“He who has a ‘why’ can bear almost any ‘how.'”

– Nietzsche

Back in the 1800s, Nietzsche understood how pivotal the question of ‘why’ is to the human experience.

“He who has a ‘why’ can bear almost any ‘how.'”

– Nietzsche

Back in the 1800s, Nietzsche understood how pivotal the question of ‘why’ is to the human experience.

These days though, in the age of instantaneous and abundant information, asking ‘why’ is a lost art. For many, doing the work of digging deep and asking ‘why’ is just not nearly as convenient or comfortable as asking ‘how to.’

This is especially true when it comes to fitness—we never seem to tire of the same old ‘how to’ merry go round. Day after day, year after year, your newsstand and your news feed reads like the greatest hits of some of the most played out questions on the planet:

• How to lose 10 pounds fast!
• How to tone your arms!
• How to lose that stubborn belly fat!
• How to burn more calories with exercise!
• How to get better results in less time!
• How to get bigger/faster/stronger!

As if we all haven’t seen these regurgitated queries a thousand times. But there’s always a new sucker who’s captivated by the allure of the quick fix promise of looking and feeling fabulous in five easy steps.

The ‘how to’ movement in fitness is everywhere you look. Fitness influencers show you the steps to your goals backed up by their snazzy before and after pictures. Fitness ‘experts’ show you ‘how to’ in their newest, most efficient workouts.

Supplement manufacturers and marketers promise the genie in the bottle that will solve your chronic weight problem. And fitness entrepreneurs can’t wait to reveal their latest fads and gizmos that will surely lead to your imminent bliss.

Here’s a newsflash: It’s all bullshit without a ‘why.‘

Sort Out Your Motivation

Whether or not we’ll ever tire of the same old story is anyone’s guess. But one thing for sure is that ‘how to’ is both perpetually popular and profitable. ‘How to’ brings people in the door because it’s comforting, easily digestible, and provides straightforward answers (with colorful photos!).

‘How to’ undoubtedly makes business sense, but unfortunately for those of us on the continuum of health and wellness, there aren’t one size fits all answers. Especially when it comes to your fitness—outlining the subsequent steps to achieving a goal without doing the work of ‘why’ is an effort in sheer futility. Achieving a state of sustained health and wellness requires the ability to be introspective and accountable to our own shortcomings.

Photograph by Bev Childress of Fort Worth, Texas

Don’t get me wrong, ‘how to’ is important. You wouldn’t drive across the country without a map or a GPS. But ‘how to’ is putting the cart before the horse. ‘How to’ will get you somewhere, but it doesn’t solve the root of your problems, it merely informs direction. You can’t expect to know where you’re going unless you know where you’re at (and what got you there). Just ask a recovering addict.

In addiction recovery, there may be 12 ‘how to’ steps, but the real work is about ‘why’—the willingness to look within, find acceptance, and make amends. Peace of mind in recovery is only obtained by leaning into the pain of your problem and wrestling with ‘why.’

It is what informs purpose, passion, and persistence. It’s solving the problem in reverse. You don’t move forward unless you first look backward. In fitness, the parallel is those that are running towards something versus those that are running from something. The former has a ‘why,’ the latter is just looking for a way out.

Some might argue that spending too much time ruminating on ‘why’ is actually a hindrance and life doesn’t happen in the rearview mirror. Fair enough—sometimes you just have to jump. When you’re drowning, you don’t need to figure out what got you in that mess, you need a life preserver and a plan! But it’s also true that if you don’t want your predicament to happen again, the work of looking back is essential.

The Iron-Clad ‘Why’

As we’ve seen time and time again in fitness, ‘how to’ is appealing to many in the short-term. But ‘how to’ doesn’t work when it comes to sustainability. Despite the massive growth in the fitness business in the past two decades, the fitness movement has made no collective impact in combating the root causes of the obesity pandemic.

Millions of people start exercise programs every year, but more than half of them quit within six months. The reason people start exercise programs is because of ‘how to’ questions. The reason they quit is that they don’t have a strong enough ‘why.’ Personally, in my 20+ years in and around fitness, I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands of people lose weight. But I’ve seen no one keep that weight off without an iron-clad ‘why.’

Truthfully, in any successful endeavor, you need a bit of both ‘why’ and ‘how to.’ You also need a bit of ‘what if?’—as in, “What if I never try?” or “What are the stakes of not changing?” But jumping in without a ‘why’ is a sure-fire way to end up lost and/or right back where you started. Especially after a defeat like weight gain, injury, or failure to reach a goal, you must face yourself before facing your next opponent.

The Work Starts With ‘Why’

We are living in a time of epidemic proportions from addiction to obesity to a declining life expectancy (due in a large part to rising suicide rates). A lack of ‘why’ is driving much of this emptiness.

There’s nothing wrong with following a fitness influencer, joining a gym, or hiring a trainer—they just may show you something useful. But real answers to the most important questions in life don’t come in convenient packages with instructions; they come from within. The work starts with ‘why.’

The post ‘How To’ Is Pointless Without ‘Why’ appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”

Sun Tzu

Except for a couple of scraps in high school and college, I never got in a real fight as a kid. In fact, not only did I not have to fight for anything literally, figuratively speaking, I was almost never uncomfortable during my childhood.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”

Sun Tzu

Except for a couple of scraps in high school and college, I never got in a real fight as a kid. In fact, not only did I not have to fight for anything literally, figuratively speaking, I was almost never uncomfortable during my childhood.

My parents wanted me to have the finest things in life that money could buy—new clothes, nice dinners, family vacations, and the best education. I never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from or how I was going to pay for college. For that, I’m extremely fortunate and eternally grateful.

However, not having to struggle is a mixed blessing. The anguish that can accompany real trauma can take years or even a lifetime to grapple with. But conversely, not having to grapple with the sting of loss, defeat, or pain can leave one woefully unprepared for perhaps life’s most inevitable fact—at some point, in some manner, you are going to get your ass kicked.

One could contend that in many ways, our current society is a lot like my childhood was—comfortable, coddled, and content. Except that in reality, the content part of our culture is a myth. Food, entertainment, and material possessions don’t make for genuine contentment. In fact, quite the contrary: collectively we may be comfortable, but we are far from happy.

Comfort breeds apathy and complacency and in the face of life’s stresses, a state of complacency also creates the potential for a dangerous cycle of addiction and despair. Case in point; we Americans comprise 5% of the world’s population, but we take 80% of the world’s supply of opiods. We are also among the world leaders in suicide, overdose, and obesity. That’s a lot of pain avoidance.

In the fight or flight response to many of the traumas of our day (stress, addiction, and lack of purpose) the masses of our populace are choosing flight. In large part, that’s because we’ve become soft. We’ve lost the will to fight because we’ve forgotten how to fight. To wage these battles, we must become true warriors and learn to fight again.

A martial art will teach you how.

What It Means to Fight

Many incorrectly assume that learning to fight simply means learning the external arts: the punches, chokes, and throws. But a martial art is much deeper than what you see in a movie or in the octagon. Behind the fancy kicks and thrilling knockouts are the pillars of respect, discipline, and humility—the real weapons needed to wage war.

Learning to literally fight and the path of a martial artist is a metaphor for becoming, as Bruce Lee said, an “artist of life.” Training in the martial arts is less about preparing to face an opponent in the ring and more about learning to face your biggest obstacle—yourself.

It’s not necessarily politically correct these days to talk about fighting or hitting. Certainly, we all have a moral obligation to stand firm that it’s never ok to raise your fists (or feet) in anger.

It’s never ok to hit anyone who is vulnerable or defenseless. Self-defense is about self-protection in the face of adversity, not about provoking or assaulting. But make no mistake, defending yourself also means learning how to hit and perhaps more importantly, how to take a hit.

To face and defend yourself properly means channeling aggression (your own and others) through the art of preparation, practice and discipline. The martial arts will also help you hone the most vital aspect of fighting, and that is your mind set.

Best selling author and former Navy Seal David Goggins calls this skill set forming a “calloused mind.” Facing the physical discomfort of running a marathon or triathlon, rock climbing, and the martial arts are all ways to help you expand your mental boundaries and “callous” your mind.

But the martial arts will also teach you to do so with grace and balletic proficiency. After all, as a martial artist, you’re not just learning self-defense, you’re learning an art. Of course, a practice in the martial arts can also provide you with practical the tools to literally save your life.

Take the Hit

Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.” In my experience, this is a hard but absolute truth. I had a plan before I got laid off in my first career. I had a plan before I got divorced. I had a plan before life altering injury. Honestly though, I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything because our setbacks define our character and give our lives meaning.

As I was in the process of getting divorced, I literally got the crap beat out of me in a Muay Thai testing phase. During a sparring round, I got kicked in the midsection with one of the hardest roundhouse kicks I’ve ever encountered. I doubled over in agony after a clean body shot to the liver.

After the test, I sat in my best friend’s kitchen with bags of ice draped across my body, writhing in pain at the very same time my heart was shattered in a thousand pieces from my gut wrenching divorce. Then a calming feeling came over me—I had survived a literal beating and passed my martial arts test. In that moment, I realized that I would survive my divorce and pass that test as well.

Everyone Has to Fight

The fact is, at times we all end up on our backs in life. Our choice is how we will respond. The ego responds with either flight (avoidance and running from our problems) or a fake fight (power, arrogance, and false bravado). The warrior responds with true humility and respect—for oneself and one’s adversary. A warrior gets back up better for the experience of having been knocked down.

Dealing with life’s beatdowns head on builds resilience and defines what it is to be human. If we are going to win the big battles in life, we must learn to fight and we must be willing to face our own individual conflicts. In choosing a path as a martial artist, you will not just learn to swim amidst life’s stormy waters; you will learn to swim with the current.

The post Learning to Fight appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

No, it isn’t.

Wait, what? Stop exercising? Isn’t exercising good for you? Aren’t millions upon millions of people looking for the right reason to start exercising? Besides, isn’t it my job and duty as a fitness professional and writer to convince you of the merits and copious benefits of exercise?

No, it isn’t.

It’s my job to promote and support the intended purpose of fitness—functionality and wellness. Furthermore “selling” fitness is played out and isn’t working. Despite the noble intentions of many that join a gym, the majority drop out and the fitness industry has made little impact on the obesity pandemic and epidemic of sedentary lifestyles. Why?

Don’t Use Exercise as a Crutch

The reason may be that many have been duped into pursuing the wrong motives for exercising. Some people use fitness as a short-term crutch in an attempt to solve a problem that requires more than an exercise plan.

Take a quick glance around many gyms and you’ll see the proof that many patrons seem to be there for every purpose but functionality and wellness. Instead they pursue vanity, weight loss, and narcissism, to name a few.

Of course, there are indeed plenty of valid reasons to start (and keep) exercising. Chief among them are to get better at something, get healthier, and use your body more effectively (getting stronger, faster, or more flexible).

Exercising is also a great way to compliment almost any physical activity. If you’re a golfer or a downhill skier, you’re very likely going to be a better one if you participate in a regular fitness routine.

Exercising also helps you mitigate stress, stave off sickness, and even develop mental acuity. But you likely already knew that, and as the title of this piece states, this isn’t an article touting the benefits of exercise.

This is an article about the reasons not to exercise and believe it or not, there are some legitimate reasons you should hang up the gym shoes.

Why You Should Stop Exercising

You don’t like it. There are a lot of things we have to do that we don’t like—going to work, flossing our teeth, paying taxes. Isn’t exercising like that? No, it isn’t. Exercising is something you do with your leisure time much like going to church.

You’re there to participate in making yourself a wholly better individual and that means being a respectful “parishioner” in every meaning of the word—to others, to the environment, and of paramount importance, to yourself.

Look, not everyone likes exercise and I’m not here to convince you that you should either. If you can’t abide at the gym by participating with genuine heartfelt presence the way you would at church, then you should find someplace else to go.

There’s something physically active that everybody likes to do, even if it’s just walking the dog. Your job is to find out what that it is. Life is short. If you hate going to the gym, do us all a favor (especially those of us who actually like exercise) and just stop already.

You’re trying to lose weight. While exercise is obviously imperative for improving physical fitness and is also an important component for promoting health, a growing body of evidence corroborates that exercise is not a great means for losing weight.

While 100% of the energy you take in comes from food, only 10-30% of that energy is burned through physical activity (of which exercise is a subset). Your metabolism accounts for the other 60-80 percent of that burn, but many don’t focus on the biggest factor in addressing metabolism—your diet and how/when you eat!

Furthermore, weight gain is often an emotional issue and a question of compulsion and addiction more than anything. You wouldn’t look to solve a substance abuse problem at the gym, so why should obesity be any different?

Sure you can put yourself on an unsustainable fitness plan in order to lose weight, but you know how that story ends. The end result of many diets is that when you stop eating the fake diet food and heavily restricting calories, you’ll gain the weight back.

Similarly, when you stop exercising twice a day and doing HITT seven days a week, it’s the same story. If weight loss is your motive for exercising, instead of hiring a trainer and obsessively hitting the gym, consider getting to the root of the problem and hiring a good nutritionist and counselor.

You do it wrong. Half-baked reps, jerking your back like you’re on crack, or pedaling the spin bike a million miles an hour. Guys doing curls with no range of motion and gals doing a zillion crunches, the list goes on.

Reps, sets, exercise machines, and exercise routines are the tools to help you accomplish building your fitness project. Like any tool, these variables can be efficient mechanisms that help you get the job done.

But all tools can be dangerous when used incorrectly and it’s utterly tragic how disconnected many are from their tools. Whether your tool is a treadmill, a kettlebell, or the most important machine of all (your body), the bottom line is do it right or don’t do it at all. If you don’t know how, ask someone.

You aren’t getting better at something. If the point of going to church is to resolve your faith and deepen your relationship with the divine, then the goal of working out should be a better physical functionality, increased pliancy, or improved technical proficiency.

That’s not to say there won’t be ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys. And certainly, the laws of physics dictate that you most definitely won’t continuously get bigger, stronger, or faster. Generally speaking though, the general trend of fitness should be clear—improvement. You should become a better athlete, more proficient at your craft, or simply more aware of your body in time and space.

Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and boxing are skills to hone, not just means of burning calories. The point is to be your own athlete, to practice and study, and get professional guidance. That said, if you don’t have your own coach, hire one, find a mentor, or join a community that cares.

You’re hurt. If doing squats hurts your back or running hurts your knees, I have some professional advice for you—stop! I’ve paid doctors and therapists of all kinds of cold hard cash to give me the exact same counsel. “If it hurts, don’t do it.” It makes perfect sense, but sometimes we don’t listen to our bodies despite their incessant nagging.

It isn’t courageous to exercise while injured or push through pain, it’s arrogant. True courage is having the wherewithal to stop and really address the root of your pain. I can’t spell it out any more plainly, if you’re hurt or exercise exacerbates your pain, you should stop, today.

You Have to Make It Count

Look, if you’re a fitness customer and you want to blow up the elliptical like you’re running from a zombie, or if you want to talk on the phone while you’re on the treadmill, or maybe you want to do side bends thinking you’re melting inches off of your waistline, than I suppose that’s your prerogative. But I wouldn’t go to your church unless I was serious about learning and worshiping with humility and introspection—the same logic applies to the gym.

Exercise because you like it. Exercise to get better at something. But do so with grace and proficiency and if you’re not willing to be a disciple of true wellness, do the rest of us a favor and stop exercising.

You might also like:

• 5 Totally Valid Reasons You Shouldn’t Exercise
• 5 Reasons To Work Out That Have Nothing To Do With A Bikini Body
• How To Better Your Workout Experience

The post You Should Stop Exercising appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It happens to all of us. One day, you catch yourself in the mirror or glance at a recent picture taken and it kind of hits you. ”Is that me?” You notice that you have a few wrinkles. Or maybe a little extra around the middle. That, or some specks of gray in your hair. For many, it happens somewhere around 40 or 50. If you’re lucky, 55.

As lifelong fitness junkie, I used to believe I was immune to this process. Throughout my 30’s many commented that I looked much younger than my age, I competed well against younger individuals and felt I was invincible to injury, decay, or decline. I even had the coveted ‘washboard’ abs for a while.

For some time, this trajectory seemed entirely natural and sustainable to me, as I had spent many years in the fitness industry selling the suggestion of everlasting improvement. And if there’s one thing the fitness business is predicated on, it’s the notion of the genie in the bottle and the magic formula that will result in the body you’ve always wanted.

Many fads, supplements, and fitness crazes seem to make promises of infinitely leaner, faster, and stronger. But deep down we all know that despite clever marketing ploys, the concept of the perfect (or continuously better body) is a convenient lie and an unsustainable myth.

Forever Young

Subconsciously I knew the truth as well, but like many, I had to learn the hard way that I wasn’t the exception to the rule. Sure enough, as I rounded 40, the gray showed up, my body slowed down and people actually started correctly guessing my approximate age.

For a while, I reacted to such suggestions they way I always had–with brash defiance. My answer to the problem was I would just work more, run further, or push harder. After all, more and better is the American way.

In fitness, this approach to physicality is particularly pronounced—more defined, better abs, bigger muscles, younger looking—and the list goes on. Of course, this is not a new phenomenon, the focus on physique is just more pronounced in our culture now.

Women are objectified and held to unattainable models of ‘beauty.’ Men are held to ridiculous examples of ‘strength’ and masculinity. In turn, the fitness industry has been hijacked with an overt focus on the corporeal instead of its real intended focus which should be functionality and wellness.

While people will always strive for the unattainable concepts of infinite growth and forever young, the compulsion to gloat while in the process is a new cultural norm. It’s not simply enough to set about improving oneself through exercise. Like third graders, we also have to say, “look at me!” while doing so. Studies even corroborate that those who post ‘selfies’ at the gym are more likely to be narcissists. You think?

There’s no denying the popularity and profitability of material and mortal desires and to be fair, wanting a better body doesn’t necessarily make you a narcissist. That said, as we all know, physical quantities such as strength, power, and definition of musculature are also limited by the laws of physics.

So, Why Try?

I can hear many of you retorting now: “So, we’re supposed to just roll over and not try?” To which I would say, of course not. It is our essential duty to try our best until the very end. If there’s one thing I learned in years of boxing and the martial arts, quitting is never an option.

But ironically and paradoxically, perhaps a more important lesson I learned was the concept of surrender. Learning to surrender means the capacity to display the qualities of fitness, which are not necessarily encumbered by material limitations. Grace, dexterity, and pliancy can be expressed and improved at any age.

When we ‘fight’ (train/exercise/compete) from the standpoint of ego, arrogance, and even physical strength, we lose in the long run. But when we are willing to truthfully face our fears and limitations, we fight with grace, flexibility, and humility. It’s ultimately much more courageous to face the opponents of aging, decline, and even death then the futile work of running like hell from them.

Look, I get it, you work hard and you have a nice body and you’re proud of it. Good for you. Work ethic and even beauty are surely things to celebrate. But here’s the harsh truth—firstly, no one cares, and secondly, ultimately you are not your body.

To suggest that you are what you look like is akin to proposing that you are defined by the city, state, or country you live in. Where we live changes over a lifetime, as does our body. Another way to say it is that the ‘state’ you live in is a temporary destination, but the state of mind that you dwell in defines you.

Look Past the Material

We in fitness must begin to look deeper than the material realm. A preoccupation with the body is limiting and self-indulgent. Instead, we must seek a true sense of fitness by striving for a genuine sense of wellness.

We must work for more than just chiseled physiques, firmer extremities, and even personal records. For though these endeavors admirable pursuits in the short-term, they are merely fleeting moments in time. In real the game of life, there’s no before and after photo.

The battle against your body and the problem of aging is an opportunity to let the simplicity of ego evolve into a much deeper appreciation and definition of self. That is why, despite the sagging, atrophy, and gray, the elderly are statistically happier. That is if they’ve done the work of letting go.

You are not your body. You are much more important, valuable, and beautiful than material limitations. Long after you are gone, you will be remembered for your qualities, not your quantities.

The post You Are Not Your Body appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

”Anything you avoid in life will come back, over and over again, until you’re willing to face it–to look deeply into its true nature.” – Adyashanti

”Anything you avoid in life will come back, over and over again, until you’re willing to face it–to look deeply into its true nature.” – Adyashanti

I’ve been a personal trainer for some 18 years and while fitness trends have changed and every client has a different goal, one thing I can tell you is that fitness training can be very personal. Maybe that’s why they call the process of working with an exercise professional “personal training.”

Whether people are looking to lose weight, gain weight, or get in shape for their next life event, those endeavors are all (at least in part) emotional journeys. Unfortunately, many hire a coach and seek out these intentions without really addressing the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’ in their goals. Case in point, the typical ambition of losing weight.

I was once asked in an interview my success rate as a trainer for helping people lose weight, as in, a lot of weight. I had to ponder the question for a moment. The question was then posed again, this time more specifically: “Have you ever worked with someone who has lost 75 or 100 pounds and kept it off?”

After thinking long and hard, I had to admit that my answer was no. While I have helped hundreds, if not thousands of people over the years in reaching their goals (like getting faster, stronger, and healthier), truthfully my success rate for helping really heavy people lose weight and keep it off is slim to none.

The interview got me thinking about my experience as an on-camera trainer for the television series “I Used To Be Fat” which aired on MTV. The program was a documentary style reality show that focused on the epidemic of childhood obesity, specifically for teenage kids. A handful of young adults were chosen from around the country to work with trainers in an effort to help them lose weight. The young man I was paired with was coordinated, skilled, and strong. With an athletic foundation and willingness to hit the gym hard, my ‘kid’ lost 40 pounds in 50 days.

In the typical and dramatic reality TV fashion, we trained for hours on end every day. I had this young man burning tons of calories while heavily restricting his caloric intake. As a weight loss strategy, it worked brilliantly as it always does. But the deeply personal considerations of food addiction, food toxicity, and past emotional trauma were never broached. The underlying causes of obesity were never addressed and the novelties of diet and exercise ultimately wore off. As the program became unsustainable, inevitably, the weight returned. To many fighting the battle of the bulge, it’s a familiar story.

The Problem with Personal Training

When I started a career as a trainer in 2001, the majority of my clients were looking to get faster, stronger, or more physically functional. Back then, a typical client would approach me and say something like, “I have a race coming up this summer and I want to get in better shape.” In such a scenario I would think to myself, “Great! You’re in the right place!”

Somewhere along the line a focus on fitness also became synonymous with looking a certain way. Granted, training for the aesthetic is nothing new. Bodybuilding and getting toned up for that beach vacation have been fitness mainstays for decades. But in recent years, changing the shape of our bodies has seemingly been synonymous with exercise. Weight loss and/or weight management has become the primary if not the sole focus for many in their approach to fitness.

As the obesity epidemic became a national crisis and The Biggest Loser a cultural phenomenon, many got the message that hiring a trainer and/or joining a gym was step number one in losing weight and changing their body. But there are inherent problems with the focus on the physical form through fitness. First, ask a bodybuilder and most will tell you that how you look is largely a function of how, when, and what you eat (and less an issue of how and when you train). Secondly, a major part of how, when, and what you eat is a function of your genetic and emotional construct. These variables aren’t really addressed in the gym.

Fitness Doesn’t Equal Slimness

While fitness can equal functionally capable and physically proficient body, it does not necessarily equal a slim, toned, or shredded body. Losing weight may simply be a question of calories—keeping it off is a question of deeply personal issues, both scientific and emotional. In short, success in the arena of weight management requires a personal approach that addresses a mixture of physiology, nutrition, environment, and in large part, psychology.

This fact presents an obvious disconnect in the common approach to the fitness goals of weight loss and achieving the body you’ve always desired. In the same way you wouldn’t go to a math teacher to learn English, you shouldn’t necessarily go to a trainer to address issues that are deeply intimate and intrinsic. Likely, your trainer is not a miracle worker, shrink, healer, nor the any of the following:

• Your trainer is not a doctor.
• Your trainer is not a registered dietician.
• Your trainer is not a psychologist.
• Your trainer is not a physical or emotional therapist.
• Your trainer is not a weight loss specialist.
• Your trainer is not a “health” coach, whatever that means.

Hiring a trainer might not help you from being fat, but that said, a good trainer can help you get really fit. Optimally and hopefully, all trainers have studied (or at least passed a test on) exercise physiology, anatomy, exercise science, and biomechanics. The best coaches are also learned in behavioral science and the art of communication. That means your trainer should be adept at teaching, coaching, and communicating to you ways in which your body can move more economically and efficiently. Simply put, the right trainer will help you to:

• Increase flexibility
• Build endurance
• Maximize strength
• Optimize physical functionality
• Develop a physical skill set/craft such as Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, etc.
• Improve health

You will notice that missing from the list are issues of a personal nature, like getting the body you’ve always coveted.

Weight Loss Isn’t a Magical Process

Joining a gym, starting an exercise regimen, and hiring a trainer are noble pursuits and there are many valid reasons to do so. However, while enlisting in the help of a trainer may be a great personal investment, doing so won’t necessarily solve your personal problems. Hiring a trainer might help you get faster or stronger, but likely won’t magically melt inches off your waistline, cure your issues with food cravings, or help save your marriage for that matter. When it comes to the “personal” part of your goals and desires, ultimately, you are your own best personal trainer.

The post Is Personal Training Too Personal? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I started boxing in my early 30’s. I fell in love with the rhythm, intensity, and aura of the ‘sweet science.’ Most the guys I boxed with were in their teens or twenties, but as a fitness fanatic, I figured I could keep up because kept myself in great shape. Besides, I thought, a lot of young guys don’t take care of themselves, eat terribly, and party a lot.

I knew that while I couldn’t control how much tread was on the tires, I could control how fast and aggressively I was driving. But aggressive ‘driving’ (i.e. continuous, hard training) had a downside. By the time I hit 40 I had more injuries, bumps, and bruises than I could count—among my setbacks were rotator cuff surgery, two ruptured eardrums, and chronic lower back and knee issues. In response, I decided to drive even faster and harder.

Such aggressiveness might pay off in the boxing ring but it didn’t pay dividends for my aging and ailing body. With the prospect of breakdown lurking around every corner, I tried every avenue available to keep me pushing faster and harder—fad diets, juicing, supplements, chiropractic care, massage, sports recovery, and acupuncture. But regardless of the avenue of training or recovery method I chose, I seemed to end right back where I started—jacked up. One day, a practitioner said some words to me that I will never forget as long as I live, “Eric, you can either age gracefully, or you can age foolishly, the choice is yours.” The statement hit me across the head like a jarring left hook.

Yet as much power as words can have, I still didn’t quite fully absorb the message (most of us don’t learn life’s lessons until we hit our proverbial bottom). Shortly after turning 41, a severe bout of sciatica stopped me cold in my tracks. My mind still wanted to push, but my body had other ideas. The jig was up—it was time to learn to age gracefully. Since then, here’s what I have learned about putting graceful aging into practice.

Step One: Surrender and Accept

You cannot possibly win this one. There are many victories to be had on the journey of life, but eternal youth is not one of them. As a piece of matter, your body follows the following cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The laws of physics dictate that no material organism escapes this process. Our job is to make the most of every microcycle and season to enjoy a robust and healthy macrocycle. That means surrendering to the facts of life and aging with grace.

Though surrender tends to have a negative cultural connotation, inner surrender takes courage and the willingness to grapple with the truth. Real surrender is not synonymous with quitting but instead with acceptance and maturity. When we simply push harder and harder to try and beat the clock, or try and run faster than our age, what we’re really saying is that we are afraid to die.

The fear of death and its close cousin, the ‘fear of getting old’ are fears that all of us wrestle with. But throwing a tantrum, wishing you were living in your youthful past, or reacting with arrogance ironically only speeds up the aging process. Conversely, when you build a foundation on acceptance it allows for you to make the most of every moment and fully experience the current chapter versus ruminating over what might happen to your body in the future. Seeing the truth and letting go of false expectations will not only help you build a realistic and resilient present, it will also make you happier.

Step Two: Plan a Circle, Not an End Point

While short-term success may be predicated on the completion of achievable goals, success in life isn’t about the false notion of continuous advancement, but about maximizing each stage of the cycle. Over 50% of new exercisers quit within the first six months because they plan for an end point without a “then what.” Sticking with fitness becomes a daunting task when novelties wear off, progress slows, and goals become harder to reach.

When you focus purely on continuous advancement and the next goal, you set yourself up to fail in the long run. Conversely, a regimen based on the ebb and flow of a well-planned cycle maximizes both growth and recovery. Athletes know this process as periodization and follow a strict but fluid plan accordingly. Every athlete knows deep down that someday their career will end. Those that practice self-awareness reinvent themselves in their next chapters as masters, coaches, or participants in a new sport. Our approach in fitness should be no different.

As one ages, the necessity for a well-constructed plan for both training and resting becomes more and more essential. As important as the miles, reps, and sets are, off days and active recovery are equally vital considerations. In the second half, recovery is no longer an afterthought or something done in response to soreness or injury, but a baked in part of the plan.

Step Three: Focus on Movement

As yoga practitioners and Qigong masters know, proficiency of movement can be mastered at any age. One of the great things about crafts like yoga or the marital arts is the focus on honing the skills of energy and breath juxtaposed with efficiency of movement. Such a practice takes focus and awareness, but not necessarily the vitality of youth.

While it is possible to slow the effects of material decay, it is not possible to stop or reverse them. Strength and power requires youthful exuberance, but the qualities of grace and rhythm aren’t necessarily limited by the confines of age. While you can’t stop gravity from taking its toll on your musculature, you can improve how well you stand up from a seated position whether you’re 18 or 80. Furthermore, while focusing on appearance won’t help you live longer, focusing on function just might.

Step Four: Stop and Smell the Roses

Studies show that happiness dips during middle age but peaks as we grow into old age. Despite the wrinkles, gray hair, and sagging skin, seniors tend to actually be happier than their physically beautiful and youthful counterparts. How is that possible? Maybe it is because as we slow down we start noticing the more important things. When we stop obsessing over how we look and worrying constantly about what others think, we open ourselves to the possibility of awe and wonder. Another way to think about it is that as we mature, we lose the battle (of peak physicality and keeping up with the Joneses) but we win the war (of letting go of ego and living authentically).

Accept Your Change

Ultimately, the acceptance of change is the only way we grow, even if that growth is spiritual or emotional while facing physical decline. As was it was poetically brought to my attention years ago, when it comes to aging, there are two types of people—those that lead with ego and arrogance, and those that lead with selfless humility. Having been in both camps, I can attest to the pratfalls of the former and the benefits of the latter. The bottom line is that getting older doesn’t have to equal being fragile, but it should equal being humble.

You might also like:

• Why Age Is Only A Number
• How To Calculate Your Fitness Age (Though Your True Age Is An Attitude
• Eating Well As We Age: Jump Starting Your Metabolism

The post How to Age Gracefully appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

With such a constant and insatiable public appetite for newfound answers, the culture of fitness media reads much like a how-to manual for the issues of getting lean and fit. Glance at a Muscle & Fitness or Cosmopolitan magazine from 30 years ago, and then compare them to a fitness website today. The trends and fads have changed, but the sought-after answers are the same. The bottom line for many is, “how can I find the holy grail of being fit, looking great, and feeling well?”

Unfortunately, such a desired transcendent destination is a fallacy perpetuated by the “before and after” myth of perfection. States of health, wellness, and fitness are moving targets when one considers that life is an ever-changing and temporary destination. Yet the primal urge to find the genie in the bottle remains.

The persistent nagging to seek convenient answers will stubbornly endure until we find the courage to ask the right questions. “What” and “how” may dominate the headlines, but “why” is the much more important dilemma. As with any successful fitness routine or purposeful spiritual journey, sitting with the right questions isn’t comfortable or necessarily fun, but the rewards can be life-changing.

Instead of spending your energy seeking perfectly packaged solutions to your health and wellness challenges, here’s a cheat sheet to help you form the right questions.

Why Did I Gain Weight?

“How do I lose weight?” is a popular question which has many answers. A much more important query is “how do I keep weight off?” The question of how to live at your goal weight versus reach it is one that has far fewer and more difficult answers. But the essential question that really unlocks the right formula is to address the question of why you gained weight in the first place. (Hint: it isn’t about calories or being lazy).

The obesity epidemic has much to do with our toxic food supply and the subsequent addictive behaviors of much of our populace. Sitting with the questions of craving, compulsion, and avoidance are much more important questions than determining which exercise routine burns the most calories. Until you face such self-directed questions, you may lose weight, but you’ll be hard-pressed to stay that way.

What Way(s) of Moving My Body Brings Me Joy?

Joy is not synonymous with fun. Fun is found in amusement, distraction, and pleasure. This notion of entertainment is a popular one, and the fitness industry is more than happy to deliver copious amounts of fun-filled, music-pumping, endorphin-inspiring bells and whistles.

While these shiny distractions may be initially appealing and even provide a temporary state of euphoria, only joy brings a lasting sensation. Joy is the culmination of commitment and purpose. Joy is demonstrated by the artist who expresses a truthful performance, or an athlete who endures years of sacrifice to finally make the team.

As is the case to solving the riddle of weight gain, the litmus test of joy is found in asking the right question. The gist of joy is a variation of the question: “What makes time stand still for me while I do it?” Joy may seem hard to quantify, but when you see or feel it, you know it. When joy is manifested, the expression is one of being wholly present, content, and complete.

Am I Getting Better at Something?

Your goals are the reason you start a fitness routine; people are the reason you stay there. Burning calories does not form a common bond, the common pursuit of perfecting a craft does. The things that good martial arts schools, CrossFit boxes, and yoga studios get right is they teach you to get better at something—a skill, craft, or technique. Doing so fosters community.

Conversely, the desire to look better isn’t something that connects you to another human being. Before embarking on your next fad diet or fitness craze, do yourself a favor and find a tribe that will teach you to develop, hone, and perfect a craft.

Do I Move Well?

That circuit of machines you’re doing sure seems efficient and safe. While that may or may not be true, one thing you’re not doing on the bicep curl machine is getting your body to move more effectively or economically.

I’ve heard countless individuals over the years tell me they weren’t coordinated, naturally athletic, or graceful. But such a blanket statement assumes that we humans have no capacity to grow in such arenas. If you can get stronger and leaner, then you certainly possess the ability to improve at moving your body more proficiently, be it through sport, dance, yoga, or martial arts. The bottom line: a stronger bicep will not help you live longer, but getting up effortlessly from a seated position on the floor will.

Is My Fitness Routine Also Making Me Healthier?

When is the last time you checked your blood pressure, your resting heart rate, or your cortisol level? How is your heart health, gut health, or mental health? Unfortunately, such questions are too often an afterthought, until life dictates that health becomes an important consideration. In designing a fitness routine, aesthetic results often dictate one’s approach, versus determining what will drive real results in long-term health and wellness.

I get it, you want to look your best, complete with six-pack abs and ripped arms. I’ve been there and can relate. Pretty much all of us want to like what we see in the mirror staring back at us. But behind the desire to look well is the authentic desire to be well. Working from the outside in can only last for so long without addressing what lurks beneath. By starting from the inside out, you’ll not only address your health, but you’ll assess your true readiness to train or play. Your blood pressure or heart rate variability may tell you a better story of your fitness than simply relying on willpower and peer pressure to perform.

A good way to differentiate a fitness fad from a lasting trend is to determine whether the modality in question is providing you with a convenient answer, or helping you ask a deeper question. The former will provide you with temporary success at best, while the latter will provide true growth and lasting progression. One of life’s greatest ironies is that we spend much of it seeking poignant answers, yet we often know the solution, if we’re only willing to ask the right questions.

The post When It Comes to Fitness Start with the Right Questions appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When I was a kid, the old school hamster homes with the tubes and the hamster wheel were all the rage. Being neat freaks, my parents wouldn’t let my brother and I have one, but the idea of the hamster structure still made an impression.

It looked like the hamsters had it pretty good to me—one of those water droplet tubes any time they were thirsty, plenty of bedding to rest in, and of course the main attraction, the hamster wheel. I’m not sure if kids these days still covet hamster homes, but nowadays the human hamster wheel is unquestionably the king of all fitness equipment.

If there is one piece of equipment that many people have at home, it’s likely a treadmill. Treadmills are frequently the most popular and sought after pieces of equipment. Over 44% of gym goers regularly use one when they go to the gym. I worked for a HIIT training company for years where we used treadmills as one of the stations in our exercise classes and the vast majority of our patrons always rushed to use the treadmills first.

The treadmill reigns supreme for good reason—it replicates the most basic of all human movement patters, walking (and/or running). Plus, treadmills are super-efficient. Why head to the gym for an hour or more of weights when you can work up a better sweat banging out 30 minutes of hard running on the treadmill? Whether it’s a time or calorie burn, compared to going on a long bike ride, heading over to the pool for a swim, walking 18 holes of golf or playing a few sets of tennis, the treadmill is the king of efficiency.

I’m not going to lie. Like a lot of you, I am semi-addicted to the treadmill. I’m on that damn hamster wheel at least twice a week, if not more. I use it to warm up for my lifts, I use it for indoor training runs, and I use it for interval training and running sprints. A treadmill is a super handy companion, but it’s also not without its downsides. When it comes to the treadmills, there are the do’s and don’ts.

Treadmill Do’s

Use the treadmill when you’re injured. When you’re running on a treadmill the cushion of the tread is absorbing some of the impact that your body would otherwise be absorbing outside pounding the pavement. Furthermore, some manufacturers, like Woodway, make anti-gravity treadmills that allow for partial weight bearing where you’re only putting part (50% or even lower) of the impact on your body. Ironically though, the repeated stress patterns of a treadmill can also potentially cause injury, so rehab wisely. Once you have stabilized your injury and have built up your foundation, get back outside where you can strengthen your body through more natural and randomized movement patterns.

Run intervals using the treadmill. The very best thing about the treadmill is the instant feedback and ability to change your speed and incline metrics instantaneously. When you’re outside on a five mile run you can’t always control the timing of when you might encounter some incline or decline. It can be cumbersome to constantly check your fitness tracker or watch for feedback, but on the treadmill, it’s all right there at your fingertips.

Use the incline feature. I don’t want to hear that it hurts your knee and hamstrings to run with incline. If you can run, then you can run with incline. Besides, just how do you think you’re going to strengthen your knees and hamstrings anyhow? I have news for you, outside in the real world there are hills. That means, theoretically, at some point you will have to run (or walk) up and down them. Training on the treadmill without incline is like riding a spin bike without any resistance (which plenty of people also do, incidentally). The truth is it’s the resistance and incline that makes you stronger, so use it.

Use the mirror to check your stride. Have you ever wondered why there are mirrors in gyms? Hint, it’s not to check yourself and others out or critique cute outfits—they are there so you can check your form. Some basic running cues are as follows: look straight ahead (as in at the mirror), your shoulders and hands should be relaxed, keep your elbows at 90 degrees, use short and quick strides with your head and chest upright, and foot strike in line with your knees. It’s utterly amazing to me how many people have terrible running form with arms and feet flailing about and yet they seem completely oblivious to the fact. If you don’t know whether you are running correctly or wearing the right shoes it would be a good idea to have a gait analysis and/or hire a running coach—your knees, hips, shins, and feet will thank you.

Treadmill Don’ts

Never use the treadmill as your main training modality when you’re training for an event. Here’s the thing, with a few random exceptions, they don’t hold races on treadmills. Whether you’re training for a 5 k, half marathon, or ultra-distance, the majority of your training should be done outside to best prepare for your race environment. Lots of swimmers run into problems because they tend to train only in the pool (versus open water) and come race day, they feel like a fish out of water. The same logic applies with running—do the distance and road work outside, run your intervals inside.

Don’t use the treadmill when it’s a nice day. I live in Colorado where the sun shines over 300 days a year. I am absolutely dumbfounded how often people are inside at the gym on a nice day pounding away on the when treadmill when it’s nice out. What is wrong with you? Get outside and get some fresh air. The vitamin D and scenery will do you some good. Furthermore, studies show that exercising outdoors is “associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression, and increased energy.”

Don’t use it like you’re on a leisurely stroll. It kills me to see people just hanging out on a treadmill walking like they’re taking a Sunday afternoon nap. The whole point to the treadmill is to use the speed and incline to efficiently maximize your workout. Not every city or suburban neighborhood has sidewalk that are conducive for running, but those sidewalks sure are made for walking. If you’re planning on just strolling, do yourself a favor and get outside. Let someone have the treadmill who will actually use it for training.

Please don’t be an a-hole and hog the treadmill at your gym. Here’s a little newsflash, if you’re on a treadmill that isn’t at your house, it isn’t yours. You should look around when you’re on a treadmill at the gym and ask yourself “is the gym and equipment around me full?” You might be thinking that it isn’t your job to keep track of the cardio machines at your gym, but it is your job as a decent human being to be respectful. If the gym is packed and you’ve been on for more than a half hour, it’s time to get off.

Make sure you’re not an idiot on the treadmill. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were over 24,000 treadmill related injuries treated in hospitals last year. Use the same precaution as when driving your car. Avoid talking on your phone, texting, and posting on social media— you or others could get hurt. You’re on a moving belt, after all, so be mindful.

The Treadmill Gets the Job Done

Until virtual running and aerobic imagery becomes the next fitness craze, the treadmill isn’t going anywhere. For most of us, we’re grateful to have access to this super-efficient and calorie burning training tool. That said, running isn’t just meant to be a mindless hamster wheel. There’s scenery to see, fresh air to breathe, and races to run. The treadmill is one of those companions you should see casually like a work acquaintance—a relationship that helps you perform better at your real job and helps you gain fitness and health while learning how to move your body better.

The post The Treadmill Is More than a Hamster Wheel appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you if you’re young at heart.”

Frank Sinatra

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you if you’re young at heart.”

Frank Sinatra

“You’re only as old as you feel,” the saying goes. Most tend to agree with this insight, but putting this phrase into practice is another matter. As a coach, I have long encouraged clients to exceed their expectations and the societal limitations of aging. As evidence, I recently had a client in her fifties start running for the first time, and I’ve had many students begin to learn the craft of boxing after forty. It’s always been my firmly-held belief that our physical limitations are largely mental and how “old” we truly are is a function of attitude and what we do with our bodies.

Despite this being a grabby expression, it’s not just a cute catchphrase, and it rings true for many of us. Age is just a number and it doesn’t ultimately matter what that number says. It matters what you do with that number.

Determining Your “Fitness Age”

The New York Times Magazine ran a piece about a Norwegian study that evaluated almost 5,000 subjects to try and determine their true fitness age. The study used a full battery of tests – everything from BMI to cholesterol to VO2 max was measured. Some participants were pleasantly surprised with the findings, while others were shocked to find out they were significantly older than their actual age. Following the study, a website was created to give people a crack at determining their true fitness age. You can give it a go by clicking here.

The estimates are fairly general and the site hardly gives a scientific calculated VO2 max, but it’s an interesting insight nonetheless. Mine said my fitness age is 22, a full twenty years younger than my actual age! Of course, I wish there was a way to tell that number to my aching body, which presently feels like 62 rather than 22, but I guess I’ll take the 22 as a reminder to keep striving.

The Reality of Aging

Aging is one of those things that each and every one of us has to come to grips with at some point. There is no way to stop the wheels of time. Of course, the process itself is both a good and a bad thing. With age, hopefully, comes wisdom and perspective. However, getting older also brings aches and pains both literally and figuratively. Our bodies and minds learn and grow from setbacks, but we also tire and suffer pain as a result. On the physical side, our muscles atrophy and endurance capacity diminishes, but ultimately it’s up to us to do what we can with what we’ve got.

A few years back, another popular catchphrase was “thirty is the new twenty,” and so forth for each passing decade. While I found this to be true in my thirties, hitting forty brought a different saying to my experience. For me, forty has become the new seventy! So, I have felt both ends of the spectrum, at times feeling young at heart as well as feeling (much) older than I actually am.

The fitness calculator is a potentially a good check-in, validation, or motivation. We all want to feel and look our best, but we also need to do so with realism and humility. In my experience, being young is an attitude and a decision, much like being happy. So, if you’re stuck in a rut and feeling older than you are, here are a few tips to get you moving towards feeling young.

Ways to Keep Young at Heart

• Express grace and beauty – These are concepts that ultimately are not limited by time and aging. Find activities and interests that stimulate grace and beauty. Ask yourself if your body and mind are rigid and tense or relaxed and fluid? Indoors, find things like the martial arts, dance, and yoga. More importantly, make sure to find participation in movement in and around nature, where beauty and grace are found in abundance.
• Exercise and move where the young people are – I have a sixty-year-old in my boxing class. He likes the energy and the process of learning a new skill. Why not? Try a new sport or skill. Find a supportive and youthful activity or group that will support you without limiting you.
• Volunteer where the old people are – Young people (ideally) move well, and old people (hopefully) think well. Find those with lots of life experience and the humility to grow and learn that experience. Perspective can change your life. Go get some.
• Get out that bucket list and tape it to your mirror at home – Start crossing stuff off the list today. Summit a mountain, run a triathlon, trek the Andes, or cycle across your state.
• Find support in aging – Find a coach who will push you beyond your limits, but who does so with safety and empathy in mind. In addition to a coach for your body, find one for your mind, a counselor, spiritual advisor, or teacher who will help you push through your mental barriers. It is here where the real battle is fought. In the end, you’re only as old as you think you feel.

References:

1. Gretchen Reynolds “What’s Your ‘Fitness’ Age?” New York Times Magazine October 31, 2013.

2. Erin Skarda “Survey: People Aren’t Happiest Until They Reach Age 33” Time. March 29, 2012.

The post How to Calculate Your Fitness Age (Though Your True Age Is an Attitude) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Making mistakes is something everyone does. Learning from them is not.”

My love affair with fitness is unquestionably one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. When it’s all going right, it feels like the fountain of youth, the perfect manifestation of physical expression, and the embodiment of health. But a relationship with fitness, like any relationship, carries with it a shadow, and at times, the possibility of a dark underside. As it is with any person, profession, or craft, a negative motive can thwart an otherwise noble pursuit.

In my lifelong commitment to fitness, our relationship has matured and evolved, as I have learned from the ‘sins’ I committed along the way. Sometimes, making mistakes in fitness is the only way we can truly learn and grow. Today I want to share my experience with the seven deadly sins in fitness, and how to correct them.

Pride

Back in the day, I frequently used to run with my shirt off. Not because I needed to, or because it was 100° outside, but because I wanted to show off. Running with your shirt off is not a sin, mind you. But flaunting what you have simply for the sake of it, or even worse, to throw it in the face of others that don’t have it, is. Thankfully, I outgrew my ego-driven approach as I realized I wasn’t so special after all.

As I became more entrenched in the martial arts and boxing, I learned that there is always someone better, faster, or stronger than can put you on your back. Even the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali, got hurt, knocked out, and lost, on multiple occasions. One of my favorite things about the martial arts is the forced humility inherent in the process. While it may take confidence to step in a ring, there’s no place for ego once you’re in it.

In fitness, we should have the same creed. Someone is always fitter, bigger, leaner, more defined. As the saying goes, pride cometh before the fall. In short, get over yourself and be grateful for what you have, because you won’t have it forever.

Greed

As I first got started with fitness, I fell into an elusive and all-too-common trap: more is better. Instead of 10% body fat, why not 5%? Instead of one workout a day, why not two? Instead of a 250lb bench press, why not 300? The obsessive nature of some in their relationship to fitness is one of the most common and pervasive ‘sins,’ and it’s also one of the ugliest. Instead of feeling satisfied with reaching a goal, or seeking a sustainable level of fitness, some covet more and more. We all know wealthy people who never seem satisfied, complain bitterly about money, and seem ungrateful for what they have. Being greedy with fitness is not much different.

The way through greed is to seek qualities like grace, beauty, and flow. Truly flourishing in fitness means tapping into authenticity and sustainability. Finding flow is as much about giving as it is receiving. When you pursue qualities like flow and the expression of beauty, you will find the present moment and erase the sins of greed.

Gluttony

Similar to those that are greedy, gluttons simply can’t get enough. While gluttony is typically thought of in relation to food and drink, gluttony is also defined as an inordinate desire to consume more than one requires. In short, gluttony is consumption to excess. 

Many people might think of too much exercise as a good problem to have. But overtraining and excess exercise consumption is no joke. The manifestation of gluttony in fitness is exercise addiction. Like its cousins, eating disorders and body dysmorphia, exercise addiction is a potentially serious issue. Addictions of any kind are not just vices, but carry harmful negative side effects, from failed relationships to severely compromised health.

The sad irony of excessive exercise is the literal manifestation of ‘running from your problems.’ Just like there are no answers at the bottom of a bottle, exercise is a solution and a healthy distraction, only to a point. The gluttony dilemma is best resolved by seeking balance in everything. In fitness, balance is naturally attained through an intentional practiced that will force you to sit with problems, instead of avoiding them. Good examples are yoga, martial arts, and Olympic lifting. In contrast, exercise as a means to an end, like mindless pounding on the treadmill, can lead to someone with an addictive nature simply wanting more and more.

Lust

Like many things in our culture, we have over-sexualized fitness. The pursuit of fitness for many has become a way to look, rather than a way to feel. Let’s face it: much of the desire to look a certain way has to do with desire itself. Yes folks, I’m talking about sex. But nowhere in the definition of fitness does it say anything about attraction, looking a certain way, or having a hot bod.

That said, we all look in the mirror and aspire to look our best, and the desire to feel attractive is biological. But an overtly sexual motive in fitness is sinful because it takes away from and runs counter to the true qualities of fitness: grace, health, and real beauty. The gym is not a meat market, and if your end goal is to simply look more attractive, you probably need to work more on defining what it really means to be fit and attractive. Attractiveness is ultimately a quality of genuine contentment and confidence, while fitness is ultimately a state of health and functionality.

Anger

I used to yell at myself on runs. “Step it up, man!” I’d yell out loud at myself. Many times, I put myself in boxing rings to spar with professionals because I was pissed, even if I didn’t understand what for. Anger as fuel is a strong motivator. Unfortunately, it’s a poor one, and unhealthy to boot. Several prominent studies link anger to a host of negative side effects.

Anger is known in Buddhism as one of the “three poisons of the mind.” If anger is a poison for your body and mind, than it’s most certainly a poor motivator in the long run, as well. The bottom line is that anger of any sort (self-directed or towards others) has no place in a health and fitness environment. The path away from anger is to seek its opposites, which are also optimal attributes for true wellness: peace, contentment, and serenity.

Envy

I was a scrawny kid, and not much of an athlete. Anyone who has ever felt judged for being a non-athlete, slight of frame, or too heavy can develop a fairly sizeable chip on their shoulder. For me, that chip was pretty substantial, and a strong motivator in fitness. While I couldn’t will myself to have the talent to be a star baseball player or the genetics to be 6’5”, nothing could stop me from being supremely fit.

But like anger, envy is a repulsive quality and is ultimately a dead-end as a motivator. Instead of envy, in fitness we should be seeking community; environments that foster support, diversity, and the common pursuit of real wellness. One of the best ways to rid ourselves of envy is to surround ourselves with people who accept up for who we truly are, not who we pretend to be.

Sloth

Sloth is defined as avoidance of physical or spiritual work. As bad as exercise addiction or blatant vanity are, perhaps the greatest sin (and certainly the deadliest) is to be lazy. It’s always better to do something than to do nothing, and doing nothing as it relates to exercise or fitness is truly sinful.

The human body is meant to move, and it is everyone’s own personal responsibility to find purposeful, meaningful, and sustainable ways to move. Laziness has no place in the human experience. Avoidance of falling prey to the deadliest sin is simply about finding the fire to get off your butt and do something—anything. The spark for that fire is to seek inspiration in the form of purpose. Find your purpose, and you will find your fuel to move.

Grow From Your Mistakes

There’s nothing sinful about the desire for health and the expression of our natural physicality through fitness. But we must keep vigilant in the avoidance of flaunting our success, excessive and impulsive motives, and believing our own hype. We must be careful in seeking fitness as purely as a means to an end, for obsessive and egoistic tendencies can easily follow.

Many of us have committed these ‘sins,’ but the ultimate manifestation of fitness is to find the true humility necessary to grow by learning from our mistakes. In the end, authenticity in fitness is to gain wisdom, never give up, and keep moving forward.

The post The Seven Deadly Sins of Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

A disclaimer before I begin:

This article is not meant to be exclusionary, judgmental, or narrowminded. It is simply food for thought for those who are spiritually curious, choose to live their life with a faith-based foundation, or live in acknowledgement of a higher power. Faith means something different to everyone, from prayer and worship, to seeking flow and purpose, to a desire for deeper connection with nature or community. Whether you’re Hindu, Christian, or Buddhist; whether you’re a believer, skeptic, or atheist, faith in something beyond your physicality may help you find deeper meaning in your fitness pursuits.

While many of the references in this article are verses from the Bible, the discussion is not limited to Judeo-Christian principles. Faith is faith, and however you might define it, this article seeks to explore the connection between faith and fitness, and how having it can help you find meaning and motivation.

Where Faith Meets Physicality

At the end of many professional sporting events, it’s not uncommon for groups of players to huddle up, take a knee and give thanks to God. In postgame interviews, many athletes express a similar sentiment. Personally, I find the acknowledgement to be both touching and at times, a tad irritating.

Touching, in the sense that the athlete directs the praise away from themselves and recognizes something greater than their own physical achievements. It’s also perhaps a little puzzling or even irritating that the insinuation seems to be that somehow God, Jesus, or Allah is rooting for them to win, and therefore someone else to lose.

Opinions on public demonstrations of faith aside, the relationship of faith to our physical lives is an interesting phenomenon, and one that clearly resonates with many. Our body and mind can propel us to achieve great heights, but who or what is propelling our body and mind?

Said another way, when you’ve reached your maximum physical and mental capacity, what allows you to dig deeper and keep going, or even push beyond your human limits? The answer, for many, is something bigger, broader, and beyond what is within us.

According to a 2016 Gallup poll, roughly 9 out of every 10 Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. Essentially, 90% of people believe there is something incorporeal and spiritual that is interconnected to the material and physical.

We sum up this belief in one word: faith. For those that profess faith, it tends to be woven into the existence of our daily lives, at work, home, church, and the other place many of us go daily—the gym. With that in mind, here’s how faith helps you make the most of your life at the gym on the field:

Faith Brings Together the Pillars of Health and Longevity

“It is health that is real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

According to the book Blue Zones, communities that have the longest-living people (such as Okinawa, Loma Linda, CA, and Sardinia, Italy) have certain things in common: a focus on family, socially engaged communities, active lifestyle, and of course, healthy diet. While all three regions represent different faiths, those faiths each help bring these variables of food, fitness, and community together.

Granted, it is possible for these independent variables to be individually addressed without the necessity of faith. But instead of a fragmented approach to wellness, faith naturally and holistically integrates the pillars of wellness.

I don’t know of a faith from Judaism to Hinduism to Christianity that doesn’t address the importance of healthful, clean eating, community, and a sound mind and body. All of the ancient religions focus on discipline in the name of health, such as the practice of fasting. In essence, faith can form the foundation for how we move, how we think, and how we eat.

Faith Inspires and Motivates

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

– Philippians 4:13

Much of fitness tends to be predicated on extrinsic motivators. We all work to become bigger, faster, stronger, leaner. Inevitably though, the question arises, “then what?” How do you stay motivated when you’ve lost that 20 pounds, or if you don’t lose any weight? The reason over 50% of people drop out of an exercise program in the first six months is, in large part, the inability to answer the “then what” question.

Ultimately, success in fitness requires a deeper motivation beyond the exterior, and a focus on the interior. The most powerful intrinsic motivators on the planet are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Self-direction, creativity, and the ability to make a meaningful difference require the right foundation.

That purpose may be sparked through the inspiration of others, or honed through deep-rooted self will, but even such motivators like being a better mother or a healthier husband have limitations. But faith isn’t confined by human and physical barriers. Boundless inspiration is found in the all-ness of God.

Faith Keeps You Going When the Going Gets Tough

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”

– Isaiah 40:31

I’ve had two knee surgeries, a torn my rotator cuff, ruptured two ear drums, battled sciatica, a severe SI strain, and have had more bumps, bruises, and battle scars than I can count. And those are just my physical setbacks. The reality of a life in sport and fitness is fraught with obstacles, from injuries to plateaus to flat out losing your mojo.

In my personal life, I’ve suffered setbacks from being downsized to getting divorced. The common theme in all trauma, whether physical, emotional, or professional, is the opportunity to test your resolve and your faith. Faith brings you back to what is truly important. You are here for something greater than winning your next race or getting those ripped biceps.

There are days you don’t have it, there are slumps you will go through, and there are injuries to contend with. Faith is what keeps you going. After my rotator cuff surgery, I got a stack of 3×5 index cards and wrote daily affirmations and Bible versus. There’s no way to prove that this practice helped me heal, but doing so certainly strengthened my courage, and my faith.

Faith Conquers Your Self

“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others”

– Buddha

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in boxing and the martial arts is that my biggest adversary is always me. You can have an iron will, abs of steel, and the tenacity of a pit bull, but failure remains an inherent part of process where it comes to sport and fitness.

How you face failure has everything to do with conquering self. The process starts by facing your fears, finding the capacity to listen (to yourself, to others, and for God’s voice), and the introspective ability to look honestly at your own shortcomings.

Whether you practice Buddhist meditation or Christian centering prayer, faith provides an optimal blueprint to see yourself as you truly are. Faith calls you to seek humility and to lessen your ego. Faith calls you practice a heightened awareness and a sense of non-judgment.

To conquer self is to surrender to the inevitability of something bigger and broader than the limited confines of your own ego. Faith-based fitness makes you realize that it’s not about you, but about releasing your ego and expressing your true glorious nature.

Faith Enables Flow

“We flow into God—and God into us—because it is the nature of love to flow.”

– Cynthia Bourgeault

The are many reasons to exercise, from better health to better physical functionality, but what many of us are seeking more than anything is a feeling of oneness with our bodies. To feel purpose and passion in how we express ourselves physically.

To access a feeling where time almost stands still as our bodies move effortlessly in a seamless state of joy and grace. This feeling is often described as ‘flow state’ or ‘the zone’ by athletes and artists, but flow is also the holy grail of faith-based fitness.

There are many triggers to flow, but the commonalities include loss of self, an expansion of meaning and purpose, and a source of intrinsic motivation. Flow is the transcendental state of being truly present by being at one with the moment, with your source, and with your essence.

Perhaps flow is what athletes are referring to when they give praise to their higher power for performing. Our bodies are just instruments, but the harmonious flow of the movements we make comes about through tapping in to the omniscient nature of the universe. Faith and spirituality has everything to do with this sense of giving and taking, asking and receiving, and obtaining mercy through our acts of mercy.

Faith Can Be Your Foundation

Faith is not a solo sport, and ultimately, neither is fitness. As our bodies age, many cling to the notion of holding onto youth at all costs. But evolving in fitness means moving beyond what our bodies look like, to express our innate, natural, and God-like qualities: grace, power, joy, rhythm, harmony, and strength.

The cornerstones to an ongoing successful path in fitness are self-actualization, a supportive community, and sense of purpose. Very few if any fitness programs seamlessly bring all these necessary elements together in a holistic fashion, but faith does.

Whether you write affirmations on cards for inspiration, pray before and after each successful workout or competition, or simply listen for divine wisdom with your breath, faith can be your foundation for abundance with fitness.

The post Where Faith Meets Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Artists and athletes in this state are said to be in the zone. Others call it flow. Flow is commonly associated with athletics, artistry, or even spirituality. But in the book The Rise of Superman, Steven Kotler describes flow as an optimal state of consciousness that is available to anyone, not just artists, athletes, shamans, and monks.

Despite being widely touted and sought after, this peak state of performance can seem undefined or inaccessible to many. When you talk about the zone with non-athletes or novice exercisers, some might look at you with incredulous eyes as if you are speaking a foreign language.

Those who don’t meditate may look upon those who do as simply people who are sitting still for 20 minutes thinking about nothing. But regardless of your own opinion or experience of such a state, there’s no denying the existence of flow. While some of us have experienced it, almost all of us have seen it. Ironically, the place you are most likely to find it is the place you’d least expect to see it—in life’s most extreme circumstances.

What Is Flow?

Perhaps one the most astounding aspects of flow is where it seems to be most pronounced: in the extreme margins of human experience, namely in physically dangerous situations. There are countless examples of the manifestation of flow state; the surfer riding effortlessly in a 30-foot wave, the downhill skier gracefully carving her way down the mountain at 80mph, or the martial artist who seems to be performing a relaxed dance while fighting for his life and livelihood. How is any of this remotely possible? All of these examples are ones where the margin of error can be death, yet to the human eye, some participants can seem completely present and almost… relaxed. 

While mysterious and at times elusive, flow is a very real thing. Simply defined, flow is an optimal state of performance distinguished by certain pronounced characteristics. The flow state requires total and complete concentration, and yet at the same time occurs where there is sense of detachment from self. Flow involves creative problem solving in the moment, and often at blistering speeds, or conversely can happen while immersed in complete stillness. Flow is the experience of being in the moment, and is highly correlated with a sense of time dilation.

Flow is essentially a relaxed, yet focused state where your intuition and creativity take over, allowing for peak performance. Physiologically speaking, flow is defined by a predominance of alpha and theta brain waves. In flow, your neocortex is prominent, allowing you to almost ‘predict’ the future with a heightened sense of anticipation. This psychic confidence is what allows athletes to ‘see the field’ and anticipate their opponent’s next move. In terms of neurochemistry, flow is defined by the release of certain chemicals in the brain, including norepinephrine, anandamide, dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. Interestingly enough, these chemicals are the very same chemicals associated with elicit drug use. Thus the term ‘runner’s high.’

But the high experienced in the zone isn’t just for runners. All human beings, from athletes to artists to businesspeople, have the capacity to experience such situational awareness and heighted state of human potential. This natural high is defined and measurable from a biological perspective, and corroborated by scientific literature in its positive effect. Of course, defining it is one thing; experiencing it is another. Let’s talk about how you can find your flow.

The Elusive Search for Flow

As opposed to when we’re pursuing pleasure, flow only happens when we’re in pursuit of performance. But whether it’s speaking in public, getting physically uncomfortable, or putting yourself out there creatively, fear of performance is about as scary as it gets, for many. This conundrum is the crux of flow’s elusive nature—finding flow inevitably necessitates facing fear and getting uncomfortable. This involves overriding two of the brains hardwired circuits: the primitive ‘fight or flight’ reaction (sympathetic response) and overriding the innate human desire for comfort. Doing so can follow one of two opposite paths:

Up the Ante

Find an activity that involves risk, demands physical focus, and necessitates facing your fears. The problem with traditional exercise is that it can be everything but focused. Loud music blares, screens distract you with statistics, and the end goal is often extrinsically motivated, rather than intrinsic. With bigger biceps, burning excess calories, and toned abs as the objective, the zone will be hard to come by. But in facing the fear of attempting complex and dynamic tasks, or even potentially dangerous physical activities, flow is more accessible.

Fortunately, such outlets (in particular action and adventure sports) are more readily available these days. While some professional sports are changing rules in an effort to get safer, more people than ever are risking their necks in sports like extreme skiing, big wave surfing, and rock climbing. Such sports have undergone unprecedented growth in the past 30 years, pushing the bounds of impossibility further and faster than ever before. Such activities demand complete focus and being at one with your environment.

Risk heightens focus, and flow follows focus. Ultimately, such high stakes coupled with intense focus are the perfect recipe for entering the zone. Flow author and researcher Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes this result as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake.”

Seek Extreme Stillness

Clearly, not everyone has the desire or the DNA to be a competitive ski jumper or thrill-seeking skydiver. Risk is risk, and plenty of folks would rather sit out anything that has the potential for injury or harm. Fortunately, there are other ways to find the zone without facing danger.

But less dangerous doesn’t mean easier. As terrifying as base jumping or hang gliding may sound, sitting completely still and fully emptying one’s thoughts for extended periods of time may be equally difficult, for some. It turns out that such stillness, whether through a breath-focused meditative state or restorative yoga, may also trigger a hyper-focused zone-like experience. If jumping off or scaling up something isn’t your jam, finding periods of focused stillness might be.

Find a Master of Flow

The best way to learn any skill is to seek out a mentor and learn from a master. Since it’s established that the zone is a very real thing and is even at times visible to the onlooker, what better way to access the zone than by finding someone who excels in finding flow and following their lead. While the zone isn’t exclusive to artistry, athletics, or spiritual realms, those arenas are still likely the best places to look.

I knew I wanted to start boxing when I saw the intoxicating rhythm on display during my first visit to a boxing gym. Losing myself in that rhythm and finding the zone in boxing came about through repetition over time, but also through the emulation of professors, gurus, and top coaches. The same narrative can be applied to countless modalities, from boxing, to ballet, to adventure racing.

Set Clear Goals

When you hear those words, I’m guessing the one that stands out is ‘goals.’ Unfortunately, as important as that word is culturally, it’s the wrong word to emphasize when it comes to finding flow. The problem with the word ‘goal’ is that it tends to have a future connotation, as in ‘when I lose 30 pounds,’ or ‘when I win the race.’

Living in the future means living in the then or there, but by setting clear goals that focus you on the immediate present, you heighten your ability to perform and sense of flow. Learning to be in the here and now means breaking down goals into tiny, bite-size pieces, or ‘chunking.’ Chunking simply means clearly defining the next immediate step. By breaking tasks into chunks, you’ll live in the here and now, instead of the there or then.

Hack the Zone

Because flow requires facing fear and the willingness to step outside ourselves, it may prove to remain elusive for some. That said, there are other ways in which we might achieve this optimal state without requiring such daunting effort. Floating, or sensory deprivation, has been shown in studies to produce parasympathetic response and a flow-like sensation.

Surprisingly, online gaming has also been shown to produce a similar flow state in some participants. The idea isn’t that floating in an Epsom salt bath or becoming a gamer is analogous with being a pro surfer, but flow state is flow state. Whether you organically hit your flow, or you hack into it, the chemical response is the same. The bottom line is that the more you experience flow state, the more accessible it can become.

Flow is Found on the Other Side of Fear

Flow is not some new-age concept found in only in the movies and comic books. Flow is very real. But it’s easy to lose sight of flow, and get sidetracked in our pursuit of fitness, wellness, and sport. Instead of pursuing flow or purpose, our quests can simply become a means to an end, to win a competition or build a better body.

While such goals are admirable, real meaning isn’t found in an end point, but in blissful moments of oneness. Flow is that oneness, and the key that unlocks flow is mostly found on the other side of fear. In the quest to achieve flow, perhaps the ultimate question isn’t ‘how do I find it,’ but ‘what am I afraid of?’

The post The Elusive Flow: Finding Ultimate Human Performance appeared first on Breaking Muscle.