“Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.”
–Lou Holtz
I often describe exercise like the man who is hitting himself in the head with a 2×4. When asked “Why?”, he responds: “Because it feels so good when I stop.” This is not to say that I consider exercise to be punishment. Exercise is a discipline with great rewards. If it wasn’t so uncomfortable, it wouldn’t be so effective.
Nutrition and exercise go hand-in-hand. Many, however, misunderstand the roles they play. Often, exercise is punishment for a poor diet. Indeed, we might, on occasion want to exercise a bit more to account for our over-indulgences (e.g., holidays), but the majority of the time we should “eat to train” rather than “train to eat”. Diet should fuel our active lifestyle, and our active lifestyle should demand a healthy diet.
Exercise is not supposed to be fun. More likely than not, if one “enjoys” exercise they are not challenging themselves. There are those rare few who can enjoy intense training. They are called athletes—more specifically, elite athletes. Athletes are wired differently than the general population. They tend to have higher pain thresholds and, certainly, the discipline it requires to succeed.
While the exercise, itself, is not fun, the discipline of exercise can be. It is a matter of grattitude and reward. The exerciser has to look not at the pain of training but the results. As well, there are side benefits to exercise such as increased productivity and social interaction. The fun of exercise is not in the hard work of exercise. The fun is in the rewards.
If exercise is seen as punishment, there will be no long-term benefit. the exerciser who sees it as punishment will never see sustainable results. Remember, the tortoise wins the race. Be disciplined to be consistent and progressive in your diet and exercise. Be results-oriented. Embrace the hard work. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!