Admitting you have a problem is usually the first step towards recovery. I hope that is true because I am about to admit something big.
I have a problem sticking with a workout program for any extended period of time. Phew! I said it.
Strange.
I don't feel any different.
Background
If you are new to this blog, you may not have a real good understanding of what I am talking about so let me enlighten you a bit. In the past year I have done P90x, Primal eating, Visual Impact, Whole30, Leangains, homebrew workouts, etc. Of all of those, I am currently only still doing the Primal eating.
Problem
It's really two-fold. First off. I get bored with workouts easily. By about the 3rd phase of P90x I am ready to call it quits. Even though P90x has you switch it up with their "muscle confusion" tactics, going back and doing old exercises in that third phase really bored me.
Second - I read too much. I have a blogroll of about 200 fitness blogs that I scroll through on a daily basis. Combine that with about 500 fitness "experts" that I follow on twitter and one can easily see how I get bombarded with the latest and greatest in workouts and nutritional advice. Combine boredom with new ideas on eating and workouts and you can easily see why I end up switching workouts so often. I always think what someone else is doing is better than what I am doing and I need to try it ASAP. At least my diet has stayed consistent!
The biggest problem with going through life this way is that I never really achieve the fitness goals that I originally set out for. I need to settle down and give a workout time to really develop. If I don't, I will continue to just stroll through life. I don't want to stroll...I want to sprint!
Resolution
I didn't start writing this post with a real resolution in mind. I have a few things that I am tossing around in my head that I will discuss in further detail later. But as of right now, I am just sort of mulling along at the gym while I wait for that next big thing to come along. Hopefully that is soon because even mulling has me bored.
Comments?
I would love to hear from you on some of the workout programs that you are currently involved in. Who knows, I may join ya!
One Life to Live
You are NOT alone. I also have that same issue. I call it the Shiny Ball Syndrome.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways to roll with it. You could incorporate many different elements in a 30 day program utilizing various routines so that you never do the same thing week to week. At the same time I'd recommend knocking out some of those blogs you follow. Minimize. Go Zen.
Start a journal and look at which of the workouts/routines was the most enjoyable with the best outcome in those 30 days to determine what worked best for you. Then roll with it. Uh oh - gotta run - I just saw a shiny ball....
Well, up until recently, I was the freakin definition of a program hopper. Before I ended up on what I'm doing now (I won't plug anything), I must've switched at least 6 programs in a year. Well, now I've done a 180. I only follow a very select few fitness folk, have unsubscribed from almost all newsletters and let the information trickle in. In truth, not much has changed when it comes to strength training and nutrition in the past 20 years or so. Sure, we find a new rep range here or a different macro-nutrient breakdown there but it's all just different packaging. Lift heavy, do compound movements, mix it up every now and then to avoid boredom and eat to fuel that. Eat less than that if you wanna lose fat. That's about it. Everything else is minutia and people are actually trying to confuse you. Somebody's gotta sell those e-books.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. The e-books are what is getting to me. I need to unsubscribe from a handful myself. In fact, I am going to try and clean up my blog roll soon and get rid of anyone trying to sell a program. I need to get back to simple workouts that are effective and not get wrapped up in the latest gimmicks out there.
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for your comments!
Shiny Ball Syndrome made me laugh. Thank you for that. I am going to cut out some unnecessary blogs and websites soon. Anyone trying to sell a program is going to go. I am going to simplify and start enjoying my workouts again.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you poking around here. It's been hard not seeing you on twitter and I was shocked to see your website disappear. But I understand why you did it and applaud you for it. There are times when I think about getting out of the social media game all together and spend more quality time enjoying life. I say that but here I am responding back to comments and surfing twitter. :)
Shiny ball syndrome for sure here. I had been doing p90x but it is too much of a time investment to stick with. Right now doing leangains with a primal eating plan. I to have a tendency to over analyze everything so I'm glad I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteHow is your leangains/primal experience going?
ReplyDelete