As wonderful as it is to live during a time where all the knowledge in the world is at our fingertips, deciphering through all the information can be inadvertently detrimental. In general, when you start getting into fitness or when you just want development, it’s easy to be consumed by the search engine. What is the best time to workout? When should I eat after a workout? What should I eat before I workout? Should I only workout fasted? Should I take BCAAs? Should I do cardio or strength training first? How much protein should I take? How many days should I be working out? Should I count cardio with my daily steps?
There are going to be many contradicting arguments for multiple answers to all of the questions above. Eventually you’ll reach your own conclusion after hours of conflicting research. More than likely, this conclusion will lead to a strict and specific routine. It’s 2022 and the internet seems to suggest that in order to be perfectly healthy…You must be in bed at the right time, you must drink a certain amount of water, you must eat a certain amount of calories from only high quality food within specific times and you must work out for at least an hour most days. In the beginning, this new routine could be highly motivating and exciting. You may see impressive progress and you may be feeling ‘amazing’ which will validate the new rigorous schedule. Eventually though, these guidelines will be challenged by work, relationships and personal life satisfaction. The daily thought alone that goes into maintaining such a lifestyle doesn’t leave much room for any other important thoughts. You could be in danger of missing life long memories that are made at family and friend events, meeting attractive new strangers or even career progression because you’re spending every waking second ‘staying on track’. On the rare occasion that such a strict lifestyle doesn’t lead to an eating disorder, it will still most likely lead to a life of repetitive boringness, less human interaction, less career advances and unfulfillment despite feeling like you are working your butt off everyday. Now, although spending all your time working on your health, stress has shown up to make all that hard work obsolete. Lack of community, fun, random life adventures, relaxing and resting will welcome stress with open arms. There is no diet or exercise routine on the planet as strong at affecting the body as stress.
Keep it simple, stupid. Hydration, sleep, movement and diet are important parts of staying healthy. Make good choices when you can. Drink water when you can. Go to bed early when you can. Fitting in movement can be done in a variety of ways throughout the day and with other people, it doesn’t always have to be specific gym training. I always say ‘master the mundane’. On the days that life is the same anyway, work on maintaining simple habits to improve your health on those days. Wake up and drink water, get a workout that fits your schedule and have healthy meals prepared or planned. On the days that things will be different, great, go have fun, make reasonable choices and get back at it tomorrow. One bad day nor one good day will completely change your progress but what you do most of the time will see your outcome. Get in those habits and look forward to all the other adventures life has to offer.
Turning off the perfection switch can be difficult and a little uncomfortable at first but over time, it can lead to a much healthier lifestyle. Implementing good habits over time and allowing/expecting life to get in the way sometimes will lead to adventures and memories you could have otherwise missed. Doing the ‘wrong’ thing with the right people can lead to many health benefits. Socialising, being silly, not worrying and trusting that you are doing your best when it’s an option will be a much more effective tool at keeping stress away than always needing to stick to a complicated and specific schedule that allows for no freedom.
Focus on small habits over time rather than striving for perfection from day 1. Life will not wait for you to be at perfect health before continuing on. Try tracking daily habits on a calendar, if there are more successful days than days off, you are on the right track!
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