The Hard Road Is Always The One Less Travelled

Sometimes in life you just have to admire and appreciate things in front of you.  It’s one of those things that is really impressive, when you see the human body in its finest form.

I must admit, guy or girl (in a non sexual way 😉 ).

I can’t help myself, but take a second to appreciate and admire It.

For me, maybe because it is my passion but, I have an instant respect, because I know what it takes to get to that place.

And to be abundantly clear…

It’s not easy.  

If it was easy, everyone would be walking around in similar shape.

A human body that has been nurtured, nourished, enriched, invested in, the closest thing to optimal health you can get. Glowing skin, shiny hair skin and nails, lean muscle mass that is exacerbated by a low body fat level, tall posture and curves in the right places.

The reason it is impressive is because it is somewhat of a rarity in this day and age with the stresses, the foods, the toxins, the quick fix society we are now exposed to.

The easy road is the one most of us take. Naturally, as humans, it’s something we are programmed to do, why go the hard road if there’s no need right?  

• Committing to your Eating plan when you’re hungry
• Going to your exercise classes when you would rather poke your eyes out with a chop stick
• Saying “no thanks” when being offered some food that doesn’t help you on your journey
• Spending time preparing meals and planning ahead
• Doing the unseen work e. eating healthy when no one is looking / Home workout when you can’t leave the house (Yup I have kids too)
• Pushing yourself that bit further when you could easily cruise and/or stop
• Saying no to the chips and yes to the side salad when out with friends
• Drinking the amount of water that will help you stay hydrated and perform at a higher level
• When you are hungry, not going all out and assaulting a whole packet of chocolate hobnobs and opting for the less appealing food option that may take an extra 10 minutes to prepare
• Ordering an Americano when you’d rather enjoy a silky, creamy flat white.

Some examples above that certainly make it challenging for me to stay lean. And sometimes, more often than you might imagine,

I FALL OFF THE WAGON TOO…

Shock horror, but yes, I am human too and like eating junk food. People often judge me when I am out and eating a burger or some minstrels at the cinema.

Shocked that I am “cheating”.

Don’t get me wrong, if I am eating clean because I want to reduce my body fat, going on holidays etc I make the sacrifices. No minstrels, no burgers in buns, because that’s what it takes for me to get lean.

I see a lot of “gym instructors” (the 4 week qualified ones) who are in good shape, day in day out, don’t understand hormones, inflammation, the effects of foods, are posting themselves eating donuts, and pizza and staying lean, when in reality, this just simply isn’t the case for the majority of the population. It is an over simplistic view of getting in shape.

It’s science that Calories in versus Calories out, underpins all weight loss results,

But…

What they fail to understand (because they don’t struggle with their weight) there is more to it than that.

Reducing inflammation, hormone optimisation, have got to be considered especially when you are talking about real people wanting long term results and better health.

Anyway, going off topic.

So, going the hard road, removes all reasons for failing when sticking to your eating plan.

My kids were sick last week so my diet was bad.

I couldn’t get to the shop because I was so busy.

I was sick so my diet was bad.

The rugby was on so my diet was bad.

I was out for dinner and my diet was bad

To me, when I hear that, I hear :-

“I don’t want it bad enough”

You may as well tell me :-

“My dog ate my homework”

Similar to this is “But I did my best”

Yeah cool, your best is all I can ask for, but what If “my best” aligns with your goals and desires to live your life a certain way and reach certain goals, then “my best” will do just fine.

Excuses are for people who don’t want it bad enough. They want results, but are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make them happy and reach their goals. There is an element of self-sabotage involved with this behaviour. But that’s for another day.

That is the simple hard cold fact of the situation. The other reality is, the majority of the population are in this category. They will unfortunately NEVER reach their health and fitness goals.

Now, I realise this is my profession and you may think, it’s different for me, BUT…

I have two very young kids, they get sick, they keep me awake, I am sooo busy day to day, I too can put on half a stone in a day or two from making poor nutritional choices. I experience day to day hardships that could quite easily force me to reach for the pringles.

But I am proud of my body and the effort I put in to keep it a certain way, feel a certain way and invest in myself.

Having said all this, I really do empathise with people when they walk in the doors of Complete Personal Training. They simply have not had a previous discipline to stick to that makes sense long term, a journey to embark on, clear direction, someone to untangle their current muddled knowledge of nutrition and a new food plan to easily implement, clarity on their exercise, support and a pretty F%*king cool community to help them succeed.

As I said at the beginning,

It’s.

Not.

Easy.

It is most certainly the harder road, but don’t you think you are worth going the extra mile?

I certainly think you are.