It's hard to believe that it's been over three months since the last time I posted to this blog. A lot has happened in those three months: holidays, business travel, out-of-town visitors, volleyball practices and tournaments, birthday parties and all the other challenges that most families face on a routine basis. "Routine" is a good word, actually, because most of our lives are dictated by routines. On school days we get up, make breakfast, pack lunches, ferry kids to school, pick them up, and so on. Then we have the routines of work: meetings, conference calls, reports. Sometimes "work" is what you can manage to do in between the "routine" activities. What really happens is that we allow life's routines dictate our "lifestyle", which eventually devolves into an over-emphasis on routines that serve others and not ourselves. Marketers know this all to well, so they have introduced this concept of "lifestyle" that allows you to think you are participating in active wellness programming when, in fact, it's just making you worse. A "fitness lifestyle" is never a replacement for a "wellness routine". "Healthy lifestyle", "fitness lifestyle", and even "Crossfit lifestyle", "running lifestyle", "triathlon lifestyle" are used to try to recruit you into a particular set of activities that more often than not target your wallet and not wellness goals . "Lifestyle" is a word developed by marketers to sell stuff. Period. Since I live in Florida I see a lot of "lifestyle" propaganda everywhere. It's generally some overweight guy on a beach bike, a woman power walking with some 1lb pastel dumbbells, or folks in golf togs. The "fitness lifestyle" is great if you're retired and only worrying about wasting time until the 4pm early bird special starts, but face it, it's marketing bullshit. Even the "fitness lifestyle brands" are marketing engines. CrossFit? It's just a way for certain companies to sell gear and the licensing that is required to put on the potential injury festival that is the Crossfit WOD. You can come right here to my home gym in Orlando, wear whatever you feel comfortable in, and create an equal amount of physiological reserve without all the marketing hype. Know why? Because it's about "routine", not some "lifestyle" thing.
In the month of January I traveled during two separate weeks, both times to the National Capital Region - once to DC and once to Maryland. During the 31 days of January I completed 22 training sessions: 11 strength-centric sessions (deadlift, squat, bench press, overhead press), 7 anaerobic sessions (all kettlebell complexes), and 4 "other" sessions (2 enhanced bodyweight, 1 sandbag and 1 run). If that seems like a lot, it's because for most people it probably would seem to be, but for me it was actually three less sessions than I had planned for. Why? Because I have a routine. I plan for a specific session on a particular day and a particular time and I stick to it. No, "stick" is a bad word: I "obsess" over it. . How can you do the same? Traveling? Get up early. Have a work obligation all afternoon? Well, you better do it at 10am. "Well, ummm, Steve, we can't just leave the office and train at 10am." Why not? Why is it any better at 12pm or 5pm than 10am? See, you have to make this a routine.I have a friend who loves his Peleton and another who rides a very expensive road bike on the weekends. Beyond the fact that these activities are only training one energy system, they are perfect examples of "lifestyles". Peleton has - admittedly - done a great job marketing an overpriced product and making it a "lifestyle brand". The high end bike maker has done a great job selling the "quality" of the bike, not how it will make you more fit: if you're going to ride you have have a great bike, right? Then you need a jersey, shorts, helmet, water bottles, etc. etc. To be part of the "cycling lifestyle" you need a bunch of gear. Ever notice how many of those weekend riders are still fat? Yeah, a lot of them are. It's because they are investing money in a lifestyle and not time into regular training sessions.
This same is true is true for Bowflex, P90X, TRX, Zumba, Orange Theory Whatever, and the list goes on. All of them purport to make you fit, but what is similar about all of them? They all require an investment and a commitment to a "lifestyle" once you make it there is more investment thrust upon you. I have a 32kg kettlebell in my gym that is a bitch to lift and that I cuss at every time I have to lift it. But you know what? That thing doesn't try to sell me a shirt or a training manual or anything else. I schedule my time with it and then I train. The most important part is scheduling the time, not the implement. I can also wear a plastic garbage bag, pajama pants, and work boots to train and nobody cares. It's about the routine, not the "lifestyle".
If you are on the road and don't have your "lifestyle" gear (Peleton, etc) how to you schedule a training session? The answer is that you likely don't. You just eat poorly and say you'll make it up when you get home and back to your "lifestyle" brand. What you really need to do is figure out a routine that uses implements that you can rely on every day, not just when your "lifestyle" allows it.
When I advise a new online training client I purposefully make the first 4-6 weeks pretty easy from a physical perspective. I do this to emphasize the importance of creating a routine and not the effort of each session. There have been two clients who have canceled me because they couldn't stick to the most basic three-day-a-week routine. I wish them the best of luck in trying to achieve their goals without it. I won't work. The ROI of a routine is infinitely higher than the money invested in a "lifestyle".
I am happy to help you create a routine that works for you. I"m easily found at 3Sigmawellness@gmail.com, Twitter: @3Sigmawellness or Instagrram: 3Sigmawellness.
