Apr
7
I usually link to interesting articles on my weekend roundups. However, I happened to find one article that I thought deserved a bit more discussion. It’s from the New York Times and discusses the limitations of human willpower.
Specifically, the article makes the point that our will power is limited. If we try to use it on something like fitness, we might have less of it for things like finances. Here’s the exact quote from the article:
The brain has a limited capacity for self-regulation, so exerting willpower in one area often leads to backsliding in others.
Multitasking Often Leads To Failures
It’s an interesting assertion and one that has a lot of applicability to fitness and health. I know that I can’t focus on more than project at a time. When I try to do too many things at once, I end up overextended and usually fail at all of them. For example, I recently decided to try and expand my interests. So I picked up some language tapes and tried to learn conversational Chinese. I also started music lessons, something I’ve always wanted to do.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t devote enough attention to either of these pursuits and so I ended up doing badly on both. I never had enough time to practice the new words or notes that I learned and my progress was slow from lesson to lesson. Then I decided to focus on just one thing, the Chinese lessons, and delayed the music lessons until next year. All of a sudden, I was making much better progress.
The Big Bang Theory of Fitness Rarely Works
A similar thing happened when I first started working on my fitness. I wanted to accomplish everything the first week. I had an exercise plan, an eating plan, a plan to cut down on sodas, a plan to jog more and a plan to come up with more plans. It was crazy. I split my will power and focus among so many things that there was no chance of me being successful at any of them.
It Takes a Month To Form a Habit
A few miserable weeks later, I started with a new approach. I made gradual changes, one or two at a time. No big bang theories for me. No more trying to do everything at once. Instead I picked one or two things and worked on them until they no longer seemed like work. Remember, it takes at least a month for something to become a habit and you need something to become a habit before you move on to the next thing. I waited until a change had become ingrained into my life before moving on to the next change I wanted to make.
Prioritize Your Goals
There are probably a few things you want to do. Some of them may be health related and some may not. They all require focus and attention, which means you can’t do all of them at once. What you need to do is be selective. Make a list of the goals you want to accomplish and the things you want to do. For example, here is my list:
- Save money by eating at home more
- Get rid of excess furniture and clutter in home
- Get my graduate degree
- Eat more vegetables
- Learn another language
- Learn a musical instrument
- Start a hiking blog
- Start a movie blog
- Get a promotion at work
- Weigh 200lbs
- Run marathon
These aren’t in order of priority and I don’t think I could easily prioritize them since they’re all so different in terms of time requirements. However, I can already see a few that I simply don’t have time for. For example, #3, 7 and 8 are all long term goals that require quite a bit of work. I just don’t have the time right now to work on an extra two blogs since a lot of my time for the next two years is going to be devoted to school. #5 and #6 are similar in that they’re learning a new skill. I doubt I can do both at the same time so one of them will have to go.
So after looking at all of these things, I can cut down my goal list to the following:
- Save money by eating at home more
- Get rid of excess furniture and clutter in home
- Get my graduate degree
- Eat more vegetables
- Learn another language
- Get a promotion at work
- Weigh 200lbs
- Run marathon
Now if I do #4 and #8, that probably means my weight will go down. So let’s remove #7 since I’ll be working on it through other goals. #1 and #4 are related, so why don’t I just combine them into one goal that will be easier to follow.
- Prepare at least two vegetable base meals at home per week
- Get rid of excess furniture and clutter in home
- Get my graduate degree
- Learn another language
- Get a promotion at work
- Run marathon
So now I have 6 goals. It’s still a lot but, since each of these is different, I can probably manage these as is. When school starts, I might want to cut back my language lessons but we’ll see.
Try It Yourself
This isn’t a hard exercise. Just write down a list of very specific goals. They can’t be too general like “I want to be healthy.” Instead, they need to be as specific as possible. Then take a look at your list. Is there a lot of overlap? Are there goals that can be combined? If you have too many similar goals, you’ll never accomplish them all. Make sure you pick a few that you can work on at the same time. That means you shouldn’t pick two goals that have the same time requirements. For example, if you pick two goals, both of which require you to go to some kind of weekend lesson, you probably should eliminate one of them.
What you end up with should be a short list of goals or things to do. Each of them should be unique and there shouldn’t be much overlap in terms of requirements from you. Now you can start detailing each of these goals with specific steps you need to take.
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It’s easy to write down a bunch of things you want to do. Unfortunately, trying to do them all at the same time is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. Pick your battles and your goals. Do a few things, do them well and make them into a habit before you move on to something new.
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Mar
31
Schedule Your Exercise
Filed Under Motivation, Time Management, Work Out | 6 Comments
How many times have you canceled your workouts because you were going out? How many times have you cut them short because of some social appointment? Have you ever gotten in your car to drive to the gym and then decide that you simply have something else to do or somewhere else to be? If you have, then you’re not alone.
I used to do this on a regular basis. It was never intentional, I simply have a busy life and things would pile up. I had appointments, meetings, friends to see, family to have dinner with and in the middle of it all, my workouts were relegated to a lower priority. I knew that I needed to work out but when faced with the choice of going to the gym or going to hang out with friends, I always chose to avoid the gym.
Then I discovered a quick and simple method to avoid this problem, my calendar.
Schedule It!
I’ve been using calendars for years. I have one for work through Microsoft Outlook and one for personal activities on Google Calendar. Because I hate forgetting appointments, I put every single activity on these calendars. Meetings, dinners, conference calls, movies with friends, they all go on my calendars. That way I avoid scheduling conflicts where I accidentally book myself for two different events at the same time plus I can set reminders. These reminders pop up ahead of the event and remind me that I need to do something.
Unfortunately, even though I’ve been using calendars for years, I never thought to actually schedule my workouts. The gym was something I did in my spare time, right? So I just assumed I would find some time for it everyday. Well, guess what? I didn’t. Until that is, I started seeing the gym as an important activity that I shouldn’t avoid, and that’s when I started scheduling it.
Gym Appointments
If you don’t use any kind of calendar, I would recommend starting. It’s a very useful organizational tool that comes in quite handy in all areas of your life. I use Google Calendar which you can get a free account for right here. Because it’s online, I can see my schedule from any computer. Google Calendar also allows me to share my calendar with other people. So I can put appointments on it which my wife sees. For you readers out there in a relationship, giving each other visibility into our calendars has been one of the best relationship tools my wife and I found! But since this is a fitness blog and not a relationship blog, I’ll stick to telling you about my scheduled workouts. 
Schedule a recurring appointment. This is an appointment that occurs multiple times. Any calendar will let you do this. You can set something up like “every weekday between 3 and 4:30pm” or “every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday between noon and 1pm.” Whateveryour gym schedule is, set it up with a specific time and day. Now just follow this schedule.
Stick To Your Schedule
You have no idea how much this little tip helped me. Putting my workouts on my calendar increased my success rate (the percentage of times I was supposed to be at the gym and actually went) from somewhere in the 50% to above 95%. I still miss the occasional workout but it’s usually due to serious issues.
Extra Tips
- Think about letting people know about your gym time - Some people will respect gym time and some will not. I have my gym time on my calendar as “Personal Quality Control”. My wife and friends know what this is and they respect that. I’m also honest with those coworkers who ask about it and I let them know that this time is important to me. I have no problem meeting with them during this time but they better wear their gym clothes to this meeting and be ready to sweat. Everyone else simply sees an appointment on my schedule and assumes that they shouldn’t schedule meetings for this time.
- Add others to your gym appointments - One of the best benefits of a gym partner is the extra incentive to actually show up. It’s easy to skip the occasional workout when it’s just you. It’s not so easy when someone else is counting on you to show up. So schedule you gym appointments and then see if anyone else wants to go with you.
- Don’t forget the commute time - Make sure your gym appointment includes enough time to get to and from the gym.
- Not too late - Late night workouts will sometimes cause sleep issues. Try to finish your workouts two to three hours before your bed time.
- Make it regular - Try not to change your workout schedule too often. A regular day and time really helps you get into the gym habit.
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Your workout time is just as important as any other meeting. In fact, it may be more important than most since I can’t think of too many conference calls I’ve attended lately that can prolong and improve my life. Why not treat it like the important appointment it is and get it on your schedule?
UPDATE - One of my readers sent me in a link to the schedule application they like to use. I looked at it and it seems like it has some neat features. So I figured I would add a link to it here.
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Mar
14
Where’s My Motivation?
Filed Under Motivation | 3 Comments
I’ve talked about motivation plenty of times before. I think it’s the most important part of any plan you make to get fit and healthy. I can give you a thousand useful tips for exercise and eating, but without motivation, your plan will always fail. Sure, we all know that good health can lead to a long and healthy life, but that’s a sort of ephemeral goal that’s hard to picture. We need things that are more concrete and immediate to really motivate us. Well, I thought I would give you a list of the things that motivate me as a way of inspiring you to find your own motivation.
My Wife
I want to spend a long and healthy life with my wife. We enjoy many physical activities and I’d like to be able to do them for a very long time. Looking at her gives me motivation to control my eating. When she’s not around, I have my wedding band to remind me of her.
Maui Marathon
I signed up for a marathon in September and I’m currently training for it. I picked a beautiful spot (Hawaii) where we’ll spend a couple of days after the marathon enjoying ourselves and recovering from the run. This gives me a very real incentive to keep training and keep running. I want to do well and get a good time. I took my marathon entry form and hung it up at the office in a place where it’s always visible while I work. That way I’m always aware of this goal.
Sleep
I’m tired of sleeping badly. I want to sleep without snoring and without sleep apnea. This gives me incentive to watch my weight.
Physical Activities
Ever since I got in better shape, I’ve found several physical activities that I really enjoy doing. Chief among them is hiking. So I make hiking plans for the weekends by myself or with friends and coworkers. This gives me a constant reminder of why I’m in shape. It’s also a good way to keep motivated during the weekend, a time when many people seem to forget all about healthy eating and fitness.
Pictures
My mom has this old picture of me from the height of my unhealthy days. It’s a good thing to look at sometimes and remind myself that this is who I used to be. Some people would think that this is negative motivation, a way of scaring myself into shape, but it’s not. For me, this is positive motivation. I know how hard I worked to get to where I am today and looking at this picture reminds me that I once thought being in shape would be impossible.
60 in 3
Yep, this blog isn’t just to help others, it’s also to help me. 60 in 3 forces me to stay current on health news. It allows me to make my goals public which in turn makes me more aware of them. It’s a daily reminder of who I am these days.
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Did you notice something about all these ways in which I motivate myself? Each and every one of them has some kind of immediate reminder. Whether it’s my wife, my hobbies or a simple sheet of paper hanging on the wall above my desk, I’m surrounded by things that I can look at and go “ahh, THAT’s why I stay in shape.”
What motivates you and how do you remind your self of it?
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Feb
8
The Value of Public Goals
Filed Under Communication, Motivation | 2 Comments
On Monday I shared a few of my goals for the month of February. Following that conversation, I happened to talk to a few of my friends about my business trip. I was describing the quality of food that was available at one of my meetings when one of them commented “so much for no candy this month…”
Now I did have a bit of chocolate fondue on my strawberries at the dinner I was describing to them but I had rationalized it to myself as “that’s not candy”. So while we talked I replied that I was still on track. However, at the next day’s dinner, I found myself leaving the dessert tray alone. I realized that those around me knew about my goals and my pride would not allow me to come close to breaking those goals.
It was an interesting realization for me, just how much I care about the opinion of those around me, especially my friends. I don’t believe I’m a vain or shallow person who only cares about what others think of him, but the opinions of people who I care about do matter to me.
So what’s the lesson in all this? Well, the lesson is in how important it is to share information about your goals with others around you. Tell your friends and family about what you’re trying to accomplish. It will get them on your side, it will get you some help on occasion and it will motivate you to stick to those goals. I firmly believe that motivation is 90% of the key to good health. So if this helps your motivation then it’s a good thing.
Also, if you’re on the receiving end of communications about health goals, be sure to be supportive. I think that’s something I’ve failed at a few times in the past but I’m trying to change. The people around us can be our best allies or our worst enemies when it comes to health and I’m going to try and be much more supportive.
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Good communication and a supportive network of friends, coworkers and family are some of your best weapons when it comes to motivation and good health.
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Feb
1
The Best Workout
Filed Under Exercise, Motivation, Work Out | 1 Comment
At least once a month for the past four years, ever since I started working out, someone asks me some variation of “are you getting on the treadmill after weights? I thought it was better the other way around?” So I wanted to take a little bit of time and answer this question in detail.
Is It Better To Do Cardio Before Weights?
First, yes, everything I read tells me that cardio before weights is actually better. It seems like a short duration cardio exercise will actually increase your heart rate and give you a better workout overall.
So Why Do Cardio After Weights?
The simple answer is, because it feels better. Cardio makes me sweat and it bores me to some degree. Once I’m done with it, I want to shower and be done with the gym. So while in an ideal world, I would get a better workout if I lifted weights after cardio, in the real world, I may not go back to those weights after I’m done with the cardio. So I’m better off running after my weight training than running and then not doing anything at all.
The Best Workout Is the One That Works For You
Which brings us to the most important point in all this. The best workout for you is the one you feel most comfortable with. Every week I see articles about the “Navy Seal Workout” or the “300 workout” and they all claim to give the perfect balance of cardio, weights and whatever the newest exercise fad is. You know what? None of that matters. If you don’t find a workout that you’re comfortable with and enjoy (or at least don’t hate), you’re not going to work out. Eventually, you will stop working out because it’s really hard to convince yourself to do something you hate day after day.
The best workout will be one that you can keep doing day after day for the rest of your life, and if that means sacrificing a bit in terms of efficiency then so be it. If running after weights makes the workout less boring, then do it. It’s better than not lifting weights at all because running bores you. If you really really hate swimming, then maybe you should find some other physical activity to do even if it slightly less beneficial to your body. Whatever part of your workout is making you miserable, you need to find an alternative.
All Things Within Reason
Now, as with all things, you do need to use some common sense here. If your notion of an acceptable workout is to watch the superbowl while eating a pizza then you’re going to have issues. However, as long as your workout has some resistance training, includes some exercises that work out all of your major muscle groups and includes a bit of cardio, you’re probably fine. Do try to challenge yourself and feel free to try new things, but don’t force yourself to do something you hate just for that last 2% of efficiency. If the end result is you not working out than are you really getting that 2% extra efficiency?
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Remember, the best workout is the one you feel comfortable with and can do every day for the rest of your life. If your workout is making you miserable, then something has to change, before you decide to never workout at all.
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Jan
18
Keep Your Motivation With You
Filed Under Motivation | 3 Comments
In the old days, a knight going off to battle would take a keepsake with him from his beloved. This could be something as simple as a piece of jewelry or a small scrap of cloth. In later years, soldiers going off to wars would take pictures of their wives or letters from home to remind them of what they were fighting for. Now you’re probably asking yourself, what the heck does this have to do with fitness? The answer is, a lot.
Motivation Is Key
Those pictures, rings or letters probably didn’t stop any bullets or deflect any swords, but they did something just as important, they provided motivation. They reminded those men that they had a reason to stay alive and that’s a very valuable weapon. The same applies to fitness and health. In fact, I would say motivation is probably the most important factor in your health.
I can teach you a hundred little tricks for exercising while traveling and a thousand ideas for healthy meals but they could all be summed up with “eat healthy, be active.” So if fitness is that easy, why isn’t everyone fit? The answer is motivation. We know that coke is bad for us but it’s right there and we really want to drink it. We know we should take a walk but that episode of American Idol just started and we really want to see what smart ass remark Simon comes up with. We know we could be healthier but we find a thousand reasons to not do anything about it.
Your Mind At Work
Let me ask you a question, how many times have you rationalized something unhealthy to yourself in the past week? Be honest. How many times have you told yourself “Oh, it’s just a little candy bar, I’ll make up for it later today” or “come on, it’s too late to go to the gym”? How many times have you done something you know is unhealthy but you did it anyway?
The problem is that health and fitness are these vague, long term goals, while that chocolate bar has an immediate and obvious reward. It’s hard to see the impact that one missed workout has, but it’s easy to see the immediate reward that sitting on the couch or surfing the web has. We know health and fitness are important, but it’s just hard to visualize that and put it into perspective next to the immediate and very tangible rewards of unhealthy activities.
Keeping It Real
So here’s where the knight analogy comes in. Those men in armor knew what they were fighting for just like those soldiers realized why they were on the battlefield. However, they took those keepsakes with them as a way of making what they already knew into something real and tangible. It’s hard to remember concepts like freedom when you’re in a war, but it’s very easy to look at a picture of your wife or kids and see exactly why you should stay alive.
Well, this concept applies to fitness and health as well. It’s hard to look at a chocolate bar and remember why fitness and health are important enough for you to give up that immediate reward. So why not keep something with you that makes things a bit more real? For example, my wedding ring. It’s a reminder to me of all those things I keep healthy for. I want to spend many long and healthy years with my wife. I love going dancing with her. I have plans like hiking through South America or sailing through the Mediterranean with her. All of these are reasons to stay healthy and that ring is an immediate and tangible reminder of them. It’s a lot easier to look at that ring and say to myself “I shouldn’t eat this candy bar because I love my wife and I’m going hiking up Masada with her” than it is to say “I shouldn’t eat this candy bar because it will raise my body fat % and cause my heart disease risk to rise by a small percentage”. One of these things is tangible and immediate, the other is vague and hard to visualize. That’s why the first works as motivation and the second fails all too often.
Find Your Motivation and Hang On To It (Literally)
So find something that motivates you. Maybe it’s wanting to play outdoors with your kids or learning to salsa with your wife. Maybe it’s a picture of that mountain you’ve always planned to climb or the beach you want to explore. Whatever it is, find it and then keep a physical reminder of it with you at all times. If you’re trying to rationalize an unhealthy habit to yourself, take a look at that item and remind yourself why your health is important. It works a lot better than trying to visualize your cholesterol level
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Jan
14
Losing Friends Over Health?
Filed Under Communication, Motivation | 3 Comments
I mentioned in yesterday’s weekend workout that at some point in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, you may need to make a choice between health and hanging out with friends. This morning I got an email from a reader who asked me whether I had lost or chosen to lose friends over health. This seemed unreasonable to them and they didn’t think we should make sacrifices like these just to be healthier.
Personal Experience
The answer is, no, I have never chosen to lose a friend simply because I wanted to be healthier. That thought never even occurred to me. What I did do is change the time I spend with my friends. I used to go to the movies with them almost every weekend, spend many late nights playing video games and go to a variety of fast food place.
These days, we still go to movies but much less frequently. Instead, we go hiking every once in a while or spend time at the farmer’s market. I’ve also made better choices in my meal options and I rarely find myself at fast food places. Finally, I have cut down the video game time considerably and replaced it with more quality time at home, with my wife. I haven’t lost any friends and I don’t believe I have weakened any friendships. In fact, I have found my friends to be understanding and supportive of all the changes I am making in my life.
So no, there’s no reason to think that you will lose friends just because you want to be healthier. Who knows, maybe one of your friends will wind up being your gym buddy.
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