Football and Fitness?!
It’s finally football season! You either love it, hate it, or could care less. I am going to write a few random thoughts on how football and fitness have a lot in common. Don’t worry, if you don’t know the difference between a quarterback and linebacker you will still get something out of this post. I am also going to throw in a few tips on how to enjoy a few of those foods you enjoy while watching the game!
They all have a plan going into the game!— When you watch the game today realize the coaching staff has been game planning and studying film for weeks before they step on the field. I see so many people that are just winging it with their fitness plans! Half of them don’t have a time blocked out for when they will work out. They have no coaching, and then go into some big box gym with lots of choices and get overwhelmed.
There is no perfect plan!— Some of the teams will run the ball, others will pass it. Some will run a 4-3 defense and others a 3-4(I lost a lot of you there)….BUT THEY ARE ALL FOLLOWING PLANS THAT THEY CAN EXECUTE!!. I see the same thing with all these different diet plans. They all work, for someone, BUT IT MIGHT NOT BE YOU! If you love meat, and decide tomorrow you are going to be a vegan, good luck following that plan! You probably need to focus on the real goal when it comes to fat loss, getting into a caloric deficit. This is also the reason we never have 2 people doing the same thing in our groups. Some are coming in with injuries and no experience. It would be dumb to treat them the same way as a person with no injuries and experience training.
Maybe you can reduce the calories earlier in the day and stick to just protein so you don’t feel like eating all of the wings at game time! If you have been good all week then that beer or 2 (notice I did not say 10) is not going to hurt you. It might even help you stay on your plan. No one is perfect. When you try to be perfect you will also go through phases of being completely off.
They have an off- season and in-season!— We all need this in some way, shape, or form. You can’t go hard all the time. If your favorite team played every week for 52 weeks they would not exist! There is a reason we have easier and harder workouts planned out for our groups. Try going hard all the time and your body will naturally stop you. It will be called burnout or injury.
I sat down with one of my personal training clients last week and planned her “push” and “coast” phases for the next quarter. For example we planned some higher intensity phases for the next 9 weeks which takes her to thanksgiving. A 2 week lower intensity phase, and then we pick things back up again. There are even cycles within that 9 weeks of higher and lower intensity.
The problem with most of you is you don’t think long term, and then mentally beat yourself up when you miss a session. This is what leads to you not doing a thing for months! It’s always what you can do over time! And just to clarify, a “coast period” is just a change up to the workouts, home workouts when they are on vacation, or maybe even a week off. It does not mean do nothing towards your goals for months. And trust me it helps more than it hurts. Everything in life has cycles over time. I had to learn this the hard way when it comes to running a business! Repeat after me… Your body is much smarter than you!!!
We all need Coaches! — As you watch the games today you will notice that every team has a coach! You can have all the talent or knowledge in the world, but if you don’t have someone holding you accountable then you will never reach your goals. It is the same exact thing when it comes to fitness(or anything). If you don’t have someone planning all of this out for you it will be hard to reach your goals. And no, a book or workout DVD is not the same!
And one more thing… Go 49ers!!!!!!! It. is. our.year!!