"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life".
Albert Camus
Good evening my dear snowflakes,
I do hope that all of you have survived the holiday, and the other holiday- Black Friday. According to the news, more people were out "celebrating" that event than Thanksgiving. Kind of shows you where our priorities are. But, I have no doubt those who took part in the sale-a-palooza, waiting in long lines at obscene hours, saved tons on stuff that has actually been projected to be cheaper this week. But hey, whatever brings family together......
Now, I had planned to write earlier this week, however, a double ear infection, combined with a sinus infection, has made concentration a bit of a struggle. Not to fear, I have enough caffeine in me to make it through this newsletter. Which brings me to the above quote (Deep stuff, right?) and how it applies to tonight's topic. Last newsletter, I mentioned that I was trying to wrap my head around Men's Fitness magazine's "top 25 fittest men of 2012". This was difficult, b/c every time I looked at the article, my stomach would turn, my eyes started bleeding, and I could feel brain matter leaking out of my ears. At about the same time, I was forwarded a blog post from a female fitness competitor, who gave a very candid and extremely honest look into how unfit she was while preparing for her show.
- Editor's aside - The more I have learned, the more the term "fitness competitor" cracks me up. What the hell constitutes a fitness competitor? If you really think about it - anyone who plays organized sports, whether pro or pick up game, competes in endurance events, MMA, boxing, any martial arts, Crossfit Games - which is really designed to determine the fittest, fitness competitor, or pee wee football is a fitness competitor. The notion that someone who literally puts their body through the most unhealthy and dangerous conditions and then hides it by slapping on a fake tan to take a stage and pose in clothing that belongs in a strip club, is so backwards its offensive. I do not nor will I pretend to understand that lifestyle. And after reading this woman's blog, I am even more positive I never will.
Her blog, combined with the Men's article, pinpointed for me, one of the biggest issues we have in America. Let me explain. When reading the article, the author listed a number of male celebrities as the epitome of fitness. Right. And I have a couple pet dinosaurs that I keep in the basement until nightfall when I let them roam free through Darien. If you truly believe that some celebrity is a beacon of fitness, then you probably thought your high school gym teacher was a physical specimen to aspire to. Celebrities get paid to get "in shape" for certain roles. They have chefs, personal trainers, etc to reach that objective. But it is short lived, for most, once the role is over, so is that shape they worked so hard to attain. That's not fit, actually, its the exact opposite. Dieting, over-loaded training schedules, lack of proper sleep, its extremely unhealthy. Yet when said actor takes his shirt off in that oh so magical role, everyone thinks "Wow, look at how fit this dude is"! Doubt me? Read up on Gerard Butler and his post-300 filming - extreme depression, chronic fatigue and pain, all due to preparing for the role as King Leonidas. It left him, and other actors broken, some with injuries like torn ACL's and MCL's requiring surgery. So, yeah, he looked like a bad ass, a real King of warriors, but the real truth was hidden, kept under wraps until the movie made a substantial killing at the box office.
Mix this with the blog post. Here's a woman, young and vibrant, who spent 4 months preparing for a fitness competition, where she admits to feeling anything but fit. She used dieting, several supplements, a training schedule leaving her over-worked and without sufficient rest. That cycle forced her to take more supplements to keep her awake enough to get through grueling workouts. By showtime, she was barely able to stand. Yet everyone around her commented on fit she "looked". Women couldn't stop telling her how they wished they looked as "fit" as her. But by her own admission, she never felt worse- sickly, fragile, broken.
Do you see the trend here? Somehow we've attached "looking good" with being fit. Folks, let me assure you they are not one in the same. And let me take it even one step further - there are some athletes, some very high level athletes who aren't fit. Want proof? Look at Derrick Rose, Adrian Peterson, and the host of other top athletes who suffer injuries without contact, while playing in contact sports. Yes, they are high level athletes, they look great but those near career-ending injuries could have been avoided. By focusing on movement patterns, midline stability, where they have breaks in form, be it fast turns requiring agility and mobility, or the ability to complete an Ironman in under 9 hours they could have been spared such physical ailments. Ahh- that's right my fellow triathletes, you represent the most unfit, fit people on earth. And the higher the level of talent, the more unfit they are. I know, heretical talk from a pro triathlete. But for those of you who think I'm wrong, hand a veteran triathlete, pro or amateur a jump rope. Then tell them to complete 10 jumps in a row. Bring a lunch b/c if their ankles or knees don't give out, you'll be there for a while. But every time they show Ironman on TV, men and women triathletes alike drool over how the athletes look. I know this b/c I was one of them.
That's right - I used to attach how a triathlete looked to how fit they were. The leaner they looked, the more fit they must be, I thought. I watched guys like Crowie, Norman Stadler, etc, and thought-"If I'm going to win races, I need to be down another 20 lbs". What I wasn't seeing, what so many of us aren't seeing, is the long term damage that was done by the over-training and poor diet. These same gods of the sport, crumbled like the Sphinx after only a couple years at the top. Why? B/c looking good doesn't equal being fit.
For me, I was awakened to this 2 and a half years ago, and thankfully, realized that true fitness provides a longevity in any sport, way past what Father Time tells us. At 39, my pro days should be numbered. I feel like I'm just getting started and actually can't wait for next season. Learning more about the body, about movement, about real fitness. That's exactly why I cringe when I hear someone say "my number one goal is to lose X amount of lbs". That's probably the single worst metric to use for determining fitness. That mentality does 2 nasty things right off the bat - 1.It gives the person the impression that weight lost equals feeling better, 2. It makes the notion of fitness temporary, as once that weight is gone, the need to continue to live a healthy lifestyle stops.
Here's proof- diet pills, diet plans, P90X, the Shake Weight, etc, they make up an 80 billion dollar industry. And b/c all those things are short term fixes, people inevitably gain more weight once done with the pills, videos, etc, thus feeding the industry again, requiring stronger pills, more videos, more bullshit basically, that is not designed to have a permanent affect. So then what is real fitness?
Like I've said before and will continue to say - fitness does not occur in a vacuum. Therefore, you need to look at it as lifestyle change. Measurable, concrete metrics, that are progressive are the best way to get fit - forever. Paleo isn't a diet, its a lifestyle. Crossfit isn't a workout, its a lifestyle. The combination of those makes for permanent, and constant improvement physically, mentally, and emotionally. I can't give you, nor can I support anything that's short term. And I refuse to say the Swim, Bike, Run protocol is the best method of fitness. Its only a part. If you can run a sub 3 hour marathon but are laid up for 2 weeks afterwards, how fit are you? I'd say not very. If you learned to run correctly, then added in strength, conditioning and mobility, I'd bet you would run a faster marathon, with less recovery time needed.
The key is to understand that "looking good" doesn't mean a damn thing. Its not a measure of fitness. I will tell you that a by-product of true fitness, like I mentioned above, will result in looking good. Weight will come off, pretty effortlessly actually. If you look at CF Games competitors, or your average CF gym member, they look pretty damn good. Not all are super chiseled, or super lean, but they are getting fitter by the day. They have blood work that is off the charts good. They don't break. I repeat, they don't break. If you are an athlete and want to have longevity at a high level, how can you afford to ignore the need to incorporate better metrics for your training? How can you think that your inability to do midline stabilization work, agility work, and basic body weight movement is ok? Is it the fear of gaining muscle? If that\s the case - here's a secret - unless you do nothing but lift big, and eat big, you aren't, I repeat you aren't getting big. You actually stand a better chance of gaining weight by doing what you normally do - tons of mileage, no skill work.
If you are simply looking to get fitter, same rules apply. That treadmill, spin class, elliptical, they are only going to take you so far, then welcome to very early plateau. And injury will follow, as it always does. That train is never late. So please, stop telling me, or your trainer, or your friends, that you need to "lose those last 10 lbs". And if you are a real friend and you hear someone close to you say that, kick them in the stomach. The pain is such, they will forget all about the weight they need to lose, and focus on breathing. Its a temporary solution I admit, but it is effective.
Stop chasing weight loss. Start committing to better, permanent health, and fitness. If you don't, you lose the right to complain that you "don't look good". If you stay on the carb roller coaster, then everything I just wrote may as well have been in Latin. Or Sanskrit. You pick. Stop being afraid to be fit, and start taking real responsibility for your body. Stop looking at magazine's proclaiming to have "the fittest people of 2012" or "25 ways to get you to that same look!" Its bullshit. Trust me. That stuff is temporary. When you get low, reach out - be it to someone close to you, or, as I've said over and over, reach out to me. I'm always around. The difficulty or fear of starting a real journey towards health and wellness is temporary. Its the quitting of that journey that lasts forever. If you have the courage to read what I write, then you have the courage to do this. So, what are you waiting for?
Stay strong,
Guy
