Getting fit, being buff, getting healthy, being the best you: it's all the rage these days!
In an ever-extreme world, we are told lots of interesting half-truths about the process and the HOW.
A supplement supplier might tell you that the fastest path to fitness is to buy their most expensive fish oil.
A trainer might tell you that if you want to keep your knees healthy you need to perform heavy squats daily.
The newest online guru will likely tell you that their 10,000 dollar course is the one thing that's going to help you keep the weight off once and for all.
The truth is. The secret to being fit, healthy, and pain-free is actually pretty darn boring: be consistent.
It can take injuries weeks or months to heal.
"Healthy" sustainable weight loss typically happens at a rate of about 1 pound per week - and it's NOT linear.
It takes 1-2 months to build any sort of substantial muscle mass.
Consistency is the key. It can be boring. And it takes time. But it's the key to all things health and wellness related. Not sure what consistency looks like? Here is the "Pain-Free Playbook" to keep you going:
1) Remember that health, wellness, and fitness are NOT always predictable and they are definitely not linear. You should think of your progress as a big picture rather than a snapshot. Hitting a bump in the road when trying to recover from pain is normal. Weight loss plateaus and even temporary gains are expected. Whenever you feel discouraged, look at your progress over a long period of time. Where were you when you first got injured? When you first started on your weight loss journey? Remember that.
2) Do things you enjoy. Lucy Lawless is my spirit animal. I grew up watching Xena the Warrior Princess, and have you SEEN her in Spartacus?!?! Anyhoo...she gave an interview wherein the interviewer asked her how she stays in such great shape, and her response was "I stay excited about life. That keeps me out of the fridge." Do things that engage you so that you aren't hyper-focused on your pain, your weight, or your level of buffness. Fulfillment and progress should be harmonious. Have FUN.
3) Have a plan. Even if you have to deviate from it sometimes. I have a program for my own workouts - I either hire a coach to provide one, or I take classes, or I write my own programs. In any case, I always have a plan for what I'm going to do. About once every 8 weeks, some part of my body (usually a portion of my spine) decides that it wants to wreak havoc on me, leaving me nearly non-functional for 5-10 days. I have two options in this situation: I can take it slow, do what I can (even if that's nothing), and resume my program as soon as possible, or I can decide that it's all worthless and stop working out for a month until the guilt forces me off the couch. Moral of the story: life gets in the way of our health and wellness. Take your recovery (this is crucial), but don't let it derail you any more than it needs to.