OUR bodies are like gardens. Neglect them and the weeds will grow and, eventually, run the show. But a little daily maintenance and TLC goes a long way.
I’ve been helping out a friend with some gardening lately. It’s surprising how similar his world is to mine. Instead of kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells etc I’ve been using spades, mowers, forks, hedge-trimmers, blowers and sacateurs.
So many gardens are in urgent need of work. They’ve been abandoned and are wildly overgrown. But after several hours, we can have the garden transformed and looking spectacular. Similarly, I deal with many people urgently wanting to get their ‘abandoned’ bodies into shape and condition. The Amazing 12, for example, can do that in three months.
But then what? Here’s where the gardening and get-in-shape worlds collide, because the hard work is in the reshaping and the easy part the maintenance. Really.
Those who put in a little consistent love and effort into taking care of their gardens won’t see the overgrowth return. Similarly, those who regularly follow a sensible, structured training regime and remain consistent with their healthy eating will more easily be able to retain their hard-earned physiques and a good quality of health.
I’ve met many gardening customers who just aren’t interested in doing any of the work and, guess what? It all grows back. The human body is the same.
You also have some gardens which are high maintenance and need more tending to than others. Similarly, some of us have bodies which, for one reason or another – sometimes genetic – require greater attention than others.
Why do so many of us find performing maintenance so hard? After all, we all have the same amount of time in each day. But how we choose to spend that time is key. That decision comes down to what is most important to you, because for many of us life has become a juggling act and we seek to cram so much in.
So the question may be whether our fitness and health is a higher priority than some of the other commitments we have? If it is, we need to find a way to create the time.
Long-term success will also depend on how well you can hold on to the newer, healthier habits instead of reverting back to the ones that contributed to the problem in the first place.
Forming new habits are tougher in the beginning. Do it for long enough – which means sticking with it when and if it gets tough – and it becomes easier and, eventually, routine.
For many, the urge is to sit back and relax when the hard work is done and succumb to the temptations that are always around us. But that leads to the yo-yo effect – the constant battle of getting into shape and condition and then losing it all. The key is to keep advancing, setting new and realistic targets and working towards them.
If you want a lawn that always looks nice, you need to nurture it. Our bodies need continual nurturing as well.
Just as gardens are shaped by the weather and conditions they are subjected to, our bodies are moulded by our environments and the lifestyle we expose them to.
To really succeed, it is vital to take ownership of your life. That means accepting responsibility for what goes into your body and how you treat it. That means simplifying your lifestyle if it’s already too complex and stressful. That also means not shipping out the blame when things don’t go to plan. Weed out the bad habits/choices and keep the good.
Because it lasts for three months, The Amazing 12 can help develop new habits and foster the discipline required to maintain those habits for when the program is over.
The Amazing 12 also gives you the tools to be able to lift and train smartly thereafter. But for it to be effective, you still need to convert into action the skill and knowledge acquired.
After all, there’s no use knowing how to cut the lawn if the mower stays tucked away!
For details of the next Amazing 12 Chichester wave, starting January 9, 2017, send me an email to Claude@Intelligentstrength.co.uk. Be bold. Take that step towards changing your life and your body, learning new skills and creating a better and stronger future.