SmarterFitter Blog Less diet, more brain

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One of the hardest things about exercise is gaining the confidence to start in the first place.

The swimming pool is my ocean of insecurity. I remember swimming all the time as a kid, but pretty much stopped after grammar school (possibly because I became more aware of what I looked like in a bathing suit!). The longer I went without getting into a pool, the more I became convinced that I couldn’t swim in the first place.

After years of procrastination, I finally started swimming again last January. Now I wonder how I ever lived without it.

What happened to get me started? A few things…

• I hurt my ankle - Long story short: I used to run regularly, then I injured my ankle. Yes, it sucks that I had to hurt myself to look for other forms of cardiovascular exercise, but that’s life!
• I quit the gym - Another long story short: Without running, I turned to the gym for my exercise. But I eventually decided that the gym was an expensive way to not have very much fun.
• I discovered London Fields Lido - The outdoor heated pool in the middle of rough and tumble Hackney is its own oasis.
• Tim encouraged me - Support from friends and loved one is probably the best confidence booster their is. Tim suggested I start with the breast stroke, which gave me a bit of direction.
• I bought a bathing suit and swimming goggles - Well I wasn’t about to swim in my undies.
• I read about the basic strokes on the BBC website - It’s no substitute for swimming lessons, but it did give me an idea of what to do when I actually got into the pool.
• I went swimming once - I didn’t commit myself to a long term swimming program. I started with one swim; if I didn’t like it, no one was forcing me to go back. But I did like it, and I did go back.
• I looked at what other people were doing - When I was finally IN the pool, at the start of my very first lap EVER, I took a moment to survey the situation. The slow lane was a great place to get acquainted; there I found people of all types and abilities making their way across the pool and back again. Lots of people were clearly beginners. Others were hard core. But everyone seemed really happy to be there. So I plunged in and joined them!

This season, we often focus on all the things we want to change in the new year, but let’s not forget the things that went right THIS year. After all, the lessons we learn from success can help us to succeed in other areas.

Swimming is my most rewarding discovery of 2007. Yes, I’m fitter and stronger, but the best part is the fun in finding a new hobby. I’m not only learning how to swim, but also how to be confident and patient. My strategy from here is to use swimming as a template for finding confidence and patience in other areas of my life.

What about you? What’s your biggest success of 2007? How did you do it?

Photo courtesy of onionbagblogger on Flickr.com

You know all that stuff about No Years Resolutions?

This is the stuff I’m talking about!

J.D. Roth just posted a very brave decision on Get Fit Slowly: he’s starting now.

A little backstory - J.D. writes for Get Rich Slowly, a blog about slow but sure paths to financial stability. He’s applying the same philosophy to his health.

For my part, I went to bed early last night. That doesn’t happen very often. I’m usually up until midnight or one o’clock writing. (I get up at 5:30 no matter what.) When I woke up this morning, I went for a walk. I grabbed a couple oranges and my iPod and headed out the door. It was a leisurely two-mile stroll through the neighborhood and not a brisk affair, but it was a walk.

What can I say? The post moved me. As did the user comment which prompted J.D. to get started:

With regard to when you should start your fitness program — you should start now. You should start today. You know that though. Would you advise someone who was racking up credit card debt and not dealing with the problem to wait until next year to do something about it? Even if you only lose a pound or two between now and January you’ll be further along than if you hadn’t started.

Link

Right after I wrote the last post on No Year’s Resolutions, I read this timely article in which Brad Isaac compares goal seeking to the tortoise and the hare.

You know the story: there’s a race between a tortoise and a hare. The hare runs like a bat outta hell but tuckers out before the finish line. The slow but steady tortoise shows the hare who’s boss. The end.

When it comes to goals like losing weight, learning to play guitar, or reading Ulysses, there’s a major cost to being a hare:

You never get into a groove. You make more mistakes. Since hares constantly put down and pick up projects, they have to relearn what they are doing each time. It’s also easier to quit.

I know I spread myself to thin - I want to be a master vegan chef, pro-blogger, food photographer, mac guru. So I do a little bit of everything, all the time. But if I’m cooking, I’m thinking about writing, and if I’m writing, I’m thinking about taking pictures. In effect, I feel somewhat mediocre at all of the above. The hare might be sexy, but it’s not getting me closer to actually mastering any of those projects.

Rabbit food for thought:

You’ll have to do some soul searching to find out which is more important. But to me, finishing one important goal completely and on time is better than 10 large goals finished “whenever” and in a haphazard, frantic pace.

Becoming a tortoise in this day is a difficult maneuver. Companies want speed - no matter what the cost. So to be as steady and as wise as a tortoise takes guts. You have to stand by your principals. You have to take your time and do things right. That’s where real value comes from.

Link

“Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.”

The above passage by Mark Twain sums up what most of already know about New Year’s Resolutions: they basically blow.

Looking back at my blog circa January 2004, I found this somewhat depressing excerpt:

this year is going to be all about making productive choices in my life. i’m going to SERIOUSLY look for a job. i’m not going to smoke no matter how stressed out or drunk or lonely i am. i’m not going to binge drink. i’m going to excercise and eat good food and master thin crust pizza. and i’m also going to continue to try not to talk shit about (or tease or belittle) other people.

What’s wrong with this picture? The paragraph is essentially a laundry list of all the things I procrastinated doing the year before. Furthermore, most of those resolutions are in response to something negative: smoking too much, drinking too much, loneliness?! The only item with an ounce of merit is the thing about thin crust pizza, which I still haven’t mastered, almost 4 years later.

Here’s what history has taught me about resolutions, New Year’s or otherwise:

• They enable procrastination
• They set me up for failure
• They make me feel worse, which is stupid, because I set them to feel better
• Resolutions in response to something negative - be it smoking, drinking, eating or working - never work
• Resolutions are always challenging, no matter what day of the year they start

Here is the last negative resolution I’m ever going to make: to abandon New Year’s Resolutions forever.

Instead, I will only engage in what I affectionately term the No Year’s Resolution:

Here’s the idea: Make positive changes now instead of putting them off for some arbitrary date in the future. A couple rules:

• The moment I “set” a resolution, that resolution starts that very instant
• Set only positive goals
• Deprive myself of nothing

Here’s the goal: to radically enjoy The Holiday Season rather than simply survive it. Then step into the completely arbitrary “new year” having done something I feel good about.

Who’s with me?

The above is the last of my negative commentary on resolutions (you already know why they suck). Instead, stay tuned for some hopefully useful tips on taking action and setting positive goals for a season that has a lot to offer, like friends and pie. I also want to feature people who are taking a similar approach to the season, so if you know of anyone, please let me know!

Tim has already blogged about resolving to go for a walk today. Here are some resolutions I’ve made

• Enjoy sparkling water with Ginger cordial at work - and accept that this small amount of unprocessed sugar is tastier and far better for my health than diet pop
• Prioritize my morning swim - Aim to go 3 times a week before work, planning my schedule every Sunday to accomodate evenings out (especially ones that tend to be rather late and merry)
• Be 100% vegan at home - this just feels good, dammit
• Be booze-free at home - and enjoy a drink or two when I go out with my friends (ok, maybe 3 drinks)