WHAT ARE WE DOING CURRENTLY?
In a period of medical and financial crisis, we may be finding hours and hours of unscheduled time. I see social media posts that bemoan weight gain. There seems to be an inference that we are not to blame for this, that unforeseen circumstances bear the fault.
It seems to me that any measure of self – improvement lies primarily in the realm of motivation. If we intend to be fit, lose weight or otherwise improve ourselves in the physical dimension, we must be accountable. To ourselves.
There is no magic pill, no purchase to be made, no complex set of rules and no shortcut to transforming our bodies. There is often not even the interest in doing so. Many people would like a better physical structure, but feel that it is either too late for this or that they are not genetically predisposed to have a chance to be successful. So they may not even try.
Accountability is something I often experienced in the military. I had to be accountable to audits of my area of responsibility and to higher ranking officers. Also, I had to be accountable for my treatment of those who worked for me – I needed their input and good will. Accountability to others continued in the civilian work space.
Personal accountability is somewhat different. This is our behavior when no one else may be around. We are our own judges and we may be much stricter than others may be. Or not.
It seems to me that a lengthy “down time” may be an excellent opportunity for self-examination. We could be working on behaviors to improve our skills, our health or our scope of knowledge. Personally, I could be taking a typing course. There are many free ones Online. Many of us could be learning a new language – or improving what we know.
But my niche is specific to home workouts.
FITNESS ACCOUNTABILITY
I don’t know anyone who does not want to look and feel better. Nor anyone who views health and fitness with disfavor. But excuse makers abound!
My preference has always been to use checklists, schedules, charts and the like. See my prior post on food and exercise journals.
I relate strongly to Gretchen Rubin’s advice, as in my most recent post, found here.
Specifically:
- She does not see keys to happiness and success as “one-size-fits-all”.
- She stresses doing workouts early in the morning
This is the manner in which I hold myself accountable for my fitness workouts:
- I work out before breakfast six days per week, alternating treadmill cardio with remedial / bodybuilding (I have a rotator cuff issue)
- Everything I do in my workouts is charted and recorded
My computer entries include:
- Morning weight to the tenth of a pound
- Blood pressure and pulse
- Cardio minutes
- Remedial / bodybuilding sets
- Breakfast calories
- Lunch calories
- Dinner calories
- Other calories, if any
- Total calories
This journalizing works for me, though it may be of no interest to anyone else. I am aware, however, that many athletes and fitness practitioners also do some form of record – keeping. It does not seem like “extra work” to me, but an easy way to keep organized. I can’t imagine playing golf without a scorecard.
Truthfully, I would be lost and uninspired if I did not keep records of my workouts. I need the self-discipline. I need to see goals and results in print. As shown in the image below, self – honesty is essential in establishing effective accountability. Exaggerations or “cheating” with what is recorded does not benefit anyone.
The above is my method of accountability, not intended to be the solution for everyone else.
It seems to me that there are very few impressive physiques or figures among people as they age into their senior years. This is understandable since there are those who don’t value fitness or who have different priorities. But I believe that everyone wants to look good and have good health. At least I have never met anyone who would disagree with that end result.
Yet relatively few people seem to engage in a fitness program. In my small community, there are about 150 residents. I see about 5 out walking around the neighborhood. I believe that one other man has a treadmill. Maybe others beside me have workout equipment in their homes, but maybe not.
In the past, I have met people who thought that resistance training was initially a measure of how strong you are – and thereby an ego issue. (Those people preferred to not participate). Others felt that workouts were complicated. Some felt that muscle growth would hamper their flexibility.
This is what I have concluded:
- Resistance and cardio training are both simple to do
- We all begin with light weights and then progress further. No one starts with great muscularity or strength.
- Unlike in the 1950s or 60s, every sport encourages fitness training in addition to specific practice for that sport
- Every great athlete has done lots of workouts
- We can begin a fitness program with about 20 minutes 3 times per week. Is anyone really “too busy” for that?
- Home fitness equipment is not expensive
- I have never met a dedicated fitness trainer who was disappointed by their results
CONCLUDING
My recent practice has been to always include a link to Dick’s Sporting Goods in my posts. This gives everyone an option to request delivery from a huge inventory of sports and fitness equipment. Dick’s is processing Online orders 24/7.
Here is the link to current items that have discounts.
Save Up To 50% On This Week’s Deals at Dick’s Sporting Goods
Hopefully, the information in this post will encourage those who value fitness to begin (or continue) a home workout program. For specific routines, methods and equipment, please review my articles of the past 9 months. These are shown on the home page of my site.
Please leave me any comments or questions in the “Comments” box below. Or email me, richard@myworkoutathome.com.
Be well and stay busy!
