Thursday, April 8, 2010

Let's get real...about fitness and committment

A  year ago my dad  admits he was in the worst shape of his life thanks to too many nachos and maybe a few too may Dos Equis! The treadmill and pull ups were not keeping up and the doctor visits confirmed what was easily visible from the outside: bad foods=bad numbers. He did not consider himself a candidate for a fitness program like P90X and frankly either did I! But one day my mom put the DVD in and said;"Just turn it on and push play!" . Since that day back in May of 2009 he has lost 30#, can do hundreds of pull ups and keep up with any of us during one or more cardio workouts. Now, at this point in a commercial there is usually a little disclaimer  that says: Individual results may vary . Results not typical...blah blah blah. But the fact is while these results are impressive they ARE typical and very realistic, and he would be the first to admit this to any of us. What may be different in this case though is something not so typical: commitment. I don't remember my dad telling me he was disappointed because of his push up numbers or ever remember him keeping me abreast of his weight. I DO remember him asking questions about better techniques during lifting and how to rebalance his carbs so he had more energy before a workout. I don't remember him keeping terribly accurate records in the first few weeks. I DO remember him bringing his weights to my uncle's house when he went for a visit and a strong commitment to finishing the program in as close to the 90 days as possible. I don't remember him saying he felt he wasn't as far along as the guys he saw on the DVD. I DO remember him sending me a picture of himself on the 90th day!

I've seen dozens of success stories with the P90X program. The results are typical. But it depends on how you define success and what is typical. If by success you mean that an individual has enjoyed a process that he or she believes will or has achieved significant improvements in their overall well being then that result is typical. The individual results may not look exactly the same though! But so what? That's not what defines success for my father and the other success stories I know about. But there is one thing that is common to all of these results and it is something that I am afraid cannot be taught or preached or forced upon anyone- it is the desire to committo the process and let everything else follow along for the ride. Commitment is both the foundation and the key to a long term ability to endure. Results and appearance may vary. But to those who are committed appearance is a false mile marker. 

How much commitment do you need to follow through with your fitness program? Superhuman amounts? An ocean of commitment in reserve for bad days? Nope. You need just enough commitment to fill the tip of your index finger so it can push "play" like my dad did a year ago.

The rest?

Typical results.

Guaranteed!

No comments:

Post a Comment