Working Out Healthily: A Change in Perspective Around Fitness

I recently had a conversation with a freshly converted health enthusiast. Having never worked out, this 3-month desk job novice beamed as he shared with me the “new move” that “kicked his butt”, burpees. I smiled listening to his excitement but inside my heart sank. I could see his slouched shoulders and forward head posture. His goal was to be healthy and more functionally sound. Yet his enthusiasm was not in fixing his shoulders, it was in completing a “hard core” move. Burpees, though metabolically stimulating are probably not the best move for an inactive 50-year-old with a C-curved spine 3-months into his fitness journey. Add the postural compensations that come with repetitive tissue trauma and an unawareness of his body, and you’ve got a recipe for injury and pain not functionality and health.

In today’s media driven photoshopped world phrases like fit, hardcore and beast-mode exemplify health. Regardless of our fitness, heavy lifting, long-distance running, and plyometric movements seem to be a MUST in achieving a healthy physique. Yet if questioned, “What’s more important, looking impressive today or the ability to move well 6 years from now?”, most would agree that longevity is key.  It’s easy to fall into the pursuit of “hardcore fitness” but is that healthy? Are these elements the measure of fitness, and is this what we should strive to pursue?

The body’s ability to work in the absence of sleep, exercise or proper diet can give us a false sense of security. If you take a broken stereo and leave it in a garage for two years, it will still be broken. Try this approach with a broken limb and the body will work to grow new bone. We cast the bone to make sure it grows in the right direction, but left untreated, growth will still happen. These compensating abilities give us an inaccurate picture of our physical capabilities. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. We wouldn’t expect a first-year pre-med student to operate on a patient. Why then do we expect our bodies to perform sophisticated movements after 50 years of inactivity? Our exercise programs should be like a cast addressing the breaks and guiding us in a direction towards strength and healing.

Working out healthily is more than just completing difficult exercises, it is defining your goals, learning your fitness level, and using purposeful movements to improve your fitness. It takes maturity to avoid the trap of comparing yourself to others. Does this mean that you should only sit and touch your toes at the start of your fitness journey? Absolutely NOT. Move and break a sweat. Just always remember that your goal is to work to improve your fitness and not to compete with others. Don’t look at the latest social media post and try to recreate an advance movement. Break a sweat in a way that supports your short and long-term goals. If you develop a program that corrects your imbalances and changes progressively over time, than your fitness will change for the better earning you the right to perform those “hardcore” movements. Stay safe, work smart and stay active!

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Photo Credit Sven Mieke @sxoxn