Beyond the Flex

I’ve been in the health and wellness industry for years and when I tell people what I do, I usually hear the same things.

The first is usually related to WANT. These include getting toned, building muscle, losing a few pounds, getting more flexible, attending fitness and yoga classes, and the list goes on.

And yet, I’ve also discovered that 95% of people who say these “wants” are actually saying “Those results would be nice, but I don’t REALLY want them.” Let’s face it. If you truly want what you say you do, then you would be doing something to get it.

Then we add on the second part. “I want” is usually followed up by the EXCUSE as to why I won’t see them in class and every time I see them in the future, they still won’t have achieved the results that they “want.”

The biggest EXCUSE is, “I’m too busy right now” (followed by the silent “to do anything to get what I said I want.”)

I think, “So what you’re saying to me is that you don’t really WANT those results because you really don’t care enough about your physical fitness or wellness to make it a priority.” But I say “Maybe one day when you’re not ‘too busy,’ you can come check out a class,” while knowing that those people will always be “too busy,” until at the very least, they start noticing a decline in their physical health.

Here’s the food for thought. When you truly want something, you make it happen. Period.

It’s human nature that we find excuses, like ALWAYS making ourselves “too busy” for the things we don’t really want to do, and yet, all of a sudden manifesting “free time” from out of nowhere when we really do WANT to do something.

Like I said, this is human nature. We all do it. And I’ve lived through (and still experience) most of what people say that makes them “too busy,” so I’ll admit it’s difficult to keep from rolling my eyes while listening to the time excuse. I know what it’s like to have responsibilities that can pull us from our fitness goals because we ALL have them. Whether it be parenting, domestic duties, working four (yes FOUR) jobs at one time… and more… I’ve been there.

Sometime injuries are mentioned in the excuse. I’ve had those too and it’s not easy while you’re going through a recovery process, but it CAN be done. I’ve done it.

Believe me, I could have come up with a lot of excuses to do nothing more then and now. But I chose and still choose to make the time for regular physical activity and to eat for the healthy lifestyle that I want. Does that make me “special?” Only in the sense that I haven’t let excuses stop me from moving toward what I TRULY want.

A little side note… I found that it’s actually EASIER to work on physical fitness and nutrition as a parent. Playgrounds are great! Running around during outside games, even made up ones, is fun. Do you know how much energy it takes to play outside in the winter snow? You hardly have to do anything and that heart rate is up!

If you want a little more structure, you can attend parent/child fitness classes (once the child is old enough) to keep both of you motivated, and continue to attend together as they grow through the tween and teen years and beyond. Plus we all want our kids to develop good habits with physical fitness and nutrition to give them a great start in life. Right? Kids keep you active automatically, as long as you don’t succumb to your automatic excuses of why you “can’t” participate.

For those people who are more mature… If you feel lethargic and not as mobile or flexible or as strong as you used to be… That’s actually just your version of an EXCUSE to not do what your body was born to do. Did you know that most movement issues and lethargy come from your lifestyle choices? (Especially those choices during the years when you used those other excuses mentioned earlier.) It’s a fact.

Here’s a more positive fact. Movement creates energy and synergy, which creates more desire and ability to move.

And here’s my favorite fact about the human body… It responds the exact same way to cardio and resistance training AT ANY AGE. Your body doesn’t say “Oh… you just turned X years old… I have instantly forgotten how to build muscle and stretch and move my limbs around the joints.” Fortunately, that’s not how it works.

So what’s going on? You have been bombarded with misinformation over your lifetime that states that when you turn X age, you will develop one or two more aches or pains and lose one or two more abilities that you had before your birthday. So your mind takes that false information, combines it with your excuses to not participate in physical activity at any earlier point in your life, and tells your body to act accordingly. Your body just obeys what it’s being told.

The solution is to get your mind on the same page as your body. Movement is nature’s medicine and costs less than pharmaceuticals, so attend a fitness or yoga class (or movement training) and start moving. Then see what happens and what you can really do when you get out of your own way.

I will wrap this up with one more EXCUSE that I’ve heard that always makes me smile because, as you will see, it’s kind of silly.

“I want to come to class, but I need to lose some weight (or get more flexible) first.”

Um… What? The whole point of coming to a class is to move and get to your goals. In fact, before you know it, and sometimes without realizing it, you will automatically start dropping weight, losing fat, gaining muscle, and getting cardiovascular benefits when you regularly attend classes. You will also become more flexible than you thought you ever were and be able to move more freely. This can happen noticeably faster in the beginning when you have more than a few pounds to lose, but even when you don’t notice it, the body begins working FOR YOU from the first class.

I told you. The body is amazing!

I know. I know. There are some classes that make it seem like only physically fit people go to fitness classes and only flexible people go to yoga classes, but that’s so very far from the truth. It may seem that way because those are the people who IGNORE their EXCUSES not to attend and have gotten to their desired result. They continue going to the classes because they WANT to maintain their results.

Everyone started at the beginning and came from their own personal circumstances.

When you start and stick with participating in regular physical activity, mind starts believing in you and the proof you are giving it and the brain sends those signals to the body. The body acts accordingly and returns those “feel good” signals to the brain, which improves your mood and then the mind tells the body to do more. It’s a cycle of win-win, regardless of your starting point.

If you are so bashful that you don’t want to be seen working towards your desired goals, then come in for one-to-one personal training and you will build the confidence to attend group classes in no time.

So, now that you’ve read this far, here are my questions for you who say you want all of the benefits of physical activity and eating better.

Do you REALLY WANT it?

Do you want it enough to set aside and ignore your excuses that keep you from it?

Then get moving and start feeling better! Your current AND future self will thank you!

“Want to know what you can do? Show up and find out!” ~ Jamie C., Beyond The Flex

*You can find the class and movement schedule at the top of the page and on our app, where you can do a lot more. (Once you sign up for a class, the app instructions will be emailed to you.)*