By Cinder Ernst
Easy Fitness strategies and systems make exercise easy to do. If exercising were easy for you to do, then you wouldn’t need a personal trainer, right? In the previous Easy Fitness column, I offered two Keys to begin the process of becoming your own personal trainer:
1) Nothing behind, everything in front.
2) Don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks.
In this column, you will discover the Easy Fitness Success formula. A client of mine recently noted that the Easy Fitness Success formula not only changed the way that she sees fitness, but also how she sees success itself. You can get the whole Easy Fitness system in my book, Easy Fitness for the Reluctant Exerciser (https://www.amazon.com/Fitness-Reluctant-Exerciser-Cinder-Ernst/dp/1946775096). I learned this way of looking at success from my coaching mentor, Dr. Maria Nemeth, who is the author of Mastering Life’s Energies and The Energy of Money. Dr. Nemeth uses related concepts to help her readers and clients be financially successful.
When it comes to fitness, most professionals have you measure your success by your weight or your measurements. Sometimes that works out OK for people, but mostly, not so much. People are not usually successful at losing weight. Making your exercise program about how your body looks can leave you feeling defeated, and then you stop exercising. What if you had a different way of looking at success, and a different way of looking at fitness? The Easy Fitness Success formula can do that for you, and here it is:
Fitness Success = Doing what I said I would do about exercise, consistently and without struggle. That’s it! Your success is measured in that moment when you do what you said you would do. Your improved strength, stamina and mobility are the natural consequences of your fitness success.
First, what you say you will do is very important. Here’s what I mean: If you say too much, or bite off more than you can chew, you will not be able to stick to the formula. Take a moment and think of sometime that you tried to start an exercise program. Did you try to do too much, such that you ended up not being successful? Did you then beat yourself up about it? This is not success.
The best way I know to get on the Easy Fitness path is to pick one simple exercise that you like and that is easy for you to do. Next, plug that specific exercise into the formula. For example, try plugging 3 short bike rides into the formula. Always build up slowly.
If bike riding is not for you, try a simple kitchen counter push up. Stand a couple of feet away from the counter. Put your hands at shoulder width. Lower your chest to the counter as you squeeze your shoulder blades together, then push away. Plug 5 counter push-ups into the formula. See how it goes. Adjust as needed.
Look for me on YouTube for lots of Easy Fitness small step suggestions!
Next time, we’ll look at the “without struggle” piece.
Cinder Ernst, Medical Exercise Specialist and Life Coach Extraordinaire, helps reluctant exercisers get moving with safe, effective and fun programs. Find out more at http://cinderernst.com
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