So yeah, it's "the New Year," and for most people it means setting new goals of health and weight loss. And by "new," I really mean the same old goals people set year after year after year. These goals are great for the first few weeks or months of the year, but by spring I'll bet most people have forgotten what they set out to attain in the New Year.
I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, and this year was no different. I did, however, set out several weeks before Christmas to begin something new for myself. I haven't quite defined what I'm doing or what I want to accomplish (perhaps to be done in a later blog post), but I know that in order to achieve my own health and fitness goals, I need change in my routine. And that is where I feel most people fall short.
Albert Einstein is attributed with the following: the definition of "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." How many people start back at the gym or sign up at a new gym after the first of the year only to walk on the treadmill, prance on the elliptical, or try to hit up as many of the gym's weight machines as possible? All of the aforementioned apparatuses (technical, I know... and I could have sworn it was "apparati" but Spellcheck is telling me no), have their place in a workout program, but not in mine or in any I would ever assign to a personal training client.
In order to achieve change, you need to make change. If the only thing you can do is walk on a treadmill, then that's fine. You start there, and when that begins to get too easy, you mix it up. Move on to the elliptical, stationary bike or, gasp, the Stepmill (a personal favorite torture device, but don't you dare white-knuckle the handrails). Try taking a group exercise class or working with a personal trainer--most gyms offer a free session with a trainer when you sign up.
So let's say you finished up 2011 on a fairly strong note. You can walk on the treadmill or maybe even run. You've tackled the gym's weight-machine circuit and perhaps have even tried toying with the dumbbells. Maybe you've tried a group class. You've got yourself a decent base, but haven't really seen the results you're looking for. Then you know what...? YOU'VE GOT TO WORK HARDER.
There, I've said it. There is no magic pill you can take and nothing you can easily do that is going to give you the real changes you want to see. You have to make the changes for yourself. And I'm talking hardcore changes--pushing yourself to new limits, running till your lungs ache, lifting till you've got callouses on your hands, going until you feel you cannot go any more. And for each individual, this means something different.
Change is never easy. It's uncomfortable. It's unusual. And sometimes it plain sucks. But in order to really become better physically, whether it be for health reasons or pure vanity (which can be okay; I'll allow it and at times encourage it), you have to really test yourself to know what you are capable of. Sign up for a 5k, 10k or something more challenging. Enroll in a Kettlebell class. Take your training and mix it up.
This brings me back to what I resolved to do several weeks ago: mix it up. For me, I had gotten to a point in my own fitness journey when I felt that in order to take it up a notch, I had to step outside myself. And so since mid-December I've been enjoying several weekly workouts that include the use of kegs, sleds, logs, tires, Atlas stones and various other training methods I am highly unfamiliar with. And you know what...? I'm loving every minute of it. Change, here I come.
Happy New Year... make it count.
