Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Aristotle
Make no mistake, fitness is hard work. It is not easy to do day in and day out. At least, that is true until we have been at it for quite some time.
The length of time differs from person to person. But six months should be thought of as a benchmark. Expecting anything less makes fitness fall into the category of instant gratification--something which true fitness is not about.
That is why our efforts have to be fun. It is the only way to insure that we keep at them for at least six months. To most, that amount of time sounds much like forever. But that is only because no one initially gets excited over the thought of making it to the club every day, always taking supplements and only eating foods with low fat and sugar content. Why is that the case?
 "Because all of that is boring", or so most would say. None of us like anything unpleasant. We prefer eating whatever tastes good, not being dependent on forty or fifty pills throughout to the day and every night kicking back in front of the TV. All of that is supposedly better, even healthier, than the rigor of a fitness lifestyle.
Nevertheless, if we want to reap the rewards of a fitness lifestyle, we have to get into one and stay at it. There is no other way. Fitness cannot come from an MDs magic pill (generally of the appetite suppressant variety.) Nor will it come from a some new workout gadget that only needs twenty minutes every other day of usage. Possibly either of these might work in conjunction with at least an hour per day of cardiovascular activity along with a full spectrum of supplements and a wisely planned diet. But, by themselves, these quick fixes are a waste of precious time and hard-earned money. Deep down, we all know this : there are no easy answers.
That is what makes fitness such drudgery. We all know that it must be gotten into for more than just a little token exertion. And, it must be kept up. Granted, it may in one sense, be no different than the daily habit of brushing of our teeth. But fitness takes longer. In deed, it takes thirty times longer (assuming it takes three minutes to use our toothbrushes and a total of ninety to get to the gym, workout, and then suit back up.) That is the greatest part problem. We just cannot take time out of our already over-scheduled day, or so it seems.
However, we can find time for whatever we have or want to do, and that is what fitness demands. We have to find the hour and half during the day. There is no other way around it. Something else has to be put into the background or forgotten.
Once that is done, there is only one thing left--making ourselves want to do what we have to do. That requires making our new commitment as much fun as the one that was given up. In other words, we have to make a stationary bike ride as enjoyable as sitting in front of the TV. That may be something which sounds impossible, until we realize that there are cable TVs right on most health clubs' workout equipment.
For those that do not like cycling there are other options, such as wearing a headset with our favorite music or even taped books. That can be worn while walking on the treadmill or even using the weight machines. These are merely suggestions. The point is that the drudgery of doing a workout has got to be eliminated by turning it into a pleasant experience. If that does not happen, we will continuously be tempted to give up our efforts long before they ever have a chance of paying off.
It almost seems unnecessary to talk about why this is true. In the last fifty years, almost all of us have been programmed to accept our pleasure desires, now referred to as needs. Further, we have been brought up to equate ease with the American good life. Therefore, being too dedicated or too enthusiastic about physical exertion suggests the existence of a psychological problem, if not an un-American attitude.
Another reason is that we all work hard all day, to say nothing of making long commutes. Granted, there are changes occurring right now, wherein we can work from home offices, making use of fax machines and emails. But we still have to dedicate large blocks of time to what we do for our livelihoods. This makes us in need of some reward time.Thus, the time dedicated to our workouts must become enjoyable.
The same is true for diet. Everyone likes to eat, and some foods just taste better than others. For the most part, diet-food is believed to be unappetizing. It does not taste as good as a Big Mac,a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or their counterparts. That is true for everyone who is starting off in a fitness lifestyle. However, it is not true after we have been at fitness for quite some time and seen the results. Then, these foods become less than enjoyable. But until that point, they are tempting to say the least. That is why our diet-food has got to become enjoyable.
This means creative recipes with herbs and spices must be perused. There is no other easy answer. We have to learn how to cook and eat all over again. In other words, we have to learn how to eat differently than do our family and friends. We have to find new good tasting low-fat, low-sugar replacements for what we are currently are eating. Not succeeding in this only makes the temptation to go back to old habits all too enticing.
Supplements should be spoken of as well. We need them. But, most of us do not want to take them. They are pills, and thus no fun. Furthermore our MDs do not encourage their usage. As if that is not enough, they cost extra money. Nevertheless, they are important for keeping up our daily workouts. Without them, we simply will not recover quickly enough for tomorrow's workout. Nor will we have the energy to keep up the same sustained pace. Consequently, we need to have an enjoyable way of getting supplements into our bodies. Swallowing them with our favorite natural fruit juice most often will make this a pleasurable experience.
The point is that we need to have a good time doing what we must in order to insure that we keep at it. Bringing something we enjoy into our fitness lifestyles will make this happen. That will give us the best chance of never going back to old ways. Refusing to take our fun needs seriously only encourages our own version of the health clubs' all too well known March drops out after the New Year's Resolve.
Make no mistake, fitness is hard work. It is not easy to do day in and day out. At least, that is true until we have been at it for quite some time.
The length of time differs from person to person. But six months should be thought of as a benchmark. Expecting anything less makes fitness fall into the category of instant gratification--something which true fitness is not about.
That is why our efforts have to be fun. It is the only way to insure that we keep at them for at least six months. To most, that amount of time sounds much like forever. But that is only because no one initially gets excited over the thought of making it to the club every day, always taking supplements and only eating foods with low fat and sugar content. Why is that the case?
 "Because all of that is boring", or so most would say. None of us like anything unpleasant. We prefer eating whatever tastes good, not being dependent on forty or fifty pills throughout to the day and every night kicking back in front of the TV. All of that is supposedly better, even healthier, than the rigor of a fitness lifestyle.
Nevertheless, if we want to reap the rewards of a fitness lifestyle, we have to get into one and stay at it. There is no other way. Fitness cannot come from an MDs magic pill (generally of the appetite suppressant variety.) Nor will it come from a some new workout gadget that only needs twenty minutes every other day of usage. Possibly either of these might work in conjunction with at least an hour per day of cardiovascular activity along with a full spectrum of supplements and a wisely planned diet. But, by themselves, these quick fixes are a waste of precious time and hard-earned money. Deep down, we all know this : there are no easy answers.
That is what makes fitness such drudgery. We all know that it must be gotten into for more than just a little token exertion. And, it must be kept up. Granted, it may in one sense, be no different than the daily habit of brushing of our teeth. But fitness takes longer. In deed, it takes thirty times longer (assuming it takes three minutes to use our toothbrushes and a total of ninety to get to the gym, workout, and then suit back up.) That is the greatest part problem. We just cannot take time out of our already over-scheduled day, or so it seems.
However, we can find time for whatever we have or want to do, and that is what fitness demands. We have to find the hour and half during the day. There is no other way around it. Something else has to be put into the background or forgotten.
Once that is done, there is only one thing left--making ourselves want to do what we have to do. That requires making our new commitment as much fun as the one that was given up. In other words, we have to make a stationary bike ride as enjoyable as sitting in front of the TV. That may be something which sounds impossible, until we realize that there are cable TVs right on most health clubs' workout equipment.
For those that do not like cycling there are other options, such as wearing a headset with our favorite music or even taped books. That can be worn while walking on the treadmill or even using the weight machines. These are merely suggestions. The point is that the drudgery of doing a workout has got to be eliminated by turning it into a pleasant experience. If that does not happen, we will continuously be tempted to give up our efforts long before they ever have a chance of paying off.
It almost seems unnecessary to talk about why this is true. In the last fifty years, almost all of us have been programmed to accept our pleasure desires, now referred to as needs. Further, we have been brought up to equate ease with the American good life. Therefore, being too dedicated or too enthusiastic about physical exertion suggests the existence of a psychological problem, if not an un-American attitude.
Another reason is that we all work hard all day, to say nothing of making long commutes. Granted, there are changes occurring right now, wherein we can work from home offices, making use of fax machines and emails. But we still have to dedicate large blocks of time to what we do for our livelihoods. This makes us in need of some reward time.Thus, the time dedicated to our workouts must become enjoyable.
The same is true for diet. Everyone likes to eat, and some foods just taste better than others. For the most part, diet-food is believed to be unappetizing. It does not taste as good as a Big Mac,a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or their counterparts. That is true for everyone who is starting off in a fitness lifestyle. However, it is not true after we have been at fitness for quite some time and seen the results. Then, these foods become less than enjoyable. But until that point, they are tempting to say the least. That is why our diet-food has got to become enjoyable.
This means creative recipes with herbs and spices must be perused. There is no other easy answer. We have to learn how to cook and eat all over again. In other words, we have to learn how to eat differently than do our family and friends. We have to find new good tasting low-fat, low-sugar replacements for what we are currently are eating. Not succeeding in this only makes the temptation to go back to old habits all too enticing.
Supplements should be spoken of as well. We need them. But, most of us do not want to take them. They are pills, and thus no fun. Furthermore our MDs do not encourage their usage. As if that is not enough, they cost extra money. Nevertheless, they are important for keeping up our daily workouts. Without them, we simply will not recover quickly enough for tomorrow's workout. Nor will we have the energy to keep up the same sustained pace. Consequently, we need to have an enjoyable way of getting supplements into our bodies. Swallowing them with our favorite natural fruit juice most often will make this a pleasurable experience.
The point is that we need to have a good time doing what we must in order to insure that we keep at it. Bringing something we enjoy into our fitness lifestyles will make this happen. That will give us the best chance of never going back to old ways. Refusing to take our fun needs seriously only encourages our own version of the health clubs' all too well known March drops out after the New Year's Resolve.
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