“The difference between those who exercise and those who don’t is primarily a matter of mindset.” So says Zachary Lewis in his PD article ‘Your mind, your coach’, but I think he’s wrong when he says ‘primarily’. I’d say, in my best ‘Rocky’ imitation, “absolutely.” Let’s face it...unless you’re in basic training with a branch of the military or on a sports team, no one is making you exercise...and even those folks signed up for the abuse. If it isn’t mind set, what else could it be? It all starts in your head with your first commitment to some form of an exercise program and then the first step you must take to start walking, jogging, riding or joining a fitness facility. And five, ten, or forty years later, it’s still your mind that you’ll sometimes fight with over the decision to do something or maybe take a day off for vegetating. I’m in the forty-year category and I still find myself struggling at least once a week with whether I’m going to get out of the car to start the workout or simply turn around and drive home. Mostly, I overcome the urge to drive home.
“These days, people have an amazing amount of awareness. They are either doing something or feeling bad about not doing anything,” says Jack Lesyk, director of the Ohio Center for Sports Psychology in Beachwood. My experience is he’s mostly right. People I speak to do have an awareness of the need to be doing something, but are often confused by the myriad of information they have consumed, or partially so, on the subject of fitness and nutrition. They often need a little professional guidance to get the ball rolling in the proper direction and in such a way that it won’t bump up against a hill it can’t roll over. I like to keep it simple and I have followed this prescription successfully with so many people over the years...determine where you are (simple fitness test), set realistic goals, map out a specific program, and check your progress in a few short weeks.
The biggest challenge in this ‘simple’ formula is the goal. I don’t like to use the word ‘exercise’ in the achievement of that goal, either. I think it has too many negative connotations. It’s hard, it’s led to failure in the past, it causes injuries, it’s boring...and there are others. I look for ‘activities’ that the person likes with ‘active’ being the key to the word. If you look at your day and break it down, think of how inactive you may be and what you can do to put some activity in the process. There are places...there is time...and you’ll more likely carve it out and keep it sacred if you enjoy the activity you’ve chosen. Though I struggle some evenings, the bottom line is I like to ride, run, hike, kayak and do the Survival Workout. I like what they do for my body and mind too, but I actually like doing them while I’m doing them...almost all the time. It is more than ‘primarily’ the mind...right Rock?
I’d put another nitroglycerin patch on Sunday night for the elbow pain. I’d cut the strip smaller than the previous tries, as per my doctor, and suffered no adverse headaches until mid-day on Monday. It got so bad by late afternoon though, that I again peeled it off. Thirty minutes later, the headache was gone and I was heading for the park to run. In deference to a continuing pain in my left achilles, I went only 35 minutes. The trails were covered in leaves, hiding rocks and roots but the cool air and sun filtering through the leaves seemed to give a golden hue to the trail and woods, making a run of any distance something to relish. How I love the fall in Northeast Ohio.
Run Duration: 35 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.
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