Free Yourself

         

            In the fitness world, some trainers put a lot of restrictions on their clients on what they think is good for them and what isn’t. I'm not saying all do this but some do and many people in general put restrictions on themselves by doing this for that and whatever. I do believe if you're injured, than it’s best to heal and get yourself better however; if you restrict yourself what you are told to do than you're limiting what could be incredible for you to achieve.

            It’s important to remind yourself about what you can use to exercise with while you’re going about your day. Some people go for a run and that’s it which isn't a bad thing but there’s more you can do without even letting anyone know. Others drive over to the gym, do a little cardio and lift a few weights then get the hell out of dodge but for me, there’s more to use. You can get in a workout anywhere you want and no one will ever know for example; you're out grocery shopping and you're in your favorite aisle how do you exercise there?

There’s Isometrics where you grip and squeeze your cart for a few seconds or squeeze and twist the wrists, a few sets of those for 8-10 seconds and there’s a workout at the grocery store.

Here’s another example, you're at a red light (and only do this when you’re out driving), what can you do while you waiting for the light to turn green? Well, one can be to bring your hands together and push for a few seconds, than grab the steering wheel, you can push and pull in different directions for a few seconds each. It’s about making the time no matter where you go or what you do.

            You want to talk about freeing yourself of restrictions, go outside on a beautiful day and just play and move around, don't analyze what you're suppose to do, have fun and forget sets and reps schemes. Be a wild animal, if you got a long piece of rope; do some battling ropes and make the rope wave with power and velocity, jump up and down, go for a hike do what makes you happy. If the weather is good, take advantage of it. In the summer when I’m in Lake Tahoe with my family, all bets are off and just go swimming, lift and climb up on the rocks, pull-ups while hanging on the docks, wall sit on the trees, lift up logs; it’s all part of exercising and training without limiting yourself.

            The key ingredient to free yourself from restrictions is to create your own program. Be your own trainer because no one knows your body better than you do. If you have to start out slow, that’s fine build yourself up. None of us are perfect and we all can’t do the same training as some others. Our bodies aren't built equally so we have to learn certain things that are structured to our build. You don't need a six pack to look super awesome but if that’s what you want to do than find a way to do it. Don't try to build yourself like someone else; theirs is taken so build yourself the way you were meant to. Be creative and have fun because being on a restricted program feels like being chained up and you can only do so much which isn't much at all so break free and build your body and mind for yourself. 

Up Keeping Your Conditioning

            When you find different ways to condition your body, it’s important to keep them going until you move on to the next method. However, some of us like me can’t always keep up with what we want to do or get bored easily so now what? We improvise and become creative. When I say upkeep I don’t always mean tuning your exercises or routine but my way of up keeping is to train as daily as possible whether for 5 min. or 1 hour. It keeps you on your toes and you feel a sense of accomplishment.

            Make your goals interesting, don’t always be a straight arrow and generic with “I’m doing this to lose weight or doing that to build strength” and my personal favorite “Just to look good the season.” Those are great goals to have but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Go after your goals but put in a little extra something that keeps your goals interesting like adding an animal exercise for fun or slap in some isometrics that you always wanted to learn. I always believed in the value of having fun and challenging yourself with a smile because most look at it as punishment when in reality it’s all in their head. If you’re not having fun then your goals won’t be that satisfying or worth it.

            Whether you practice one method or many, it’s important to keep yourself progressing. The upkeep of exercise is not always what you have to do on a certain day or you have to do this or that at a specific time. Make it a habit to keep up with yourself, that’s the secret to up keeping your conditioning is by up keeping yourself. I practice a lot of things so I have many ways to keep up with my mind and how my body reacts to what I want to do. For some they focus on one method and believe it’s the end-all be all which is great for them but that’s only part of the puzzle. Training is like a puzzle, in your mind there are either so many pieces to put together or you have chunks of pieces and you have only a few to put together either way there’s something to put together. You can create your own puzzle, no one can build it for you, the question is what do you want to put together that creates what you want?

            There are 24 hours in a day yet most people don’t realize they can get in a kick ass workout in under less than 10 minutes, why because they don’t have the ambition and the motivation. It’s sad because if only they knew that even one small workout or spreading your exercises throughout the day can have a profound effect even on the toughest of schedules. Learn to remind yourself that it’s OK to not have a hardcore workout and train 4-5 hours a day, that’s impossible for most people, hell to me that’s way too much, put in a few minutes here and there; on a break, do a few push-ups and squats, got kids, play with them that’s a lot of exercise in itself and before you conk out on your bed do a couple minutes of stretches, it’s about working on what’s best for you. Make the time even if it’s a small chunk of your day.

            Start with 1 min. if that’s all you have, build it up by 30 seconds each time you train and before you know it, you’d have done 15 min. worth of exercise throughout the day. It’s not complicated, make it work for you and you will find it easier to get things done. Now get to it. Want to know what’s funny, if you read this, you can certainly do a few exercises. Watch your favorite TV show and do some exercise during the commercials, doesn't have to be a lot of reps, do what’s comfortable. Keep up with yourself, don’t try to keep up with everyone else.