Monthly Archives: April 2014

Do You Have Fitness ADD?

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I have to say it.  Fitness ADD is running rampant.  And, no I don’t mean math skills, I mean Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)!  The misinformed, and some who should know better, running from program to program looking for, but never finding, the holy grail of fitness training.  They never stay with a program long enough to actualize the real results inherent within it.  Exercises are changed up on a daily basis to stave off boredom or keep it interesting or to never plateau or to confuse the muscles, or whatever nonsense people tell themselves.  But really it’s a problem of commitment; actually sticking to a program to reap all the promised results from it. Continue reading →

What Have You Done (to yourself)?

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Do you people watch? I do. Traveling a few weekends in a row earlier this month gave me ample opportunity. The people watching was especially entertaining at the various rest stops along the highways, turnpikes, and parkways the length of the northeastern corridor from NJ up to MA, and out through PA on the way to OH.

rest stop

In all my recent people watching adventures I’ve notice something pretty sad.  On the whole, in general, there are many, many people out there in very poor shape.  Actually, horribly pathetic shape is a more apt description. Now I know this is not a revelation to you, my dear readers, nor is it one to me either.  It’s just that in crowded spots where people are traveling from all over are congregated, it becomes very noticeable.

Formula for Failure

The question I kept coming back to, as I looked around at these horribly out of shape people from all walks of life and all ages, was WHY? Why are people so enormously overweight? Why is their physical condition so screwed up? Why do they struggle for breath just standing up or sitting down? What happened along the way to get them in such a state? Surely no one started out wanting to be fat, out of shape, and de-conditioned.  Surely no one wanted to feel so devoid of energy and vitality. Surely it was a slow, slow decline. Surely it was an insidious series of small errors over the course of a long, long time that brought them to this, right?

 

Formula for Failure

“A few errors in judgment repeated every day.” – Jim Rohn

 

  • What does it matter when you decide not to exercise?
  • What does it matter when you have that extra dessert?
  • What does it matter when you sit all day?
  • What does it matter when you skip your mobility practice?
  • What does it matter when you don’t breathe fresh air and walk in the sunshine?
  • What does it matter when you smoke that pack of cigarettes?
  • What does it matter when you watch TV for hours at a time?
  • What does it matter when you KNOW the right thing, but don’t DO it?
  • What does it matter when you don’t eat your vegetables?
  • What does it matter when you add 4 sugars to your coffee?
  • What does it matter if you don’t get enough sleep a night?
  • What does it matter when you consistently eat too many carbs?

The truth is, it does matter. The little things you do, or don’t do, on a daily basis matter very much in the long run.

The only one ultimately responsible for your health and well-being is you.  Not your doctor. Not your spouse. Not your friends. Not the government. You.  You alone.  Make the right choices.

Settling for Imperfection

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I’ve got some news for you.  You will never be perfect at anything.  Not your strength, not your conditioning, not your martial art, not your job, not your relationships, nothing.  You will never even be able to make the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Nope.  Not ever.

So what does that mean?

Should you simply stop trying right now? I mean, since you’ll never be perfect at anything, what’s the point, right?  Why bother? Why struggle and make the effort?  Well, I think the struggle is the point. It’s the process, not the goal.  It’s what struggling and reaching and trying make of you that is the important thing.  The journey itself, not so much the destination.  In any worthwhile pursuit, like budo (martial arts to you non-budo people) for example, there is no end to the learning.  The study is so vast and so deep you could pursue it for several lifetimes and still not reach the end.

The late, great Brandon Lee once said, “With what level of imperfection will you settle?”  I think this is what he was talking about.

brandon lee

How content are you with your current level of skill in your martial arts practice? How satisfied are you with your current level of strength and conditioning at the gym? How happy are you with your current job, status, level of wealth, or relationship(s)?

Are you willing to settle for where you are right now in one or all of those categories, or do you want more?

The question you need to ask yourself in each of those areas is Brandon’s – with what level of imperfection will you settle? Where will you stop growing, pushing, struggling, changing, expanding your capacity, living up to your potential?  When will you stop?

Or will you ever stop?

Keep Going!