Good 2015 to everyone reading this… hiiiiiiii
This is going to be more of a rant than informational, may
some food for thought to chew around in your brain. Or just pure entertainment.
Something has been bugging me lately, well not really lately per sey, but more of a growing
nagging brain itch over the last 3 or so years.
Maybe I spend too much time on social media (probably true)
but I think there is some truth to this, and we are all guilty of it to some
extent (including my self). I have run into the rare human flower that does not
partake in the following in the health and fitness industry, and they are rare
and wonderful creatures indeed.
What I am painfully building up to is: has the health and
fitness industry become the industry of comparison?!?!
Maybe it’s always been this way, maybe I have been naive
until becoming completely immersed in health and fitness as a passion and
career. However, I read a lot, and I find a lot of the messages being put
fourth by completely different training modalities and health/fitness
philosophies seem to be very similar…
“THIS IS THE BEST AND
EVERYTHING ELSE IS SHIT.”
I don’t like these messages. I think they are de-motivating
and perpetuate the idealistic ivory tower that can be pushed health and fitness
professionals (and those that partake in the exercises).
So I’m here to encourage you as the reader to try and change
these messages (I know a lot of my readers or in the health and fitness
industry) or not listen to them if you’re coming here for fitness advice.
Then what are you suppose to listen to if you can’t listen
to anyone!!!
It’s a really simple answer in my opinion…. Yourself
J
If you’re seriously looking to change your health behaviours
(I’m going to avoid saying “for the good” because I also think this perpetuates
the idea of “I am better than you because I do x”), you need to seriously ask
yourself what do YOU want?
What are your values? You only have one life (that we know
of) unfortunately, so why not spend it doing what you enjoy and value.
I did a similar rant on behaviour change that you can peruse
at your leisure
here.
The long and the short of it is… there are A LOT of health,
fitness, and training philosophies out there. Some of them lead to different
results compared to others. Being muscular doesn’t make you better
than the bendi yogi, being injured sucks, but if you had a hell of a good time getting injured, I really can’t see how
that’s a bad thing, it’s your body.
And if you want to stay injured that’s your choice, if not,
there’s lovely health professional people that can help. And if those lovely
people tell you to stop doing something you love to do, that’s really your
decision to make, that’s when it’s time to revisit your values and assess if
your behaviours align with your overall view of yourself and what you stand for.
To me, that’s more motivating than messages like “lose 50lbs
in 30 days” and “people that do Zumba suck, it’s not real training” and “I
don’t understand spinners, sitting on a bike for an hour doesn’t make sense”
and my favourite one that I hear around this time of year “don’t make New Years
resolutions, just CHANGE, you’re doomed to fail if you make a resolution”…
those messages don’t help anyone, make people self conscious, and just
de-motivate those trying to have fun and try their best in this world.
So the end of my rant is… don’t be a dick buzz kill
bro.
However, the ironic part of my rant is by listening to me
are you really listening to you? I guess if you enjoy being a judgmental,
demotivating, meanie person, you can do that to….
I guess.
Ok that’s all for now,
Stay strong and amazing
~Byn
