Whilst there are advocates and methods of pushing people to exhaustion and breaking them down so much so that they can’t even brush their teeth for the next 6 days, it really doesn’t have to be this way.
Not only that it doesn’t have to be this way, it’s also most likely pretty damn unnecessary for their goals.
Chores.
“Lame, I’ve gotta do this shitty exercise so I can lose this goddamn weight so I can finally be ‘happy’.”
It shouldn’t be this way.
And when people give themselves this negative outlook on training, they will only dread it more and more.
You see, if it becomes a “task” that they constantly have to “complete” whenever they go to training, they will take ANY opportunity to get out of it.
And this almost always leads to the infamous “excuses”.
Excuses.
Literally any “excuse” that is plausible to use, people will grab at it when it comes to training.
“I’m too tired today.” “I have a headache.” “I didn’t get much sleep because I was up late watching re-runs of Jersey Shore.”
Excuses seem to be really nothing more than reasons why people CHOOSE to do something else and CHOOSE not to train, right?
And that kinda makes them just boiling down to not being excuses and actually being choices then, true?
Okay yep, bit of a tangent…
Back on topic.
So, if people give themselves this PRESSURE and STRESS when it comes to performing in their training all the time, then they will always feel this PRESSURE and STRESS when trying to achieve their goals.
They then will feel super negative when they jump on a set of scales and don’t see anything more than a 1+ kilo drop/gain.
But look, don’t get me wrong, the hard work DOES have to be there, but it DEFINITELY doesn’t have to be so TRAUMATIZING that it leaves people lying face down on the ground quietly sobbing and with an increase of injury prevalence.
Reset yo focus.
The kind of training reality TV shows like ‘The Biggest Loser’ portrays seriously must freak people out. They make it out to be SO extreme that it causes people to be scared off from beginning their journey, and even committing to a training program.
Even recently, I’ve had emails from people asking if they’re up to undertaking my Online Coaching feeling like they’re not ready for the possible extremity of it. But my response is always ‘how will you know if you never take the step?’, and reassuring them that training intensity and style is built OVER TIME, not a billion percent from the get-go.
Because it’s not all about crying, passing out, vomiting, and being yelled at. It’s really not.
And the sooner people stop focusing so much on the weight loss aspect from overboard training sessions, the better off they’ll be.
Even by changing their outlook to simply just enjoying being able to move and train is the go.
Energy in.
Focusing on their caloric intake for their weight loss/gain can be so much more productive. If people look at training as the STIMULUS, and everything outside of the gym as where the results come into play, they will relieve SO much of the actual PRESSURE to train and perform well constantly.
They have to realise that it’s NOT about being crushed every single workout.
But again, don’t get me wrong, there CAN be a time and a place for killing themselves (figuratively), but it’s not what is REQUIRED to get “there”.
And hey, imagine even if they DID get “there” by this method, do you think they’d be able to sustain this torturous-style of training long-term?
TEA, NEAT & NEPA.
Thermic effect of activity (TEA), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) and non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) are the fancy names given to the calorie burning tasks we perform on a day-to-day basis.
TEA: intentional exercise (walking to work, mowing the lawn, scaling the side of the building instead of just taking the elevator).
NEAT: subconscious behaviours (shaking/tapping heel to ground when sitting, swiping one of those annoying mosquitos whilst you’re asleep away… oh yeah, you know the ones I’m talking about).
NEPA: minor daily tasks (taking the bin out, washing up, cleaning your dentures).
This kind of stuff is GOLD for people’s goals. Seriously.
Think about it, if they focus less on caning themselves in the gym, and more focus on their diets, enjoying their training and integrating more TEA or NEPA activities into their lives, there can be an immediate increase in energy burn, resulting in more of a caloric deficit.
True?
It really ain’t.
Exercising; training; working out; moving; whatever you want to call it, really isn’t the devil. And by changing their outlook on it by focusing on their energy in/energy out demand and simply ENJOYING just being active, it really will leave people feeling SO much better about the entire process.
And hey, who doesn’t want less stress in their lives?