The Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Fitness

Forgive me for the dramatic title, I rewatched Se7en last night.  A very dark and depressing movie, but also a very good one.

However, here they are in no specific order, the seven worst things you can do to yourself when you’re trying to be healthy.

Gluttony

Gluttony is an obvious one, you eat too much.  However, as obvious as it is, it’s still the number 1 problem for most people struggling with their health.  How can this possibly be?  It’s not rocket science after all.  You can figure out how many calories you need to eat per day and you can find out how many calories you’re eating.  If the second number is higher than the first, you’re eating too much.  It’s that simple.

Little tricks to avoid gluttony:

• Drink water - Sodas, coffee and juices are a big source of uncounted calories.  That is, calories you are consuming but forget to include in your calculations.
• Eat vegetables - Your body is concerned with volume.  That is, it wants a certain amount of food per day and it measures this amount in terms of the space it fills, not the calories it has.  Vegetables fill a lot of space with very little calories.  So eat more of them and you’ll feel full without packing in the calories.
• Avoid restaurants - Make or buy your own food so that you know what’s in it.  That’s a good way to avoid all the hidden fat that restaurants will sometimes pack into their food to make it taste better.

Greed

Ahh yes, greed.  I want it all and I want it now.  Guess what, there are no quick solutions to health and fitness, no matter how much money you have to spend.  Liposuction won’t make you healthy and buying that new $2000 home gym won’t either.  Being healthy can be done with no money but it does require a lot of time.  In fact, it requires a life long commitment to living a healthy life.

Tips to avoid greed:

• Reasonable time frame for losing weight is 1 to 2lbs per week.  Any program that promises you more is either unhealthy or lying to you.
• The best gym equipment you can get is a pair of comfortable running / walking shoes and those shouldn’t cost you more than $50 or $60.  If you’re paying more for gear, you’re wasting money.

Sloth

Another obvious one.  If you spend your days sitting on the couch doing nothing, you’re not leading a healthy lifestyle.  Again, this is a no brainer and yet it’s the number 2 problem for most people, right behind gluttony.  Again, it’s fairly simple folks.  Our bodies evolved in a lifestyle that demanded movement.  We walked, hunted and sometimes ran for our lives.  You don’t need to go out and hunt any mammoths but you should get off your ever expanding butt once in a while.

Tips for avoiding sloth:

• Walk often.  Walking is amazing exercise and you should do it as often as you can.  Walk to the store, walk to work, walk for fun.  Walk for 30 minutes or more EVERY DAY.
• Watching TV is probably the worst possible use for your time.  It dulls your brain and ruins your body.  Unless you’re watching PBS while doing jumping jacks and push ups, you should think about turning that idiot tube off and finding something better to do with your time.
• Workout.  Your muscles need a challenge.  They were designed for hunting, you’re using them for typing.  Go find something heavy and lift it multiple times.
• Have fun.  The best workouts are the ones you don’t consider a workout.  Find a hobby that includes a lot of movement and do it often.  That new hobby could be dancing, hiking, biking or horse back riding.  Whatever it is, enjoy it.

Lust

Ooooh, my favorite.   Actually, lust isn’t really a sin when it comes to fitness.  Sex can be a great exercise, especially if you get a bit energetic about it.  For those of you who can achieve this “workout routine”, 20 minutes of wild sex, three times a day is a great way to get your daily exercise!

Tips for lust:

• err… I’m going to stay quiet on this one.  If you really need sex tips, I’m pretty sure you can find them on the internet somewhere…

Vanity

Vanity is both good and bad when it comes to fitness.  Yes, it feels good to look good and being fit can certainly help in the looks department.  In that respect, a little vanity is a good thing because it’s great motivation.  However, vanity can also be a bad thing when we focus too much on our looks and stop thinking about our health.  That’s because modern culture has given us an image of what is beautiful that is not very healthy.  Stick thin models are considered the ideal, which is doing horrible things to our body image and self confidence.

Tips for avoiding the pitfalls of vanity:

• Avoid the magazines.  The pictures they show are unhealthy, not to mention frequently photoshopped.  Want to see a healthy ideal?  Go see dancers perform or go to an amateur sporting event.  Those folks are healthy and they look great.
• If you start adopting unhealthy habits in the name of your looks, please see a professional.  If you’re starving yourself, purging after meal or any other kind of destructive behavior, please seek help.  I am not an expert but as someone who has struggled with some body image issues, I hope you get better and I wish you the very best.
• Keep in mind that low weight does NOT equal good health.  If you’re focusing on weight alone, you’re not focusing on being healthy.

Envy

Ahh envy, my old friend.  We always want what we don’t have and that can be a good thing sometimes, if it’s used as motivation.  For example, when I first started out reshaping my life, I was very envious of those who were in great shape.  Then I realized that being fit was something I could accomplish on my own.  That’s the interesting thing about fitness and health.  Sure, you may not be an Olympic athlete, but you can be really healthy if you try.  You don’t need to be envious of those who are fit, you just need to use them as an example.

Tips for the envy crowd:

• If you’re curious about how someone got so fit, ask them.  Believe me, most gym goers would be flattered if you ask them for advice.
• Remember, fitness isn’t something you buy with money.  That’s a good thing because it means that, with enough time, you can be fit too.   No need to be jealous
• Find a partner to workout with.  Misery may love company but so does success.

Wrath

And finally wrath, my best friend.  Wrath in fitness is less about anger and more about frustration.  You get on the scale and somehow you’ve gained weight instead of lost it.  You walk in the gym and you’re out of breath within seconds.  You work hard but your blood pressure is still too high.  It’s all so frustrating and you’re tempted to just give up and stop trying.  I know, I’ve been there.

Relax, don’t get frustrated and remember the following things:

• Your body didn’t get the way it did in a week nor can you fix it in a day.  It took years to get where you are and it might take years to get better.  Relax and enjoy the journey.  As long as you’re making good progress, you’re ok.
• Again, find a partner.  It’s a great way of reducing the frustration level.
• Try a boxing workout.  Nothing better to get out some anger out than punching a bag for an hour.
• Find something you enjoy.  The best workout isn’t the one designed for maximum muscle gain, it’s the one you like and will keep doing.  Sure, a workout needs to physically challenge you but it should also be enjoyable or else you’re not going to do it.

Summary

Well, it took some doing but I think I’ve taken a bit of biblical trivia, combined it with an excellent movie and twisted it into a fitness article.  What can I say, I’m an artist!

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On Friday, I’ll do the seven cardinal virtues!

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