Listen To You First

I have many friends who are fans of a workout that promotes an honorable creed to never give up but also one which promotes pushing yourself through the workout until you either puke or pass out before resting. Someone recently asked me my opinion of such an extreme outlook on exercise. My response is as follows:

“I don't believe in beating yourself up until you puke or pass out for any reason. I do believe in honoring the body because it houses our spirit. I believe in listening to what your body is telling you and acting on those God-given instincts. I believe in programs that sustain health for a lifetime without injury. I believe if you’re too tired from pushing beyond fatigue, you may get injured. I believe in moderation in ALL things...extremes are not sustainable. I believe in being passionate, purposeful and driven about what you do but I also believe in maintaining balance.

One other thought is this—when health/fitness programs condition the mind to think in extremes they decondition you to think for yourself. We are bombarded by great marketing and advertising falsehoods telling us they know what's best for us. We have magazines in the fitness industry convincing mass populations they can't live without their muscle inducing supplements. Even breakfast cereal claims to lower your cholesterol by 4% in 6 weeks. (That may be true if you are eating sausage fat bombs every morning and then switch to puffy processed “whole grain” cereal.)

I believe people get out of shape, over-weight, and miserable because they stop listening to themselves first. They let all the "noise" of the world in and the barrage of information shuts down their sense of what they truly need in order to reclaim their best health. Often, decisions to buy into anything fitness comes down to price rather than purpose because their personal filters are on information over-load. I'm a huge believer in educating people about their bodies so they can make smart decisions listening to themselves first and others second. Far more fitness goals will be reached when we understand what our bodies need to feel good, not what the general pop-culture might be gravitating toward.   

All that we ought to know about returning to our original state of health is already ingrained in our inner intelligences. Answers will come if we will just listen and reconnect to the original source of our innate awareness. Instinctive truth cannot be replaced by half-truths mingled with the philosophies (or advertisements) of men. My final advice is always listen to you first and others second.”