The amazing thing about our mindset is how quickly it can change.  Thanks for sharing the video with me Jules (on your blog)…  

Another quick story about mindset.  A friend of mine who I’ve been trying to help with her weight loss goals mentioned to me one weekend that she went into the gym, that she was pretty sluggish, maybe a little down, low on energy.  She had no intention of having a really great workout on the treadmill.  That was her mindset.  It was going to be a mediocre workout.

She decided to step on the scale to see how her progress was coming along.

She had dropped 9 pounds since her last weigh in (maybe a week or 2 before).  Suddenly, her mindset changed.  She proceeded to have the best workout of her life that day.

Obviously 9 pounds is not a typical weight drop for most people, and not something we should be aiming for (that’s not really the point of this story).  It was a great example to me, of how powerful our mindset governs our focus and intensity in everything we do…although we are not always in control over our mood and our mindset, if we realize how it relates to our ultimate success, perhaps we can be more mindful of how we are thinking each moment…and stay a little more positive about what we are trying to do.

Ok, so I’m guilty of it too — I’ve seen lots of things that talk about creating a collage of photos and words of what we want, or what we want to become…the latest thing to repeat this idea is the movie, The Secret.  I’ve often thought to myself, I don’t really need that to remind me of what I want.  Well, like many things, it is often the small things we do, that really add up to something big.

Reminding ourselves, is exactly the point.  With our busy schedules, we are often too caught up in each moment to remember the things we really want.  In the context of losing weight, we have to remember what we are trying to do, and use things to remind us whenever possible.  Why?  I know you might be saying, “I don’t want to become obsessed with losing weight!” — yes, that is not necessarily a good thing…but depending on how you look at it, it could be a good thing if you aren’t doing things that interfere with your life in negative ways!  Perhaps obsessed is a little too strong a word.

It is each little reminder that gives us the focus we need, to make the right decisions each day, that really add up.  That picture of the body you want to achieve, taped to your refrigerator, may give you just one more reason not to eat the wrong thing, at times of weakness.  A post it on your computer monitor at work, might remind you that you shouldn’t be going out to eat with co-workers today when they ask you.  And over time, these small reminders can make a really big difference (in theory).

Here’s a little experiment for you if you watch TV every night.  Tape a piece of paper on your TV (not on the screen silly!), that says something like:

Monday – Lunges
Tuesday – Pushups
Wednesday – Situps
Thursday – Curls

(or a photo of what you are trying to achieve will do…but sometimes being more specific can translate into more “structure”)

These little reminders may be enough to get you off the couch during a commercial, and do 30 lunges (each leg), or 15 pushups, or whatever it may be.  Sounds silly, but if you watch TV consistently, maybe you can exercise consistently too?

This idea struck me as interesting, as I decided to do squats today while I was brushing my teeth in my hotel room.  What if we reminded ourselves to do this every day?  I know, sounds a bit strange…but since nobody’s watching…

Have a great week!

Whenever we work with someone for who is beginning a new diet or exercise program, we often see that lack of structure (among other things) has a lot to do with less-then-desired results.  It seems to make sense, that those who are more detailed about what they are doing, those who track it on paper, will usually do better overall. 

I’m not one to track everything, so I know that this is often a personality trait…to be very detailed about everything…or to just wing it.  The problem is, when we have the best intentions to eat properly, our lack of detail often obscures what we are doing so much, that we often are not as good as we might perceive.  This means, that we might eat really great for a day or two, and these two “perfect” days outshadow the days we are not-so-perfect.  We end up losing track of how consistent we’ve been, although we know we did eat perfectly for some days during the week.  So when we haven’t lost weight after a week, we try to think back to the days we ate really well, and we get frustrated that they didn’t make a difference…”what’s the point?” we might think to ourselves.

The same goes for exercise.  Especially when we are trying to figure out what exercises really make a difference.  When we do random exercises as they may pop into our heads at the gym, there becomes a sense of confusion about how our actions relate to our results, and we expect to see things happen really quickly…when we don’t see immediate results, we wonder if it’s worth it at all.

Ultimately, the inability to look at how our actions are tied to our consequences, leads to frustration, and we often give up…because we just don’t feel like we are getting anywhere.

So…whether we are detail-oriented or not, we must find some structure in order to feel like we have control over our results.  This may be having a workout partner who’s better at it, or even a coach or trainer, or dietician who develops progress logs for you – so you can see how it all ties together.  Ultimately, if we want to increase our chances for success, I think we need to face facts, that writing things down is going to make a big difference.

So…if you are frustrated with not getting very far…get a notebook, and start logging away!

Everything is relative in terms of our exercise behaviors, and sometimes ANY exercise is better than no exercise, that is for SURE!

However, I often try steer people away from cardiovascular machines like bikes and eliptical machines, not because they aren’t good forms of exercise, but because the allow us to be lazy and rationalize while we exercise!  Everything I say should always be taken with a grain of salt…because there are always arguments against what I am saying…I just try to get the main idea across sometimes.

As human beings, we are constantly finding rationalizations about why we don’t have to do what we know is good for us…it is when we can be truly honest about these things, when we can realize the results we really are after!

Every person is different when it comes to “pushing” themselves during exercise.  Some people I know are gluttons for punishment, and they can push themselves too hard…but from experience this is not the norm.  Most people “prefer” these exercises because they seem easier than the treadmill or stairmaster….and most of the time they are!  It is because WE control the workout pace and intensity, and at any given moment, when it becomes slightly uncomfortable, we ease back and slow down.

One of the key concepts of achieving consistent and substantial results in a fitness program is workout intensity.  This is something that we each must learn about ourselves as we begin, and it often takes a month or so to really feel comfortable pushing our body to its own limits.  This varies greatly from one person to the next, just as willpower and pain thresholds vary.  (Also one of the reasons why it really helps to have a trainer that helps to find your limits with you).

The faster you can find your limits, and push beyond them, the faster your results will come.  It’s really a balance, because pushing too hard can be discouraging because it is so uncomfortable, and pushing too little just ends up feeling like a waste of time because we don’t see much progress.  So this whole process, about learning how to go outside of our “comfort zone”, is something each of us must find as it is always different for each of us.

So when we compare a treadmill workout to an eliptical, if we set a treadmill to 4.0mph and decide we are going to walk for 30 minutes, it is often different than getting on an eliptical machine for 30 minutes.  The simple act of pressing the decrease speed button on the treadmill is enough of a difference to keep us working a little harder, because on an eliptical, there are no buttons to push, we simply slow down whenever we like, and it’s not so much a finite decision we are making.

I’m not saying that you can’t get a GREAT workout on an eiliptical machine…but I am saying we all may have the tendency to be lazy if we can be…

An update based on some of Vickie’s comments!

I don’t mean to simplify things and just flat out say, the treadmill is better than the eliptical.   Because the reasons why we exercise all together is so complex, I’d never want anyone to take me too literally.  Of course, among the biggest factors in adherence to any long-term program, is that you enjoy (ok, maybe that is too strong a word!) what you are doing…so if you HATE the treadmill, or you are absolutely SICK of it, then do what you WILL consistently do!  (There are ways to measure your intensity better on bikes and elipticals, by checking your heart rate, etc)

This entry isn’t meant to declare the treadmill as “lord of the exercise machines” – because as Vickie mentioned, the rowing machine can be more efficient at burning calories (as can many other options).  I sometimes oversimplify things just to get a specific idea across…this one being, if you choose an exercise that is very self regulated (in terms of intensity level), you run the risk of going easier on yourself.  Not a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind if you want to maximize your results and minimize the time it takes!

I am by no means saying that the 90 minute spin class I take on Saturdays is easy at all!