I'm reminded of one client who came to me because her doctor recommended a strength program to manage some bone loss. The problem? She hated everything we tried. After some trial and error, I created a workout for her was nothing close to the "rules" - it was a short, light workout that barely taxed her muscles. Maybe this seemed like a waste of time but guess what? Because the workouts felt good to her, she started doing them on her own and it wasn't long before she actually requested heavier weights and harder workouts.
Too often, we force ourselves to follow the "rules" for weight loss and exercise, even if they don't work in our lives. The truth is, rules don't matter if we aren't following them in the first place. If that's the case, we may be better off making our own rules.
Do We Know Too Much?
One reason it's so hard to figure out this weight loss/exercise thing is because of the wealth of information available. There's nothing wrong with searching for information, but it's possible to take things too far. Sometimes, searching for the perfect answer sometimes takes the place of actually doing something and we often take the word of experts over what our own bodies and minds are telling us.
With exercise, as with all things in life, knowing when to bend or break the rules is essential for finding success.
Breaking All the Rules
There are plenty of rules for exercise that we follow because they make sense and they keep us healthy and safe. We have heart rate zones to guide us so we don't hurt our hearts. We have strength training rules that keep us from lifting too frequently and that help us do the moves safely. But, there are other rules of exercise, more like guidelines, that can often keep us from following through with exercise if they don't fit in with our lives, needs and goals.
For example, I got an email recently from a woman desperate to lose weight. She mentioned she'd been trying for years to get up early and exercise and she'd never managed to do it. When I suggested that morning exercise wasn't right for her, she was surprised. She mentioned reading that people who exercise in the morning are more successful at weight loss. My question to her was: If you're not exercising in the morning now, how much weight are you losing anyway? She wrote back, thrilled to know that she could workout any time and still get results.
We're all influenced by what we read or hear. Think of how you approach exercise and what's worked for you in the past and what hasn't. If something isn't working, are you more likely to change what you're doing to make it work or give up because, if you can't follow the "rules," why should you even bother?
Sometimes, paying too much attention to what other people say, even experts, robs you of the satisfying experience of figuring out what works for you. And you may find that what works for you is nothing close to the "rules" of exercise.
Next Page: New Rules of Exercise
