6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 6

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 6

This is the last of six articles listing some common reasons why your fitness routine may not be producing the results you want, and how to fix it.

Reason #6: You don't eat properly

Duh. If you are struggling with your weight or fitness level you probably know this already, but you still can’t seem to make any meaningful change in your eating and/or drinking habits. Notice that I did not say diet, I said habits. I also did not say you eat too much, I said you don’t eat properly. There’s a difference. You might not be eating enough, or not enough of the right foods. You might be eating or drinking just one or two things to excess that are causing you problems. For most of us, it’s not hard to identify the one or two ‘bad ones’ once we take a closer look at our habits.

There must be tens of thousands of diet and nutritional books on the market. I am not interested nor am I qualified to write another one, but I can give you some suggestions based on what has worked and continues to work for me and other people I know.

If you’ve had trouble sticking to a new diet in the past, I recommend beginning a new physical activity or fitness program first, and then work on adjusting your eating habits to support your new activity level. In my opinion, too many people try to make radical changes in their diet that are simply not sustainable. They don’t get enough gratification to sustain the pain of change. They lose a few pounds or maybe even a lot of weight, but at the end of the day they really don’t feel all that much better. They’re still out of breath at the top of the stairs and still can’t tie their shoes without discomfort. So, they find it easy to slip back to the old weight, if not more. They simply did not feel better enough to stick with the discomfort that comes with making major changes in their diet. Does that make sense? Starting a new challenging physical activity first might be a better idea.

I have some personal experience here. Back in 2000 I weighed approximately 40 pounds more than I do now. It wasn’t from the muscles bulging out from underneath my major league uniform, it was the fat hanging over my belt on a nicely tailored suit. I had become totally de-conditioned while pursuing what I thought were the important things in life. Meanwhile I ate too much, drank too much and smoked too much all while not exercising one bit. One day I got fed up and knew I needed to make a major change. I knew I needed to get in better shape, but what was I to do?

I had tried to lose weight countless times but nothing worked until I began a very strenuous exercise program. Four of my friends and I started training in Hapkido, a Korean martial art. In the beginning, the training was basically a cardio kick boxing class run by a national champion Tae Kwon Do instructor. He really knew how to whip our sorry old asses into gear and effect some real change in a short period of time. I continued to eat, drink and smoke too much, but I started feeling stronger and more physically fit after only a month or so of the new routine. As the training increased in difficulty, my gains continued. I felt better every day and people started to see a change in me. Not so much physical appearance but an increased energy level and more confidence (or cockiness depending on who you talked to!). I wanted to continue to get better and stronger, so I started paying closer attention to my eating habits. I made a list of the worst things I ate and started to reduce or eliminate them one at a time, not all in one shot as I had tried to do in the past.

These days I do Crossfit workouts 4 times a week on average. I don’t smoke or eat any shitty foods, but I still drink plenty of martinis when the occasion calls. I follow the Zone diet principles for the most part, balancing calories from protein, carbohydrates and fat at every meal and steer clear of processed foods as much as possible. I eat a decent amount of fat, mostly from olive oil, almonds and Omega 3 fish oil tablets. That’s it, it’s pretty simple. Yet I can say that I am in the best shape of my adult life by a considerable measure.

I suggest you start a new physical activity that will make you feel better, stronger, faster, whatever, just better. You’ll find it easier to make modifications to your existing eating habits, one at a time, to support your new activity level. It’s hard for me to recommend Hapkido training to most people, even though it worked for me. While it’s a great martial art that I truly love, I think there are more effective ways to improve your fitness level faster with much less risk of injury. Yoga or Pilates might be good for you, maybe spinning or swimming. Of course, I think CrossFit training is the best overall fitness program, hands down.

I’d like to leave off with a great quote by Greg Glassman, co-founder of CrossFit along with his wife Lauren, entitled “Fitness in 100 Words”

"Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: dead-lift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports!" - Greg Glassman

You can find Parts 1-5 if you missed them earlier.

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 1

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 2

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 3

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 4

6 Reasons why your fitness routine sucks - Part 5

Bill Russell
CrossFit Cleveland - RAW Fitness, LLC
17140 Madison Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107
216-812-7841

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