I know I’m a personal trainer, so this post may come off as a bit biased, but I’m going to try to keep it at level as possible. Ask yourself this question. Are you in shape? If the answer is yes, I guess you could stop reading this. If the answer is no, ask yourself a few more questions. Are you on a direct route to being in shape? If yes, tell me to screw off, if no, keep asking questions. Why do you think you might not be in shape, or on that direct route? I’m getting to a point here. Most people, think they don’t need any help when it comes to getting in shape. I see this a lot with former athletes who were on this college team, or that one, competitive bodybuilders who have lost it, and on and on. You get it a lot from people who were in the military as well. These are the people who say, “oh man, I used to be in such good shape, back when I was playing ball.” or “Yeah, we used to do all kinds of that stuff in the military”. You look at them now, and you can’t even tell they ever worked out in their entire lives. Unfortunately, they are the hardest eggs to crack. And on the other end of the out of shape spectrum, you have the people with no prior training or conditioning background, who just don’t do the right things. Well, there is hope for us all! For the former athletes, we will call them, a lot of times, it’s an ego thing. They think that they were in shape once before, so why would they need help to do it again? they went through all the training and workouts in college, just do the same thing, right? Well, when you don’t do something for a few years, you become, hmm….. not so good at it anymore. So those two laps around the track that were a warm up for you in college, have now become a whole workout for you. The 50 pushups in a minute you were repping out in the Army, now become 50 pushups in 10 sets of 5, that take you 30 minutes. Problem is, all these former athletes THINK they can get themselves in shape, because they’ve been there before. But what they fail to realize, is they had someone pushing them that whole time, whether it was their coach, or trainer, or captain, or whatever. Now, in the real adult world, that influence is gone. And that’s why you see so many former athletes, just, to put it bluntly, get fat. There is no more guidance. They are responsible for themselves, and they just don’t do the necessary things anymore to push themselves. Most of them don’t see the need for outside help, because they think they know what it takes to get in shape, and it may be true. But let’s go back to asking questions. If they do know what it takes, why aren’t they in shape anymore? Everyone on earth can use the excuse of time, a job, kids, whatever, but it really comes down to one thing. The motivation. If that former athlete is not motivated from within, maybe it is time to get help from an outside source, if just to kick them into gear. I have tons of friends who USED to be athletes, and now, that motivation to stay in shape isn’t there. That’s why, they should look into someone like me, or your own local personal trainers or coaches, to throw them back on that right bus to fitness. Point is, they might KNOW what to do, but for whatever reason, they aren’t DOING it. Find someone to help. Now, for the “unexercised”. These are the people, who think they want to get in shape, and think that they can do it on their own. For every ONE success story, I can name TEN that still have not watched a single P90X dvd they bought two years ago. The fact of the matter is, is that we as a majority, are a lazy society. If that offends you, it shouldn’t. Look up the definition of lazy in the dictionary. It means this:
averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.
OK. So, when it comes to working out, for whatever reason, do you have an aversion to it? Do you find reasons not to do it? No time today. The kids needed to be taken to soccer practice. I have to take my car to the shop. I had a long day at work. All excuses to not work out, which, actually means….. lazy. So if this is you, don’t be offended when someone calls you lazy, because it’s just, unfortunately, the truth. I’m sure I’ll get hate mail for that, but it is what it is. I didn’t make up the definition of lazy.
Back to the “unexercised”. Some just don’t know what to do, so they don’t do anything. Others, are afraid to take that first step, and still others “think” they can do it on their own. For the most part, all of the above equal those people being out of shape, with excess bodyfat, and no muscle tone whatsoever. These people should be BEGGING for help, if it’s just one session with a trainer, a commitment to sign up for a fitness bootcamp, a subscription to a fitness podcast, the recruitment of workout buddies, or just SOMETHING to put them on the right track. They get that help, and they are one step closer to reaching their goals. They don’t get that help, and… they are still sitting on the couch, wondering how hard it is to return the Ab Coaster.
Point of this long blog post is this. Most people need some outside influences to at least start on their fitness quest. Why not take advantage of the resources around you to help you along the way. It’s a service just like any other. You aren’t going to try to fix your computer when it crashes. Most likely, you’ll take it to the Geek Squad. So when your body and fitness crashes, take it to an exercise nerd squad, like myself, or the many others across the nation. I guarantee there is someone in your town, who can help you, even if you think you don’t need it(which, if you answered no to any questions at the beginning, you do)!