Week 176 :: What Are The Most Common Things We Do To Hinder Our Fitness Progress?
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TOPIC: What Are The Most Common Everyday Things We Do, Unconsciously, To Hinder Our Fitness Progress?
For the week of: October 22th - October 28th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).
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We may not often realize it, but unconsciously we may hinder or even hurt our fitness progress on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
What are the most common everyday things we do, unconsciously, to hinder our fitness progress?
What's the worst everyday thing that one can do which would hinder their progress?
BONUS QUESTION: What have you done that has hindered your progress and have you done anything to make corrections.
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Most common things we do to hinder our fitness progress
Everyday is a battle to maintain our goals; the biggest problem everyone has is nutrition and properly sleep. Every day in our society there is pressures at work, home and family. There's the stress this puts us in, and we may not go for the right meal always but the quick one or the easy one. There is also the time we take to blow off steam which may be drinking, or in some people's cases just lying around and doing nothing. The other problem with today's society is how much we need to get done which Is where sleeping is put on the back burner for some where getting through one job isn't hard enough some have two to make ends meet, and have families which need time too. There are also just sometimes when you need time to relax. All these things can put sleep on the back burner and it is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves which is also the one we seem to forget the most due to our hectic schedules. With those two mentioned I feel the worst things you can do to yourself daily is not taking the "time" to put in good nutrition and sleep, because you spend "time" exercising and working yourself to the bone you need to give you body these things to get the results you want with the "time" you spend out of your own life. Why I say these things is that I see it every day and I do it myself and I see it in the people I work with they will complain about their bodies yet do these things to wreck what they work at. It's just simple things that happen in our hectic lives to mess up such easy and essential things.
TOTW: What we do to hinder our fitness progress
[B]We may not often realize it, but unconsciously, we may hinder or even hurt our fitness progress on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
What are the most common everyday things we do, unconsciously, to hinder our fitness progress?[/B]
[B][I][B]"The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." -- Samuel Johnson[/B][/I][/B]
Whether our goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, increase flexibility or improve strength, the focus is on change. As human beings we have the ability to identify our options and then the response-ability to make a choice. The question we need to ask ourselves, then is, is the choice made one that hinders or one that facilitates our fitness progress?
Without bringing into our conscience and becoming aware of what we do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis we cannot move forward and our fitness progress is put to a halt. I am a big believer on the Prochaska & Diclemente's 6 stage model of change. The theory behind this is that change is a process not an outcome. You may move from one stage to another but whether you move forward or take 2 steps back, you are still changing. You may have already read about the Transformational Theory of Change but here is a quick overview:
STAGE ONE: [I]Precontemplation[/I] is aka the Ignorance is bliss stage or denial phase. There is no awareness of the unhealthy habit and no readiness to change.
STAGE TWO: [I]Contemplation[/I] is when there is an awareness of the unhealthy habit but still no plan to change and very little time considering alternative options.
STAGE THREE: Preparation is when we finally make the decision to change and begin to get ready for taking action. Here, an examination of the pros and cons, benefits and disadvantages to making the change occur.
STAGE FOUR: Action is making the change. Removing or making adjustments to the bad, unhealthy habit.
STAGE FIVE: Maintenance is about holding on to that healthy change and making it a daily healthy habit.
STAGE SIX: Relapse / Reaction can occur when certain triggers re-appear (like that Thanksgiving dinner with family or the night out with friends)
As I provide you with some things we may do unconsciously that hinder our fitness progress, consider what stage you are in the process of change:
At home:
□ Skip breakfast.
□ Eat too fast.
□ Get distracted with technology.
□ Not get enough sleep.
□ Too much liquor, not enough water.
□ Inadequate supplementation.
At work:
□ Sit for long periods.
□ Too much caffeine or other stimulants.
□ Snack, snack, snack.
At the gym:
□ Resist setting up a purposeful workout plan.
□ Not working out til fatigue.
□ Not cooling down by stretching or meditating.
In life:
□ Let negative self talk control our days.
□ Setting goals without time limits.
□ Lack or loss of motivation.
Psychologist and behaviour experts say that it takes about 20 to 70 days to change and form a new habit. There is no quick fix and of course, change is never easy. It takes patience, perseverance, discipline and determination. But as we all know, even the well-intentioned people can fall off the health and fitness wagon. (I raise my hand and plead guilty)... But by challenging ourselves to change, forming healthy habits and getting rid of unhealthy ones, we learn more about ourselves, we grow in our knowledge in how to respond to change and begin to develop skills to adapt and transform.
[B]What?s the worst everyday thing that one can do which would hinder their progress?[/B]
We read constantly in the newspapers, magazine articles, self help books and bodybuilding.com about ways to eat right, get fit, lose fat, gain muscle. But why is it so hard to achieve fitness progress? Why is it not easy to eat the food we know is good for us? Why is it so hard to keep to our workout plan? You may know the answers to these questions already or you may still be struggling at finding the reasons why. But there is only one reason: Lack of Motivation. Without motivation, there is no desire to change what we know hinders our progress.
Jim Loehr, a sports psychologist and CEO of LGE Performance Systems in Orlando, FL states that those who succeed in achieving a healthy lifestyle create a habit that is seductive enough so their behaviour pulls on them rather than having to push it. Motivation is driven by intrinsic (ie. your motivation to play outdoor soccer is because you love it) and extrinsic values (i.e. you are motivated to work because of the financial rewards). So instead of thinking of making the change as "I have to stop eating bad, and drinking too much? boo!!" Think back to why you wanted progress in your fitness in the first place. To live a long healthy life, enjoy friends and family and have an abundance of love and laughter!
[B]
BONUS QUESTION: What have you done that has hindered your progress and have you done anything to make corrections.[/B]
With winter slowly approaching and holiday season festivities already started, my biggest challenge is staying motivated. "I want that turkey with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie." "I don?t want to workout because my favorite reality show is on." "What's wrong with a couple of glasses of wine on a Saturday night with friends?" It's that constant dialogue between my good and bad side!! Here are some strategies I"m working on to facilitate rather than hinder my progress:
[B]Plan my Work then Work the Plan.[/B] I keep the reasons why I want to achieve success in front of my fitness/nutrition log. I try to set goals weekly and keep them in front of me as much as possible to keep from being distracted.
[B]Set Deadlines.[/B] This is the difference between a dreamer and one who lives their dreams. By setting a deadline, I force myself to do what needs to get done.
[B]Visualize Success. [/B] I"m a visual learner so by visualizing ways to succeed, I end up doing without thinking.
What's motivating me right now are designing dream boards, keeping my favorite quotes posted on my fridge, computer, bag and phone. Instead of meeting the girls for a drink, I suggest to go to the mall to shop and power walk. Instead of sitting on the couch to watch television, I sit on my stability ball for core balance and strengthening when I watch. I try to stay conscious of where I can fit activity into my day. I keep a log book and continue to write in it even if I know I cheated or was "bad" that day. By reviewing this log book regularly, I can monitor my success and discover ways to improve and fine tune my fitness success plan.
Common spoilers of progress
Habit, poor planning, and most of all, taking the easy wrong over the tough right. Specifically, skip breakfast or boil those eggs the night prior; hit the vending machine or the fast food restaraunt instead of making a lunch and taking it to work. Myself, I used to have a difficult time with going to bed to ensure I got enough sleep. I'd rather stay up and watch T.V. or surf the net. It was hard to give up that free time to sleep when all I do is work all day. I have a goal and the right thing is get plenty of sleep.