Mind Body - Free Fitness Library
Mind n Body Fit
Are you a workout stray with vague memories of being fit?
Why does exercise seem like hard, physical work now we've grown up when it used to be child's play when we were children and stress free?
Get on target. We many not have all the answers but we intend to put you back on track - using the positive powers of your mind to get you moving and sticking at your workout. You have the power and total influence over yourself, not your friends, spouse or coach, it's up to you to focus in and go for it.
Are You A Workout Stray?
You have vague memories of being a workout fanatic, pumping iron or doing an aerobics class 3-4 times a week yet somehow life changed and your routine was totally disrupted and now it seems like light years away.
What can you do to kick start yourself back into being active?
1. Focus on exercise memories:- How it made you feel good after a
workout, how you felt in control - things didn't bother you so much,
stress was easier to handle.
2. Don't focus on an old body shape when you may have been several
kilos lighter and your body fat was lower.
3. Set small goals. For 10 minutes a day inch your way back to fitness.
4. Being over-enthusiastic will cause you to do too much too soon,
risking injury.
5. Gradually increase your workload by 10% each week for 5 weeks then
you should be back to your old routines.
6. The biggest effort is to leave your home and walk to the gym or
class. Walk away from the TV and that warm couch on those dark evenings.
7. Don't let your mind talk you out of going to the class or the gym.
8. Once you're there don't compare yourself with others, avoid old
workout mates chatting about your shape or old fitness levels.
9. This is a sensitive time - keep positive. State you're back and
it's going to take time to return to you old fitness levels.
10. Focus on the moment when exercising on your breathing technique,
how your muscles feel. At the end of the workout focus on your achievement.
11. Finally, be consistent in your training. Make the commitment to
yourself so you re-establish the everyday workout habit. Gradually
re-build training time as you gradually re-build your strength.
Why does exercise seem like hard work now we're grown up...
Yet it was playing when we were young, all the running, jumping and
striding for joy?
Where did the joy go and why don't we have any fun now we've grown
up? Growing up means responsibilities and stress. The stress of life
has taken over - work, toil, studies, responsibilities, family and
partners all cause us to neglect ourselves until it's too late. So
we have made attempts of getting fit but if you feel sore and lousy
after exercising because you went for overdrive doing too much too
soon, no-one coaching you, no-one telling you to slow down, start
off easily and gently. Most fitness professionals who are forever
active have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner. If you hurt
after exercise you will give it up - especially when you're working
long hours - it's hard enough staying on top of your job these days,
let alone getting fit!
The answer to change is slow down, lighten you workout intensity. Do a little and often. Use light weights and don't compete with your self or your neighbour.
Jeff Rutstein, a Boston based fitness specialist has developed a soft weight approach. He's clientele are mainly suffering from depression, addiction, stressed out executives to people recovering from an injury. Stress is their single most common complaint - does this sound familiar?
Rutsteins philosophy is to build his clients self-esteem, not just their bodies. When he's personally training, he taps lightly on his clients muscles where they should feel it during the workout. To make sure the client feels the muscle contraction precisely where they should feel it. Tapping also helps to keep them focused on the specific muscle being strengthened. Focusing the mind on slow, smooth movements seems to free it from problems and distractive thoughts.
Rutstein is strong on breathing technique to exhale through the mouth as you lift, inhale for a deeper breath through the nose as you lower or release. It's like meditating through an exercise program. Gliding thorough an exercise with smooth moves, controlled slow pace mind focusing on the muscle work and conscious breathing.
Rutstein has personally suffered alcohol and drug addictions then
suffered the steroid kick - the Arnold Schwarzenegger Trip, devised
his own smooth workout, the gentler workout to de-stress himself.
It worked and he then began to teach others the painless way to lift
weights.
Doctors referred their stressed out patients to him. As Rutstein says
" a lot of my clients are depressed and numb. What helps them
is knowing I am there to focus on the emotional benefits first, then
the physical." Doctors are now praising the benefits of exercise
as a mood-enhancer or self-esteem builder.
The Betty Ford Centre in California, a world famous addiction centre, now offer recovery programs of exercise to rebuild self-esteem and release tension. The American National Institute of Mental Health has stated that long term exercise could decrease moderate depression.
Training Tips to De-Stress
1. Keep it light. Use light weights, too heavy a weight often causes
the surrounding muscle groups to take over.
2. Focus on muscle action. Feel the muscle shorten, contracting as
you lift up then feel it lengthen and stretch as you slowly lower.
3. Check your breathing. Slow rhythmic breathing, exhale on the lift,
inhale through the nose on the lower.
4. Don't jerk the weights. Move controlled and smoothly.
5. Before you start warm up for 5 minutes by walking or cycling. Use
a moderate pace.
6. Finally, set realistic goals. Workout 3 times a week gradually
increasing the length of a workout to 45 minutes on alternate days.
7. Be proud of yourself and enjoy ... the power.