Fitness Tips

Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip: Convenience is No Longer King

king of convenience
 

If Convenience is King in your household, it's time for a revolt! 

The bad news: When it comes to eating healthy and working out, the path of least resistance will rarely deliver the results you want. 

The good news: If you train hard and eat right--the weight will not only come off, it will stay off. 

Sure everyone likes to take the easy way out--especially when you work a demanding job during the week. There is no denying that eating out for lunch every day easier than packing and preparing your meals ahead of time, that watching ESPN and drinking happy hour beers with your co-workers is more fun than heading to the gym, that putting on a movie is more relaxing than playing softball with your kids--but just because it's easier, doesn't mean it's better. 

The things matter most to me (my children, wife, and health) are the things that require the most amount of my time, energy and attention. Squats, pushing a prowler, power cleans, and eating right will never be easy (neither will trying to make fitness gains in a nearly 40-year-old body.) Sure, it would a lot more convenient for me to say, "Screw it! I’m a 40 year old dad, I’m going to be happy with my Dad-bod and let myself go crazy at the buffet." But, I won't. Why? 

Because anything worth having in life will never come without hard work, pain, planning, commitment, and adversity. 

Kick King Convenience off his mighty throne and show him who the real boss is -- HARD WORK. 

*image by Flickr

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Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip: No Pain, No Gain

hungry man dinner
 

No, I am not talking about putting yourself at a risk of an injury. When it comes to strength training, correct form should always take precedent over trying to lift heavier. Instead I am talking about the pain you might feel when you have to prepare your food and workouts for the week ahead.

Pre-packaged Food is Not Real Food

Pre-packaged food may seem like a convenient option, but convenience always comes at a price. Besides taking a bigger chunk out of your wallet, pre-packaged food is chock full of preservatives and hidden calories.

Preparing and cooking food can be a big fat pain in the you know what--but if you want long term health, you need to put in the work. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Don't put anything in the cart that has ingredients you can't pronounce. Better yet, only put things in your cart that have one ingredient. 

Your Spontaneous Workouts Aren't Working Out

I know you think you are doing your body good by squeezing in a workout whenever you have a spare moment, but if you don't have a plan -- you are doing yourself (and your progress) an injustice. Regardless of whether you are strength training, running, or doing pilates/yoga, you should be scheduling your workouts like you schedule your other important appointments (doctor visit, hair cut, and tune-up)!

As a father of two young girls, I know firsthand how hard it is to find the time and motivation to stay healthy. Sometimes it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to do it all. I can assure you however, that if you put in the hard work and preparation now, you'll start seeing better and quicker results. 

*Image by Flickr

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Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip: What Is Your Outlet?

no outlet
 

Everyone needs an outlet to blow off steam, relieve stress, or simply unwind. If you don’t already have an outlet, make sure you choose wisely; the wrong outlet could leave you fat, tired, or unproductive. 

Though working out is my outlet now, it wasn’t always. For that, I have my parents to thank.

When I was a kid, I struggled in school. I was hyperactive, had a hard time focusing, and usually spent the day counting down the minutes until lunch, recess and the end of the day. Tired of getting stern calls from my teachers about how I was disrupting class, my frustrated parents decided to enroll me in sports. This turned out to be the best decision for everyone involved. Competition quickly became my outlet. 

For the first time, I had found a place where I excelled and that I could take out my frustrations in a healthy manner. Not only did competing help me learn how to deal with stress, I started to become a better student. Staying busy with sports helped me to stay focused in the classroom. Though I don't participate in competitive sports anymore, working out remains my favorite outlet. 

What is your outlet and do you make a daily practice of it? If you don’t, I recommend finding one immediately. Take it from me, healthy outlets help restore balance to the most chaotic of lives.  

*image by Matt Niemi, Flickr

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