Should you rethink how you reach your fitness goals?

You have had an interest in keeping fit for sometime now. Years as a matter of fact.

Even back to the days when you used to go to soccer training every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon after school ready for that big game on Saturday morning. Although you were never working to a real plan you realized you had to do a bit to keep up with your mates.

Then as you got older, you read a bit about what the pros were doing and the latest training gimmicks and started to work to a plan. It may have changed every other month when the next issue of your health magazine subscription arrived, but still you had a plan.

You get up and train, whenever you could get a chance. Rain hail or shine.

Continually working towards that result.

Cursing yourself if you miss a session and then pushing yourself even harder to try to make it up.

But you feel tired, run down…..frustrated….and your fitness begins to stall or even go backwards.

But then life starts to get in the way

You are so busy trying to keep it together, keeping an eye on the cash flow of the business, searching for new customers, trying to be a great husband and parent. There’s little time to do anything for yourself.

You work harder to clear the slate and make a bit of spare time for the weekend to try to do something for yourself, to improve your health and fitness, and grab a bit of airspace and solitude with a bit of adventure thrown in.

Finally you manage to squeeze a bit of a break and get out for a run.

And again as you have done in years gone by you push yourself harder and harder to make up for missed time.

Trying to get that little bit fitter, because conventional wisdom has taught us for years that if a little bit of exercise is good, well a lot of hard exercises must be better. Right?

Sound familiar?

Well this used to be me to a tee as well!

But have you ever wondered if this may be good for you or actually working against you.

It never crossed my mind. I was exercising when I could

It was not until I researched and studied more and then tested it on myself that I actually found out what I was really doing to myself.

Achieving a great level of fitness is not as hard as we have been lead to believe and can be built up by combining a range of exercises

Get up and walk around to break up long periods of sitting at work or at home, take the stairs instead of the lift and everyday housework all add to getting up and moving.

Low level easy strength training exercises such as pull ups, pushups, squats and planks are great full body exercises that use almost every muscle in our body.

Easy aerobic exercises such as jogging, brisk walking or cycling using a heart rate monitor to make sure you are not exceeding a maximum aerobic heart rate (180 – your age).

Exercises like yoga and pilates can also assist to improve flexibility and strength.

Short bursts of high-intensity all out sprints with 6 x 10 to 15 seconds of hard running or cycling on a stationary bike or even swimming if this is more your thing.

Although there are a raft of super cool gadgets (and I for one certainly love cool gadgets) and gym equipment and highly detailed training programs to support and encourage your exercise these really are not necessary for most of us to achieve a solid level of fitness.

And now things are different…very different.

I now take a far more easy going and relaxed attitude to my exercise and now I mix it up.

No longer having to train a certain way on a certain day, no matter how I feel.

I do what I want when I can, just to get out and play and for the challenge.

I listen to my body, go when I feel like it and back right off when I don’t, like when those aches and pains or a cold creeps up.

Now longer, slower mountain bike rides, kayak paddles, trail runs, surfs and bush walking are the norm.

Building my fitness with solid base of easy exercise, strength training and sprints in the least amount of time.

I’m now feeling refreshed, alive and fired up….not tired, flogged, worn out and exhausted.

Such a different feeling from a few years ago….and now how good is it!

So next time you head out for that gut busting run, it’s worth rethinking it becasue there is another way thats much easier takes less time and is much better for your body.

I am Rod Bucton. This is Sports Adventure

I help busy over 40 year old fathers get fit, lean, strong and get out and play.

To apply for a free coaching call visit www.sportsadventure.com.au