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So, i wrote this back in April and I feel I need to bring it back. I love you all so I'll be clear. You will not reach your fitness goals if you are under the impression that your body is happening TO YOU. I've been in the fitness industry for a decade now and I've realized that these are the 4 hard truths about health and fitness.
1. A lot of us are having issues with health as it relates to weight loss/gain because we misunderstand it to be either a gift we received because we were lucky enough to be born a certain way or a punishment we were cursed with because we were unlucky enough to be born another way. We can counteract this if come to the realization that the body is acting objectively. The human body does not inflict penalty. Your body, like life, is not happening to you. Your body is responding to you as it makes continuous efforts to find balance. Give it a stimulus and it will react accordingly.
2. A lot of what we attribute to health conditions is actually a series of progressive bad habits. Again, give the body a stimulus and it will react accordingly. After a certain time, those temporary reactions become more permanent adaptations. So, choose wisely.
3. A lot of what we attribute to genetics is, in fact, the unconscious inheritance of bad habits across generations. If you are easily offended, please skip the next sentence. While excessive weight gain can be a risk factor for various health conditions, it is not a naturally uncontrollable deviation from the functional state of an organism aka a disease. Here's a nice quote "Obesity warrants medical as well as cultural legitimacy and respect but needs not be a disease to earn them. Calling obesity, a disease contradicts the functioning of our bodies, and implies a blame residing there." - D. L. Katz.
4. A lot of us are confusing fitness goals with emotion-based desires influenced by imposed societal pressures. Fitness refers to physical capability and conditioning. "I want to work out without pain." is a fitness goal. "I want to run this distance in this time" is a fitness goal. "I want to lift this much" is a fitness goal. A goal is something that you are willing to work for to achieve. A goal is something over which you have control. It involves a calculated process that leads to a clear end result. A desire is something you may really want, but you might NOT have complete control over the situation. Generally, desires are not clear visions. "I want to lose weight and look like this in 5 months" is a desire. You have never been who and what you are now. You do not know what a 40lb weight loss in 5 months looks like. You have an idea that you'll be "skinner" which is a desire. Not a goal. 40lbs lighter 10 years ago has nothing to do with your current state. So, before you even begin your journey, you are in the dark and will most likely fall off the road. There is no calculated step by step process leading you toward a desire. Focus on the function. So that by the time you complete a series of calculated steps, your body would have had to change and adapt to more healthy demands in order to reach a physical state of advanced function and capacity. Furthermore, you would have created a lifestyle that will ultimately sustain this new advanced state. THAT WAY, when you look up in 5 months you are an impro
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This.. ALLLL THIS. I am just not releasing my body desires. Now, I just want to have fun during class without knee pain. Yep. I'm getting these now! Thank you, Akosua!