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6 Essentials<br />
to Fitness<br />
In our struggle to improve and advance, we tend to<br />
over-complicate all facets of health, nutrition, fitness, and<br />
sport-specific training. The motivation is admirable, and the ef<strong>for</strong>t is<br />
celebrated, but are we really improving, or are we merely spinning<br />
our wheels? More importantly, what should we actually be focusing<br />
on with regard to improving our health and fitness?<br />
by Duncan Callahan<br />
As I’ve tried to answer these questions<br />
over the past few years, I’ve taken<br />
a close look at peers of mine who maintain<br />
or improve their fitness consistently.<br />
What are they doing in order to continually<br />
improve? Why does it seem like their<br />
set-backs don’t actually set them back?<br />
Is it mental? Is it genetic? What is the difference<br />
between those who remain fit and<br />
healthy, and those who gain weight, struggle<br />
with their health, and end up tired or<br />
injured? My observations have led me to<br />
the following conclusions.<br />
Those successful in maintaining<br />
1 or improving their health and fitness are<br />
in it <strong>for</strong> the long haul. They acknowledge<br />
that their immediate goals are of secondary<br />
importance to their long term plans.<br />
Pushing through injury, causing pain, and<br />
exalting deprivation will lead to nothing<br />
but injury, burn-out, and bitterness. Instead,<br />
successful individuals build consistent<br />
daily actions which add up over time<br />
to lead them to their desired outcome.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Focus on the<br />
long term and don’t beat yourself up if<br />
you miss a day.<br />
Successful individuals work with<br />
2 their physiology, instead of warring<br />
against it. They understand what their<br />
weaknesses are, and attempt to improve<br />
in those areas. However, they do not dwell<br />
on those weaknesses. Instead, these individuals<br />
focus on incremental improvement<br />
in their weak areas, while not short-changing<br />
working on their strengths. It is a balanced<br />
approach.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Work with your<br />
body and stop warring against it.<br />
The most successful athletes view<br />
3 food as fuel, instead of using exercise<br />
as an excuse to eat more. The better the<br />
fuel, the better they feel. Eat clean and<br />
the body will respond to the demands you<br />
place upon it. So, what does it mean to<br />
eat clean? That’s a tough question, but in<br />
general I’ve observed the most successful<br />
individuals tend to focus on simply eating<br />
real food - large quantities of non-starchy<br />
vegetables, high quality fruit, healthy fats,<br />
and quality meat.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Avoid processed<br />
food and embrace a low sugar diet.<br />
Whether we look at the weekend<br />
4 warrior or the elite athlete, those who<br />
are truly successful over the long haul<br />
respect the need to take time off – daily,<br />
weekly, monthly, and yearly. They view<br />
daily sleep as vital to health and important<br />
<strong>for</strong> recovery from training. Taking one day<br />
off per week is crucial <strong>for</strong> physical adaptations,<br />
and these individuals make sure<br />
to adhere to this. The most successful<br />
also make sure to have one week of lower<br />
workload per month, which is important <strong>for</strong><br />
long-term improvement. What about yearly?<br />
I’ve observed that the most successful<br />
take up to 2 months off from structured<br />
training per year. They’re still active, but<br />
not in a regimented training plan.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Respect the<br />
need to recover and rest – your body<br />
will thank you.<br />
I’ve witnessed so many people<br />
5 make the mistake of falling behind on<br />
their fitness goals during the work week,<br />
only to try and make up <strong>for</strong> it on the weekend<br />
with a century ride, a long run, or a<br />
very hard ef<strong>for</strong>t in the gym. Although this<br />
may be better than nothing, it’s also a<br />
recipe <strong>for</strong> injury and frustration. The successful<br />
athletes and individuals I know<br />
make sure to set a minimum amount to do<br />
each day, and then they prioritize getting<br />
it done. These successful individuals get<br />
their training and fitness activities done<br />
when they can, but nearly all of them get it<br />
done first thing in the morning.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Establish a<br />
minimum that you can get done each<br />
day and prioritize getting it done early.<br />
Perhaps the most important characteristic<br />
of individuals successful in<br />
6<br />
maintaining and improving fitness is their<br />
ability to limit stress and eliminate the nonessential<br />
aspects of their life. These people<br />
have the ability to finish work, turn their<br />
over-thinking brain off, and focus on what<br />
else they need to do that day. They don’t<br />
dwell on what didn’t get accomplished.<br />
They don’t dwell on their email inbox. Instead,<br />
they simply acknowledge that they<br />
have more work to do, and it can wait until<br />
they get back to work. This characteristic<br />
is indeed a powerful one. In addition,<br />
these people don’t waste time on social<br />
media, fantasy sports, or unnecessary<br />
technology. They focus.<br />
n THE TAKEAWAY: Reduce stress<br />
by acknowledging that you have limits<br />
to how much you can accomplish in<br />
a day, and don’t waste time on things<br />
that add little value to your life.<br />
Want to be successful in maintaining<br />
or improving your health and<br />
fitness? Pick one or more of the above<br />
bullet-points and implement it into your<br />
life. Focus on the things you can control<br />
and don’t worry about what others think.<br />
Shift your mind-set to the long term and<br />
your body (and your mind) will thank<br />
you. Here’s to successfully maintaining<br />
and improving our health and fitness.<br />
Thanks <strong>for</strong> reading. –DC<br />
DACKS & TOGA activelife | 17