If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say “ I hate exercise” or “I can't exercise”, I would be a very wealthy woman. I've been teaching group fitness classes for nearly 20 years now, either in a voluntary capacity, or for employment. My answer is always the same. “you just haven't found something you love to do yet”. Exercise is not a chore once you find something that fits with personal meaning, it's simply semantics. For some people finding a reason to exercise could be nothing more than the fun factor, or maybe its because the after effects of exercise make people think better about themselves. Others may exercise because of aesthetics and what they perceive as attractive, whilst some people exercise because of the need to be part of a group and enjoy the socialisation. Perhaps it's a little bit of everything. It could be that exercise is a matter of staying physically mobile enough to ensure a quality of life. Losing mobility can mean losing independence, which can lead to social isolation. I have seen first hand how debilitating an accident, illness or disease can be and how radical a change that can bring to someone's life. It doesn't take that much to start being more more responsible for our health, no matter where we are at, and our attitude to 'working out' doesn't have to be all or nothing!.. Everything in moderation is a realistic and achievable approach. Just a little tweak here and there is often
enough to have significant results. Neither is our personal health someone else's problem to deal with. We have created an attitude in society which is always looking at external factors to blame for everything. Once this attitude has become entrenched in our thinking then it can only lead on to the belief that it is solely up to other's to fix us when we are broken, physically, mentally or even spiritually. I tend to think the other way around and in reality it is largely up to ourselves to be more responsible for our own actions and to work in partnership with others who can help us be put back together.
In the exercise industry there is principles which are integral to achieving fitness goals, I think these principles could be used holistically and apply to all aspects of our mental, emotional and spiritual health as well. One thing is for sure and that making a small change in our physical health following these principles, will ultimately affect everything else. Sometimes the question needs to be asked though, do we want to actually move forward? And if so, towards what? Or is staying the same OK? but even the status quo needs a maintenance plan.
Principles:
Individuality
Everyone is different and responds differently.. Some people are able to handle higher volumes of stress while others may not. This is based on a combination of factors like genetic ability, predominance and other factors in your life, chronological or athletic age, and mental state.
Specificity
Improving your ability is very specific. Goals need to be identified in order for motivation to be present and goals to be reached and finding out what motivates is integral to goal setting.
Progression
To reach the roof of your ability, you have to climb the first flight of stairs before you can exit the 20thfloor and stare out over the landscape. You can view this from both a technical skills standpoint as well as from an effort/distance standpoint. Start from the point that you are able to and progress from there.
Overload
To increase strength and endurance, you need to add new resistance or time/intensity to your efforts. This principle works in concert with progression.
Adaptation
Over time the body becomes accustomed to a given level. This is why you need to change the stimulus via higher intensity or longer duration in order to continue improvements.
Recovery
The body cannot repair itself without rest and time to recover. At the basic level, the more you train the more sleep your body needs.
Reversibility
If you discontinue application of a particular exercise you will lose the ability to successfully complete that exercise. The cellular adaptations like increased capillaries (blood flow to the muscles) and mitochondria density will reverse. You can slow this rate of loss substantially by conducting a maintenance/reduced program of training during periods where life gets in the way,.
The principles of specificity, progression, overload, adaptation, and reversibility are why practising frequently and consistently are so important if you want to improve your performance. Missed sessions are lost opportunities for improvement. Missing a week due to a vacation sets you back more than one week (adaptation and reversibility). Apply these principles to your training to get a better understanding of your body and how to achieve success.
As part of the La Fiesta week in Whanganui you can try any one of my exercise classes for free to see if group fitness is for you. Full timetable on www.carlascoachingforhealth.com
Carla
www.facebook.com/pages/Carlas-coaching-for-health
enough to have significant results. Neither is our personal health someone else's problem to deal with. We have created an attitude in society which is always looking at external factors to blame for everything. Once this attitude has become entrenched in our thinking then it can only lead on to the belief that it is solely up to other's to fix us when we are broken, physically, mentally or even spiritually. I tend to think the other way around and in reality it is largely up to ourselves to be more responsible for our own actions and to work in partnership with others who can help us be put back together.
In the exercise industry there is principles which are integral to achieving fitness goals, I think these principles could be used holistically and apply to all aspects of our mental, emotional and spiritual health as well. One thing is for sure and that making a small change in our physical health following these principles, will ultimately affect everything else. Sometimes the question needs to be asked though, do we want to actually move forward? And if so, towards what? Or is staying the same OK? but even the status quo needs a maintenance plan.
Principles:
Individuality
Everyone is different and responds differently.. Some people are able to handle higher volumes of stress while others may not. This is based on a combination of factors like genetic ability, predominance and other factors in your life, chronological or athletic age, and mental state.
Specificity
Improving your ability is very specific. Goals need to be identified in order for motivation to be present and goals to be reached and finding out what motivates is integral to goal setting.
Progression
To reach the roof of your ability, you have to climb the first flight of stairs before you can exit the 20thfloor and stare out over the landscape. You can view this from both a technical skills standpoint as well as from an effort/distance standpoint. Start from the point that you are able to and progress from there.
Overload
To increase strength and endurance, you need to add new resistance or time/intensity to your efforts. This principle works in concert with progression.
Adaptation
Over time the body becomes accustomed to a given level. This is why you need to change the stimulus via higher intensity or longer duration in order to continue improvements.
Recovery
The body cannot repair itself without rest and time to recover. At the basic level, the more you train the more sleep your body needs.
Reversibility
If you discontinue application of a particular exercise you will lose the ability to successfully complete that exercise. The cellular adaptations like increased capillaries (blood flow to the muscles) and mitochondria density will reverse. You can slow this rate of loss substantially by conducting a maintenance/reduced program of training during periods where life gets in the way,.
The principles of specificity, progression, overload, adaptation, and reversibility are why practising frequently and consistently are so important if you want to improve your performance. Missed sessions are lost opportunities for improvement. Missing a week due to a vacation sets you back more than one week (adaptation and reversibility). Apply these principles to your training to get a better understanding of your body and how to achieve success.
As part of the La Fiesta week in Whanganui you can try any one of my exercise classes for free to see if group fitness is for you. Full timetable on www.carlascoachingforhealth.com
Carla
www.facebook.com/pages/Carlas-coaching-for-health
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