Greetings from Koblenz, Germany where the Rhine and the Moselle rivers intersect. Every time I turnaround on this river cruise down the Rhine, I see another postcard picture. And this place is no different.
If you can point your phone at something cool and press click, you can’t screw up your pictures.
Speaking of screwing up, lemme ask you something…
What is the right pace to get into shape?
Judging from Nike, Gatorade, and other sports’ commercials, the answer is “intense.”
Go flip through Facebook. And you’ll see a barrage of inspirational messages like:
“Work hard. Play hard.”
“Go big. Or Go home.”
And the most-overused gym cliché’…
“No Pain. No Gain.”
Good lord. There are a billion social media accounts dedicated that nonsense.
But you know what is not sustainable? Suffering.
If we hate every minute of our workouts and fitness, the likelihood that we’ll be doing it months from now is slim to none. That’s why programs like P90X and Insanity have terrible stick rates: it’s too much too soon.
That’s why I recommend a more reasonable approach to your fitness: start small and go slow. Begin by picking a tiny habit that doesn’t seem too painful. Then do that week after week.
That is actually the secret sauce for our Crew when they’re just getting started.
Can’t do a 30-minute walk? No big deal, just start with 15 minutes.
Can’t make it to the gym? Then do some push-ups and squats at home.
Can’t cook? Then we’ll focus on drinking the right amount of water throughout the day.
We want to consistently hit our goal to build our confidence in the process. We’ll stack one habit on top of the other, creating an upward cycle of awesomeness.
And because we’re going slow, nothing seems too painful.
Remember, if you’ve had trouble in the past following the endless “no pain, no gain” messages found online, this is will free you. And you can now ignore them. It’ll help make fitness something you actually do and (holy s***) actually enjoy.
Your #1 Fan,
Jeff Pelizzaro
PS – If you’re struggling to get started, then I highly encourage you to do the 7-minute Daily Motion routine in the 18STRONG Membership.
For golfers, it’s a great fitness introduction that quickly helps you with your mobility. You’ve got this!