The other day I was stressed out whilst trying to make the perfect training programs when I happened to stumble across this post...
The message hit me loud and clear - I was wasting my time stressing over the "perfect program" if I wasn't focusing on making sure my clients enjoyed it.
Why?! Let's have a look...
We invest in things that make us happy
After work, sleep and bills have all been accounted for, we choose to invest whatever time and money we have left in the things we enjoy.
This is why its important we make healthy living enjoyable.
Boring workouts and boring foods will eventually cause all of us to slip, no matter how dedicated we start of! I mean, who wants to feel miserable? There's already enough obstacles to happiness in our lives and we definitely don't need to make healthiness another one!
This is why the excuse of not having enough time or money doesn't sit very well with me. It's generally neither of these things, it's just people struggle to find happiness in healthiness and therefore don't invest in it.
As a trainer I have an obligation to help my clients reach their goals as they've invested their blood, sweat, tears, but also their money and time to get there. This is why I must focus on making their journey an enjoyable one otherwise their goals simply aren't worth the investment and eventually, they will give up.
This is why helping people might sometimes mean prescribing a sub-optimal (but enjoyable) program. As long as they enjoy being healthy, they will consistently choose to be healthy and thus become healthier!
And the cycle continues...
But it also runs a lot deeper than that...
Happiness Is Healthy and being healthy makes you happy
Studying "Happiness" is difficult as it's impossible to categorise but there's some general research which suggests happiness can help decrease inflammation, cardiovascular mortality and increase mobility and immunity. These findings, along with this review of more than 200 studies shows there's definitely a connection between happiness and healthiness - its just hard to define.
The way I see it, the healthier we are, the happier we become and the happier we become the more inclined we are to be healthier.
I always tell new clients that their first week is always the hardest and bravest part of their journey because they have to show up feeling unhealthy and unhappy...
From there it's a tough battle to stop that momentum and work your way back up to the top...
but once we get there, it's smooth(ish) sailing on the way back down!
That's why If you asked any of the long term members we have in the gym how hard they find it to consistently rock up and train every day, many of them will look at you confused.
"Hard? Umm...Well not really, I love being here"
They don't find it hard to rock up every day, they don't find it hard to eat healthy food - why? Because they have been taught (by us and through their own trial and error) how to enjoy it!
So How do i make healthy fun?
Find a place where you can learn how to make training fun and how to make healthy foods you actually enjoy. Find a place where you get to meet other people and enjoy each others company. Find a place that provides you with goals to strive towards and teaches you how to bounce back from set backs. Find a place that makes you feel special but requires you to make that place special.
If your going to go it alone, figure out what you enjoy and just do that. Don't worry about it being optimal, just get the ball rolling, be proud and start feeling good - you can figure out the finer details later. The story of Alasdair losing 45kg's has some pretty impressive quotes that can help prove my point...
I just found something that I enjoyed doing and that worked for me. When people say, ‘I love working out’, I always thought that was such a crazy ridiculous thing to say, because I couldn’t imagine thinking like that.
I didn’t lose 100 pounds because I have amazing willpower. There’s 26 years of evidence to show that I have very mediocre willpower. I just found a routine that I actually enjoyed and stuck with it
I just ignored the (frequently contradictory) mountains of literature on the best way to lose weight and just focused on finding a way that worked for me
When people learn how much weight I've lost in the past year, they sometimes remark how hard it must have been. That's a logical reaction, and it's probably true of most extreme weight loss experiences, but honestly? It really wasn't that hard. After all, if it had been hard, I probably would have just quit. The trick was finding a routine that I actually enjoyed doing and wanted to stick with.
A list for healthy and happy life
This list of 10 things to a happier (and healthier) life by Action for Happiness is just as important as the sets and reps I program into my clients training days and I hope they can become important in your gym and life programming as well....
- Giving: do things for others
- Relating: connect with people
- Exercising: take care of your body
- Appreciating: notice the world around
- Trying out: keep learning new things
- Direction: have goals to look forward to
- Resilience: find ways to bounce back
- Emotion: take a positive approach
- Acceptance: be comfortable with who you are
- Meaning: be part of something bigger
I'll leave you with this infographic which pretty much takes everything I just said and makes it look pretty!
Lift heavy, be happy.
