Blog

Oct 09 2020

The Conundrum Of “Working Out.”

Working out has been beat into our heads as a healthy activity. And since we are responsible adults, we go workout because we feel we need to. It is marketed in different forms, such as “being strong,” “flexible,” “balanced,” etc. etc. etc. And all those things sound good, so we join different activities, gyms, and classes that we are told will get us there.

But so often, we are left wanting with not really feeling like we want to or we get hurt, and the aches and pains don’t go away. It is frustrating because now you feel a little helpless as to what the next step is. This is definitely the feeling I had when I hurt my back. Yeah, the pain was terrible, but it was the frustration that I was doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing and still got really hurt, working out no less. And that feeling of I helpless compounded when all the different accepted popular modalities didn’t work.

Working Out Sometimes Doesn’t Work Out

I felt that I did something wrong (I did) and that it was my fault (not totally). I got bamboozled like most people into thinking if I did “X” workout/exercise because it gave me a “Y” outcome that I would be good. But what I didn’t know was that I was being misled during those years. And because I was functioning at a high level, and I looked the way I wanted (Another issue in hindsight) I had no reason to doubt that what I was doing wasn’t good for me.

It wasn’t until what was supposed to work didn’t do my outlook and paradigm crack. That “crack” led to feelings of helplessness and frustration but also to a deep quest to figure out why it didn’t work and what to do about it. This is how I came across the science and philosophy of osteopathy and how to honestly train/treat your body holistically.

Because unless you are an athlete whose sole goal is to win and improve their sport, you work out because you want a good and fulfilling life. Whatever your goals in life are, they will be accessible only if you put yourself in the best possible position to achieve them. It doesn’t matter if it’s just to be there for your friends and family or save the world  how balanced, strong, and functioning your body is will either enhance or detract from your desired life.

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it’s not just working out, it’s building a foundation for a better life.

Oct 01 2020

To Reach Your Goal, You’ll have to Try New Things. This includes your exercise program.

“Change yourself if you want to change your outcome.” You have more than likely heard this in many different ways throughout your life, and it is entirely accurate. You can’t expect to accomplish the more significant tasks in your life if you are not willing to change your outlook and habits. If you are trying to get a different outcome from your exercise program, shouldn’t you be ready to choose different exercises to get you there?

Yup.

This leads to another phrase everybody has heard from our lovely popular genus Einstein “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Now, these are not words to take in and agreeably node and say “yes” and then go about your day. Think about it and see how it applies.

Sallys losing exercise program

I’ll give you a typical example. Sally Sucker has been working out for the majority of her life and never quite reaching her goals. So she goes on with her routine of gym/classes, yoga, hiking, and biking occasionally. She will “get serious” twice a year and work out a little harder, but the outcome is the same and she is getting frustrated.

She is frustrated because she is not getting any closer, and in retrospect, she is getting worse. She doesn’t move as well, she is in more pain, and worse, she thinks it is because she isn’t working hard enough and is losing confidence and motivation. This little story just turned a bit depressing because the health and fitness industry suckered Sally.

She was suckered because she was told that if she just moved and did these activities that claimed to give the results, she was looking for that she would succeed. Sorry, Sally, it doesn’t work that way. You get the results when you tell your body EXACTLY what you want it to do with a PRESCISE health and fitness exercise program. Sally needs to take a hard look at how she’s tried to reach her goals and make changes that will actually help her reach her goals.

Use an exercise program like a science experiment.

A health and fitness program is like a scientific formula: a little bit of too much or little here and there, and it blows up in your face, but without all the burning of skin and fires. Each exercise is an ingredient put in there because it was designed to produce an exact outcome. And, to go back too thinking about exercises, the exercises you find that will give you these results will be a little foreign to you and will definitely be challenging. And not just sweaty breathing hard challenging, but challenging mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Let’s give Sally a nice ending because she has been through so much. So Sally saw the light and was brave and took the road less taken ( way too many analogies), and now Sally is seeing and embodying her accomplishments, and she is no longer a sucker but a superstar. Aww.

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it’s not just working out, it’s building a foundation for a better life.

Sep 25 2020

If you don’t want to keep tripping over your shoelaces, try tying them another way.

So Wells Fargo was in the news again, and again not for anything useful. These ‘guys’ keep going from one gaff to the next. Thankfully I convinced my wife to leave them years ago after their second or third blunder (I can’t keep track) and so I know I am not supporting that behavior. And so I was talking to her and said: “These guys keep tripping over their shoelaces and keep tying them the same way.” And it got me thinking about continually causing yourself the same problems and not doing anything new to change the outcome.

Hence the phrase “If you don’t want to keep tripping over your shoelaces, try tying them another way.”

You’re going to get tripped up in life, most people know that is inevitable, but the reaction to getting tripped up is where a moment of through needs to be applied. Just jest react and tie your shoe the same way and then get mad when it happens again. But this can be difficult because you have always tied your shoes this way, and you don’t know how to tie your shoes differently, and it seems pretty uncomfortable to try to tie them differently.

So. If you want to not trip ty your shoes differently. And if you choose to become ridged and not change, know why. And when you decide to tie them differently, understand and accept that that initial effort you go through won’t feel “natural.” You’ll feel like you are doing something wrong, get frustrated, and potentially want to go back to tying them the same way.

That uncomfortable space is the space you want to work in. That uncomfortableness is where you will learn and grow. And when you reside in that space, you show you are willing and even eager to change.

I hope you learn to tie your shoes properly and can run and not trip again.