ASSIGNMENTS

The title of this post may seem a little odd but I think it is appropriate when thinking about making changes in your lives.  When thinking about transitioning from one way of living (i.e. eating poorly, not exercising enough, etc. etc.) to a more "healthful" lifestyle ... we have a tendency to think in terms of dramatic shifts in behavior.  I find that this is often daunting for most people and that they pump themselves up for this big "switch" and when that becomes too much, they fall back into familiar patterns of behavior.  Of course this cycle ends up discouraging us and we find it harder and harder to get the nerve to do it all over again.  

     One strategy that I like to try with myself and others is giving myself "assignments".  By this, I think of a particular pattern that I need to establish or un-establish and I make an assignment to do this.  For instance, if my pattern is eating something at 9 o'clock every night just to give myself a little treat.  (This is a habit I hear about all the time that can often be very counterproductive and  be discarded as it is just unnecessary in most situations)  Then obviously, I give myself an assignment to make sure I don't have that snack at 9.  However, I don't give myself any other assignments for that week as I need to master one thing before I move on to another.  After, I feel like that "habit" has been broken, then I can focus on my next assignment.  The point is I don't give myself the assignment to "eat right" starting this week or "work out" as those are very broad terms that don't specifically detail a series of steps to take.  And having too many steps to take on in a given week is usually very overwhelming and hard for people to swallow (no pun intended) all at once.  So I guess my words of wisdom (as much to myself as to others) are to think of the behaviors that you are ready to tackle and give yourself that assignment for the week or even day as you make changes in your life.

Diet and Motivation

I have been talking with my clients about two particular themes lately ... diet and motivation.  The NUMBER ONE variable that seems to be the determining factor between success and failure with regards to a fitness plan is the diet.  If your diet is on point, workouts are enhanced.  If your diet is off, your workouts can be nullified.  Point being, given a choice between the two - I wish my clients would get there diets in check before they get their workouts down.  Funny enough though, it seems as most people would rather give time and effort in the gym in lieu of making changes in their diet.  It seems to be the hardest variable to overcome.  Reality is though, it is the one variable that can make or break you in most cases.  The other thing that people really seem to deal with is motivation.  Even if they have all the information in the world related to diet and/or exercise ... sometimes putting what they know into action is the hardest part of all.  I always encourage people to look for that disconnect.  WHY is it that even though you KNOW what to do and how to do it ... even why you should do it ... WHY is it that you still struggle to make appropriate daily choices.  There is some missing motivational component (in my estimation) that seems to be the biggest stumbling block in this area.  I guess this is where a little bit of the therapeutic/psychological component of my job comes into play.  Helping others determine what is causing that disconnect between what you should be doing and what you currently aren't.  Then, once people start doing what they need to - the next step is to help them learn how to continue to do it for a lifetime.  In future posts, I hope to talk some more about that.  

Thanks for reading.

Andy

First Post

I hope I can include lot's of information that is pertinent to my clients and anyone else who will listen.  But all good blogs should (in my opinion) serve as a place to share a little about what is going on with me as well.  I think doing so might create a little empathy for the reader ... if that makes sense.  Anyway, my subject for the day is what I am currently doing in the gym.  I am currently employing a modified "HIT" training regimine.  Basically HIT (stands for high intensity training) is a strategy where you do limited full body work during your workouts but he sets and reps that you do are extremely intense and designed to get every last bit of effort out of you.  I am modifying this a little to meet my needs as I like the idea of working all of my body parts on a more frequent basis but given them ample time to recover in between (which is one of the principles of hit) but also am doing so specific body part (arms, chest) emphasis.  So I have been doing this for about two to three weeks now and will hopefully be able to make notes on how it is working for me.  In general, I seem to be responding okay.  I think I need to do a little higher volume work for my chest and arms.  (arms especially)  Overall, my goal is to bring up my weaker body parts a little while keeping the rest of my body where it is at as well as leaning out.  Sort of a three pronged approach.  That is all for now.  Thanks for reading!

Andy

Any comments ... feel free to send them to actrainer@gmail.com