New Year, All Year?
Column #60, 3rd January 2009
Making a resolution is a form of making a change and could theoretically be done any time of the year, but as tradition dictates, right now is the most popular time to do so. ‘New Year All Year’ is not the same sentiment as ‘wishing it was Christmas everyday’. It’s about finding something that is successful and sustainable. In other words, it works.
Steps in the right direction
You may be beginning an exercise programme or changing your exercise and lifestyle habits. Making the small steps will truly lead to your success if you can sustain them. Typically and unfortunately our good intensions seem not to last. This is often due to; not getting the desired results, injury, lack of enjoyment and importantly, the irrelevance of the exercise programme to the function of the individual. Here are 10 tips to making sustainable changes that work to achieve your goals:
- Prioritise areas of your health that need addressing. Work with ‘Functional Trainer’ to address nutrition, exercise, movement, performance or rehabilitation.
- Time Investment: Decide on a realistic amount of time you can dedicate to your training. Everybody is different, so take manageable steps in the right direction.
- Initial Over Training: Too much training at the beginning could lead to injury, fatigue, immune system suppression and boredom.
- Functional Training: You must train for the purpose of performing the activities in your daily life free from injury and ill health. This could include DIY, carrying heavy bags, manual labour or sport.
- Correct your Posture: Poor posture can lead to aches, pains, injuries and dysfunction. Poor spinal alignment can even cause digestive dysfunction, so make sure you always consider your posture during movement and exercise. Have your posture assessed accurately.
- Learning about you: Never follow generic, one-size-fits-all programmes. When we can’t see why we are doing something, it will often impair our interest and enjoyment of it. Know why you are performing any of the changes you make to your lifestyle.
- Avoid Fad/Extreme Diets because you will not be supplying your body with the required nutrients, any results will be short lived and you may even cause damage to your body.
- Metabolic Typing Diet: Find out your metabolic type and eat accordingly. This will enable you to attain and maintain your ideal body weight and improve your health. This is not an extreme diet and is based on the scientific principle that as individuals we have specific nutritional requirements.
- Eat Organic, fresh and local: Organic food is free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers, which can cause damage and infections in your digestive system
- Quality: However frequently you exercise, make sure it is quality. If you exercise with poor technique your body will learn it that way, causing problems like reduced performance, injury and poor posture.
