Taking responsibility for your health and fitness is often the first and most crucial step on the path to your goals.
It is your fault that you dug into a box of biscuits and equally shovelled down 12 pints of beer at the weekend.
Equally so it is your choice that you watch mind-numbing (and at times rather depressing TV) rather than head out for a brisk walk.
Obesity is rife and climbing. Every day millions are lost through absenteeism and sickness in industry through people not looking after their greatest asset – themselves.
I often laugh as one of my clients drives up in the latest offerings from the local sports car dealership, only to grumble at the prospect of having to buy organic meat. This is the same person who raises an eyebrow ‘at the cost of food’ nowadays.
“That’s ok then” as I point to the car.
“Perhaps you can drive that car with you into the grave, then?”
Your body is designed for optimum performance – nothing less. How we have come to be devoid of a clean diet and lack of movement is beyond me. We function at well below par.
Our society is riddled with illness, disease, ailments that take an eternity to shift and metabolic disorders such as high blood pressure and diabetes are all to prevalent.
I have one client who won’t mind me saying this but he is a diabetic, type 2. This means he can manage the potentially fatal relationship between glucose (sugars) and the hormone insulin. I often raised an eyebrow at how he settled his sugar fix with a Mars Bar.
“The nurse told me to take onboard some sugars, if I ever felt like this”
“Maybe some fruit juice may do the job?” I remarked
Needless to say he is now enjoying managing his diabetes with exercise and herbs (alongside the odd dose of insulin managing drugs). But it was hard at the start. Here was a man ingrained in the ‘quick-fix’ mentality avoiding taking all responsibility for his health until it took control of him.
Here was a man resigned to putting his health in someone else’s hands for life. He was unwilling to see the alternatives. He was unwilling to go back to the basics – diet and exercise.
His ‘why’ however was strong enough to elicit a change. Eventually his sugars were getting hard to manage without taking 9 pills a-day. Alongside this the side-effects were shocking to live with. His grandson was born which drove him to ensure that he was round long enough to enjoy bringing him up.
What is your ‘why’?
I often use the example of an ‘Onion’ with my clients. Asking probing questions that you can do yourself is the first step. At all times you must remain honest to yourself.
Why do people primarily go to the gym? Answer – to look good naked. However, if you keep telling yourself that you want to feel good and just want to ‘tone up’ then you are in for a struggle.
I asked an executive the same question. He answered me with the platitudes of “I want to get rid of my belly”, “I want to tighten up”.
“What’s your real reason?” I asked
“What do you mean?” He replied
“Well, what do you mean by ‘getting rid of my belly’ – why is this important to you?”
A moment passed before a startling dose of honesty set in.
“Well I am sick and tired of looking across the table and seeing guys older than me, ten times fitter. It makes me angry. They must think I am weak”
“That’s more like it – hold onto that thought”
Being responsible for your actions means peeling the layers of the onion until you get to your real answer, not some woolly platitude to make life easy.
This is your ‘why’ and something strong enough so that you will be motivated to keep on track whilst others fall away. It will allow you to get out of bed when the wind and rain is pouring. It will allow you to choose a swim over EastEnders. It will allow you to choose nutrient dense foods over packaged rubbish.
John Lark is a personal trainer in maynooth and owner of the Sphere Health and Fitness Centre
