The following quotes, comments and conversations are real. Now more than ever these are an indication that a big re-think of fitness is needed.
From an article on getting your kids more physical activity: “Replace your kids’ fidget spinner with a one-pound dumbbell or a can of beans.”
(I could not make up something this ridiculous. I had to re-read it to make sure I did not hallucinate it. You might as well tell them to blink more often to increase physical activity.)
In a conversation I had with someone about getting some home exercise equipment: ME: “Perhaps you could get a stationary bike.” PERSON: “But I cannot afford a Peloton.”
(If you need a new car you could buy the most overpriced, overhyped car, but it is certainly not the ONLY option. Just like coffee ≠ Starbucks, bike ≠ Peloton. There are many terrific in-home cycle options for about $300 USD.)
In a conversation with someone about the importance of just getting started with fitness, even at home: “But I do not have any equipment.”
(Since when do humans need equipment to exercise? Especially with a changing fitness world and a permanently reduced health club clientele, many more people are switching to in-home workouts so it can be difficult to impossible to purchase in-home fitness equipment, even if you want to. )
Sales of Halloween candy are up precipitously this year – even though it is obvious far less will be given out than in a normal year. Sales are up 13% compared to 2019 and specifically, chocolate sales are up 25% from last year. And it’s not like we were holding back on candy purchasing in 2019.
I can only imagine what the 2020 sales data on alcohol are compared to last year. I am actually too scared to look that up. 😊
Life is a bit of a mess right now
The chaos, confusion, and uncertainty surrounding even the simplest of things we easily took for granted has only further highlighted the dysfunctional mindset surrounding fitness that we humans have been carrying for far too long.
Fitness needs to be a source of emotional renewal rather than (yet another) source of emotional fatigue. When you are lost in a transformative experience, you can experience physical fatigue while having the time of your life.
This is what fitness needs to be for most of you now. The old way didn’t work that well before and it REALLY will not work in the future.
And I will show you how to make this shift over the next three weeks. Originally planned as a live workshop for the Manhattan Jewish Community Center, I am leading a series of Zoom workshops that anyone, anywhere in the world can attend. You can attend one or all three. The first one addresses this specific topic of how feelings and attitudes about exercise can affect outcomes.
Get details and sign up here.
Week 1 – Get a Crush on Exercise
You cannot change your body in a single workout, but you can change your mind. You don’t have to love exercise, but you do need to at least get a crush on it for long-term success. Discover why negative emotional states when exercising limits the results from your efforts and how to elevate the emotional reaction you have to “exercise” so you are drawn to it, which makes it easier to stick with.
Then enjoy a workout which implements these ideas – you will do some movements that are familiar but in such a way that you will access powerful, positive emotions when you do them.
Get details and sign up here.
Attend any one of the workshops or all three and save.
Week 2 – Play to Get Fit
“Time flies when you’re having fun.” This is why most workouts seem to take so long. When you play you lose sense of time, you regain a feeling of hopefulness and opportunity. Even better, when you play, you end up working harder without forcing yourself to – it happens automatically as a by-product of the play. Discover what is going inside when you are in a play state and how you can get it in your everyday life and workouts.
Then enjoy a workout that puts this into practice with playfulness as the backdrop for every exercise. Generate sweat you can easily wipe off but a smile that you cannot and enjoy a “post-workout” glow that lasts for hours.
Week 3 – The 3 Ingredients to Build a Fit Brain and Body
All exercise is good for the brain, but specific types are better. Get a better brain for now and later as you discover how to move in a way that is more engaging and captivating to leave you feeling more positive and thinking clearly in the short-term while building a brain that is resilient and resistant to degenerative disease long-term. Learn current thinking on what causes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and what you can do about protecting yourself against these diseases using reactivity, coordination, and interactivity.
Then experience a workout that uses features reactivity, coordination, and interactivity to experience the immediate brain-boosting effects of exercising the right way for brain health both now and in the future.