If you're on social media, chances are, you bloody love a motivational quote.
I'm not sure what the science behind the correlation between time spent on Insta and Facebook and loving a quote that's put up in bold letters with an inspiring image behind it, but all I know is the correlation is there!
These little bursts of wisdom are like little 'pick me ups' in our days, that, to be honest, can be pretty stressful at the best of times, and during the current times, incredibly stressful. But we see these quotes pop up everywhere and I feel their meaning or message is often lost or tossed aside, like a wrapper from a sausage and egg McMuffin at a McDonalods drive though, without giving it much thought.
I stumbled on this quote and for some reason, like the neighbour's thrash metal music played at max volume, it resonated with me.
The clients I work with on a daily basis, most of which I've been working with for 8+ years, are constantly being asked to make decisions about their health and fitness, whether it be by themselves, by others or even unknowingly.
So I'm gonna go rogue, and say this quote is fundamentally wrong.
I know, what a daredevil!
In the context of health and fitness, this quote would only be true if the question was. .
- Do I want to be fit and healthy or not?
But for all my clients, you and me, and every single human on the planet, looking after our health isn't one decision, but thousands of daily micro-decisions that in time, build up to give us the results we desire IF we know what they are and we can stick to them,
If you've got this far into reading my blog, your day is probably going pretty slow, you've exhausted every other possible way to fill your time, and after finishing this, the only other option is sleep (again, my blog might help with that too!).
So humour me, take a look at the first 15mins of a typical day for me and see what I mean by thousands of micro-decisions.
Getting up - sounds simple, but. . . .
- Did I get enough sleep?
- Did I get good quality sleep?
- Did I use white noise?
- Did I use the best white noise?
- Was I sleeping in an optimal position for sleep?
- What sort of alarm did I use to wake me up?
- Did I snooze?
- What movements did I do before putting my feet on the floor?
- Did I look at my phone at all?
All that and I'm not evening standing up yet! But all these decisions/choices have a profound impact on long-term health.
Next.
Before I leave the house . . .
- How much water do I drink?
- Do I drink water or redbush tea or something else?
- Do I take vitamins or other supplements?
- Do I eat breakfast for optimum health?
- Do I skip breakfast for optimum health?
- If I choose to eat, what do I eat? Protein, Carbs, a mixture?
- Do I pack snacks, and If so, what snacks?
- What shoes do I wear? Are they good for me or will they affect my posture/comfort/the way I walk which will, in turn, affect my hips, spine and neck?
And these are just SOME of the things that, if you're really interested in your health, need to be addressed each and every day and that's just in the first 15mins of waking up!
What I'm getting at is there isn't one decision that will lead you to a healthier life.
Instead, it's thousands of little decisions.
And the more you do, the more aware you'll be of each one that affects you as an individual.
The more tiny positives you can put in your day, the healthier you will become.
And simply being aware of these decisions can have a massively positive impact on your life.
I mean, did you know there is an optimum side to sleep on where our brain feels more at ease?
If you sometimes feel overwhelmed because the thought of taking on the process of 'Getting Fit' seems like a huge task that's just too big to even start, let alone continue with, break it down into micro-challenges.
Improve little things daily and they will in turn lead to big gains.
You just need to be patient in the age of instant gratification.
This is the hard part.
The success of Sir Dave Brailsford and cycling team, Team Sky, is all down to them improving every single aspect of their performance by just 1%. If they could improve the bike by 1%, if they could improve the aerodynamics of their helmets by 1%, if they could improve there nutrition by 1% then this would build a winning team.
And that's exactly what they did.
If you have a dream about becoming fitter or healthier, don't keep it a dream, make it a reality. You can start your journey right now with the smallest of changes. And if you simply have no idea where to start, ask for help from someone who's already achieving what you want.
Be part of the 1% club today!
Rob Elford has been a Personal Trainer & Sports Therapist for over 15 years working with both Private and Corporate clients from across the world, both in-person and remotely. He has just launched The Online Fitness Academy to help support clients remotely and focus on aspects of health and fitness lost in day to day Personal Training.
He has worked with clients from every background with very differing demands, from international athletes from a wide range of sports including motor racing, Polo, Tennis, Dressage to London based FinTech businesses running their complete Wellness Schemes to mums and dads that just want to feel fitter and healthier.
Why not see what clients really think of Rob?
Watch his clients being interviewed here?