Recently, I've had a fitness spiritual awakening of sorts.
I got to spend some time with some old friends that are prominent in the fitness industry, playing Pokemon, being a tourist in my own city, trying new things and making new relationships along the way.
There was a resonating theme between us all while we all talked.
What is it about fitness that makes us eventually start to look at it as a painful experience?
What is it about the fitness industry that makes us belittle ourselves in the ways we do?
Comparing ourselves to others on social media, using food as a reward instead of the sustenance that it really is, or calling ourselves fat, unworthy, or even worse names than that sometimes.
It is in these practices that we lose sight of how fitness is supposed to enrich our lives and BE FUN. not tear ourselves down and examine it under a microscope.
Unfortunately the new normal is that many people get into fitness because they compare themselves to someone they saw on social media.
They see the bodies, the free stuff, the clothes, and the "fans"
And ultimately, social media is microcosm of someones life.
Im friends with some really awesome human beings that people that would be considered famous in this industry.
and they are the most down to earth people you could meet.
I just went on the maid of the mist with a couple of them just a few weekends ago. And saw real human emotion in their faces when they saw Niagara Falls for the first time. They're not animals behind a glass pane ( the Internet ) they're people. Just like you and I.
They know it’s just an image that helps them achieve their fitness goals but they do it to help people not create a glorified image of what your fitness life should be.
Don’t compare yourself to these people.
You are not them and they are not you.
You are not them and they are not you.
You are not them and they are not you.
These same social media personalities will throw around terms like “cheat meal,” “cheat day,” or “earned my cookie.”
This is all bullshit.
You’re not an animal needing operant conditioning which comes in many forms.
You don’t need to earn your food. You need food to perform at a level commensurate to your activity.
These people will eat a little extra ice cream and show the world how “dedicated” they are by doing extra cardio because they were “bad.”
There are no good or bad foods. There is just food. Some are just higher quality foods than others.
That being said, do these people really sound like figures we should aspire to be? For me it’s a no. These people are everything that unhealthy relationships with food embody.
Changing your mindset isn’t just about food. It’s also about viewing and motivating ourselves in a different and more productive manner. I’ve been on both ends of the weight and fitness spectrum. Ive been fat, and I've been lean, and I've been everything in between.
Today I’m back to 210 but at a much different body composition and fitness goals.
I’ve embraced my body, the lanky/powerful machine that it is and I have fun with it in the form of physical challenges.
And really, the human body is a machine.
Does that mean I love what I see in the mirror every day?
Of course not and I won’t bullshit you otherwise.
I am happy though and that’s more than a lot of people in the fitness realm can truly say.
That happiness didn’t happen overnight, It took a long long time to get there. I thought getting lean would make me happy and yes it did. Temporarily. The problem a lot of people run into in fitness is they are never lean enough, big enough, or strong enough.
While these on a long term timeline are good motivators they can cause problems in the short term. You constantly start checking for abs.
You try to push lifts to new weights instead of sticking to the plan.
All the while you view yourself as fat, small, or weak.
You’ve imprisoned your progress inside a negative mind.
You may already be in a great place but in your mind you can’t help but find everything you think is wrong or that you’re not where you want to be on the timeline expected.
I hate to break it to you but very few things in fitness progress in a linear fashion.
Hell, even in life we're bound to take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back sometimes. It's the beauty of being a human being. We are capable of critically analyzing situations and making them better.
Move past the self-hate for the sake of your health and fitness.
You and I are one of the most incredible organisms on this planet. You are awesome. Let's start treating ourselves that way.
P.S. YES Pokemon Go is awesome and YES it is exercise, seriously. It's a really awesome way to bond with your kids/friends and get some active recovery in the form of walking.
Fitness is FUN. Use whatever you need to make it fun.
Patrick Ciera
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