Off?

Off day? Off week? Off year? I don't mean a day, week, or year off from working out, although it can apply. 

You have had an "off day", perhaps an "off week", and if you are like me, you've even had an "off year".

Everyone has these: your role models, your favorite athletes, even the person you think has their life most together.

Even if you live a healthy and positive lifestyle, you will surely wake up to one of these discouraging types of days.

Just remember nothing lasts forever. 

Bad doesn't last.

Good doesn't even last.

When I'm having a miserable day, I try to excite myself about the next day.

The next day is a new day, and anything can happen on a new day.

Sometimes you just have to grind through a day, or a week, or a year. Just don't make it a lifetime.

Reset each day. Put the past behind you and formulate a plan to avoid feeling dejected.

PR Every Day

The gym is an amusement park and your progress is a roller coaster ride.

There will be days you feel up high and invincible.

There will also be days you feel down low and pathetic.

Some days everything feels hard.

Some days your motivation is absent.

Some days you feel you can't do what you did just a month ago.

Some days you feel you aren't getting better at an exercise.

Some days you feel you are beginning to go backwards.

Some days you think "How did I do this before?" or "I'll never be able to do this."

I've been there so many times.

Confidence is low.

Frustration is high.

These are the hardest days to stay the course.

On days like these, it is important to improve upon something, even though it will feel insignificant.

Don't be picky with what it is...

It doesn't have to be hoisting max weight.

It may be cranking out more reps than before.

Or it may be an extra set.

It might even be the use of better form.

Even if the rest of your workout was junk, if you're able to PR in anything for the day, it is a job well done.

The seemingly insignificant daily improvements are what lead to long term successes.

Set some kind of PR today.

Do something today that you didn't do yesterday.

You Don't Care

I know....

It's obvious that not everyone values health/fitness in the same ways.

You may not care about being healthy and fit as much as you think I think you should.

You probably think it doesn't matter that much to be doing things correctly and most effectively.

That just being present is good enough.

Or better than nothing.

"Better than nothing" is pretty on par with doing the minimum.

And doing the minimum isn't "good enough."

You may be able to get by with doing the minimum. For a little while anyway.

But wouldn't you rather thrive than just get by?

I don't mean just in fitness, but also life in general.

Fitness provides you the opportunity to establish habits that will directly benefit your everyday life.

One habit is accountability.

Not the accountability to show up to the workout.

Not the accountability to work hard. You can work hard and still not have a purpose.

It's the accountability to get the most out of everything you do.

You invest time and money to work out with me. Don't you want to make the most of that investment?

You already hate coming to see me.

There's no way for you to escape once you walk through the front door.

You might as well make the hour of agony count.

Make the miserable hour a productive one, not an unproductive one.

Care about your training and your health status.

Pay attention. 

Train, and do things with a purpose.

Saturday Night Binge

Only two things have kept me off Netflix this afternoon - the Patriots’ game, and the writing of this blog post. Over the last eight hours, I have done little more than get pissed off, watching ‘Making a Murderer’. If you aren't engrossed along with me, my guess is you have either…

1. already watched it
2. decided you will watch it soon
3. done the same with a different TV series

Viewing in bulk presents the following problems - you don’t get a damn thing done, your legs fall asleep from too much sitting, and you begin to incorrectly identify yourself as an expert in the subject matter. Of course, the convenience of getting to finish each episode commercial-free, and the immediately available next episode, obviously eclipse the aforementioned problems. The ultimate effect is that you are a satisfied viewer.

Unlike binge watching, binge exercising lacks positive effects. If you work out for ten days in a row, then proceed to skip the gym for the next ten, you won’t see progress. Yo-yo exercising is close to as ineffective (for health benefits) as not exercising at all. You've lost 12 pounds over the last 15 days - and that’s great. But if you fail to continue your efforts, you will certainly re-gain those 12, plus more.

In order to reap the benefits of working out, one must adhere to a long term plan. Consistency is the most important factor.

Steven Avery spent 18 years in prison as an innocent man. You can manage bettering your health with consistent exercise for a year.