout as often as you can, eat well most of the time, and don’t forget to enjoy yourself a little!