Archive for March, 2010
After explaining the benefits of incidental exercise to Lisa, a personal training client of mine I was feeling pretty happy with myself I have to admit. I had just helped her understand the benefits of how moving your body more throughout the day would help her along the path of achieving her weight loss and fitness goals.
She was happy; she bounced her big blond pony tail around her head as she excitedly informed me that she was going to put her new found knowledge into action this weekend. With a spring in her step and a smile on her dial she skipped out of the gym in a swirl of Chanel No 5 with a hint of sweat and a sea of admiring glances from all the men caught up in her aroma.
The satisfaction one gets from sharing their knowledge and helping someone else is very rewarding and the smile was still on my smug little face on Monday morning as I prepared to meet Lisa for another training session.
She came into the gym with her usual enthusiasm and proceeded to inform me how happy I would be with her because she had completed her homework and achieved 20 minutes ‘ACCIDENTAL EXERCISE’.
“I’m sorry Lisa, don’t you mean Incidental exercise”, I giggled thinking she had mucked up her words.
“No, you said that I need to be doing more accidental exercise so I was in the city on Saturday and my mum and I accidentally got off the bus at the wrong stop, instead of getting back on we took your advice and walked the rest of the way”.
They say that the measure of communication is the response you get so I quickly resolved to work on my delivery and maybe be a little more humble about my work.
Anyway Lisa got the general idea about Incidental exercise and so I thought I would share a few reasons as to why, whether it is incidental or accidental, it is still good for you.
Over the past 50 years our ever increasingly sedentary lifestyle has caused an ever increasing waistline. Our desire to make thing simpler, easier and faster has helped contribute to us becoming one of the fattest nations in the world.
Incidental exercise is the exercise we get doing daily activities and can make a big difference to maintaining a healthy weight. Things like:
• Instead of take the lift or escalator we can walk up or down the stairs
• We can get off the bus one stop early and walk a little further to work
• We can get up and go talk to someone in the office instead of emailing them all the time.
• We can leave the remote control on top of the TV and get up every time we want to change channels
• We can park our car a little further away in the shopping centre car park from the entrance to the shops we are visiting
All these types of activities help to boost our daily calorie expenditure and keep our metabolism fired up through the day, thus leading to a happier, healthier you.
Working as a Personal trainer, I always threatened my clients that I was going to write an excuse book featuring all their excuses that they have graciously provided me with over the years.
Most were somewhat amusing and extremely creative, and I am sure, provided with pure intent although I suspect not all were necessarily true.
I didn’t really have to say anything at all in response; I just gave ‘the look’. This was enough to produce guilt or shame on even the most valid of excuses.
Personal Trainers tend to become the ‘conscious of their clients’. I know many a time someone would inform me that they thought of me at various times of the day. I found this quite flattering at first until after further scrutiny I found out that my image popped into their heads whilst eating desert or having that last beer or forgoing exercise to stay in bed a little longer.
Ahhh, the guilty conscious, in the shape of a trainer, it has to be a good thing when it comes to keeping you on track with your goals, wouldn’t you agree?
Once whilst going through a previous clients food diary, I noticed that one of the days had not been filled in. When questioned as to why this occurred the excuse was, “I couldn’t find a pen for the whole day’. Not to be put off and after providing ‘the look’, I suggested that we fill it in now.
Instant horror, followed by sheer dismay was shared with me and then came the unfolding of the day’s calorie intake. It went a little like this:
Breakfast: McDonalds Bacon and egg McMuffin and pancakes
Lunch: Chips and gravy
Dinner: Chicken Kiev, veges and chips
Supper: Hotdog
No wonder we couldn’t find a pen the whole day, it was hiding in all the greasy fat being consumed.
I asked my dear client if he thought that by not writing it down it wouldn’t count in the overall scheme of things, that by not writing it down means that it didn’t happen.
He responded with yet another excuse, “Well it was a mates birthday weekend and I just wanted to have fun”.
There you have it, the real reason and one that may seem like a fair enough excuse but can I add here, if you going to do the crime you need to pay the time.
Meaning, don’t kid yourself and make up stories in your head that justify and rationalise your actions. Keep it real and deal with it.
Excuses are merely explanations offered to justify or obtain forgiveness thereby setting you up for failure.
If you have a blow out, instead of using excuses, use the ‘STOP’ principle.
Stay put – This means stop and breathe. Respond instead of react. This way you have a chance to put the ‘T’ part of the anagram into action.
Take a step back to evaluate – This gives you a chance to look at the whole picture rather than just the blowout. Often when you see the big picture the problem is never as big or insurmountable as first thought.
Observe the damage if any – Assessing the damage provides you with valuable information that will be needed when you put the ‘P’ in action. Without observing, you won’t have all the facts required for a successful strategy.
Plan your way forward – Having a plan is crucial to any goal and so is having a plan to get back on track once you fall off. It’s not a ‘plan B’, but a strategy that partners and supports your initial plan, resulting in ultimate success.
Having a blow out doesn’t mean that you have failed, all it is a side step on the path to success. Don’t give it any more power than that by making up excuses. They only limit your potential and deny you your right for an enriched life.