Photo Credit: Photo by Andreea Boncota on Unsplash
Article By: Stacy Reuille-Dupont, PhD, LAC, CPFT, CNC
Healthy looks different on every body. There are a number of markers we can use to measure somebody’s fitness. These markers help us see where the physical body is and what the physical body is doing. But the physical body is the past, it is what has happened to us. It is what we have done to ourselves in the past.
The physical body shows us where our habits have been. Maybe we’ve been overeating for a while or sitting on the couch watching a lot of TV. We might be having aches and pains from a lack of movement or high inflammation due to the food we choose to consume (Yanmei, Zhihua, Li, et. al, 2021).These habit patterns show up in the physical body and cloud our mental body.
Real fitness starts in our minds (LINK HERE). It is a goal we set. It is a mindset long before it is ever a physical reality. If we truly want to be fit we must work on feeling fit first.
Here’s what feeling fit really looks like. A fit person feels strong, capable, and able. They know they can lift a particular amount, can walk or run far enough, can successfully address difficult conversations, hold and set boundaries, and they are always working to get a better PR goal whether that be in the gym, boardroom, or their household. They know they are strong enough to tackle challenges and accomplish goals they’ve set for themselves.
A fit person understands balance. It is not about going harder, longer, faster all the time. There is no fitness if you overtrain. You may have a good physique on the outside but your body will be breaking down on the inside.
This condition will not allow the body to push to the highest levels. Eventually you will have to stop training. Without appropriate recovery body tissues will not be able to maintain high levels of achievement overtime. There goes the vanity. Without continuous workouts you cannot maintain sculpted body parts. You need balance to continue to pursue your workouts and mental A game.
To truly be fit you must have balance in your routines. You must have time for rest, work, and time for play. If you do not have the right balance of work you will be doing the wrong exercises at the wrong intensities with the wrong timing. On one hand just moving is good, but if you truly want to be fit there’s a method to the madness.
If you do not schedule time for play, workouts get pretty bland and boring fast. The same routine day in and day out becomes lackluster and uninteresting. When this happens your workout will suffer because a focused and engaged mentality is missing.
To truly be a fit person you must also feel creative. It takes creativity to show up day after day doing what is needed to create fitness levels you want. It takes creativity to continue to adapt your goals, pivot your failures, and succeed. If you do not feel creative you might need to hire a coach (ADD LINK) to help you maintain an inspired perspective. If you are living uninspired it won’t take long for you to quit whatever it is you are trying to build.
To truly live well we must live inspired. Being inspired brings us to the place of motivation and motivation brings us to goal completion (Thrash, Oleynick, & Maruskin, 2014). Without motivation it’s hard to get out of bed day after day, do the same routines over and over, slowly making changes needed to truly impact our physical fitness.
So if you want to be fit, you must first feel it. You must feel strong, balanced, and creative in your whole being. Fitness is a feeling first then it becomes reality in our physical form.
Today take stock of your current fitness goals, routines, and mental game. Determine if you are setting up your training priorities from a place of feeling full and joyful or a place of constriction and rigidity.
If it’s the latter it’s time to revamp your plan. Get back to feeling your commitment to your fitness and create your health from the inside out.
References:
Thrash, Moldovan, E. G., Oleynick, V. C., & Maruskin, L. A. (2014). The Psychology of Inspiration. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8(9), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12127
Yanmei Ma, Zhihua Yin, Li Li, Bingni Chen, Hanying Dai, Dandan Wu, Junxiao Cong, liang Ye, Chenghui Liao, Lingyun Li, Zhizhong Ye, Zhong Huang. (2021). Food antigens exacerbate intestinal damage and inflammation following the disruption of the mucosal barrier, International Immunopharmacology, Volume 96(107670), ISSN 1567-5769, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2021.107670.
Stacy Reuille-Dupont, PhD, LAC, CPFT, CNC, licensed psychologist, addiction counselor, personal trainer and nutrition coach. She’s passionate about helping people create a vibrant life using psychology and physiology. With over 25 years coaching people to be their best, she understands how to find adventure and bliss with balance. Book a FREE 15 minute consultation at www.studiob.life or join her monthly Q&A group at www.stacyreuille.com
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