How to Cure the Fitness Success Curse
Making progress towards or meeting your fitness goals is a double edged sword. Obviously it feels good to see that fat melt off your body. Friends, family members, and coworkers shower you with a storm of compliments. You finally get to drop off the "old you" at The Salvation Army’s donation bin. By now you’re probably asking yourself "What’s the downside?". Didn’t we all start down the path to better fitness in order to do things like
- Lose fat, build muscle and look better? Yes
- Be complimented for a discipline and hard work? Yes
- Get rid of the clothes that represented our old selves? Yes
Here’s the downside. Everybody reading this blog and achieving fitness success is a human being. From time to time we let our emotions and outside influences get the best of us. Once we start achieving results we get EXCITED. With more excitement comes a better body, improved self-esteem, and a zest for the gym.
Then out of nowhere it happens! Like a thief in the night the curse strikes. We start to linger in front of that mirror a little longer to admire ourselves (you’ve worked this hard you deserve it right?). We start to allow more cheat meals into the diet (you’ve worked this hard you deserve it right?). Compliments massage the ear like our favorite love song (Thank you for the compliment. I was just thinking that my chest looks awesome as well!)
As the Fitness Success Curse takes over you begin to notice a disturbing change. The results that were once EASY to come by are mysteriously out of reach. Before the curse infected you the gym was your playground. It was yours for the taking every single day. Before the curse took over you wouldn’t in your wildest dreams picture yourself:
- Breaking for 2-3 minutes between sets
- Working with the same resistance for a month straight
- Laughing and joking mid workout
- Taking a week off
- Eating out 4 times a week
The Fitness Success Curse makes you a shell of your former self. I’ve fallen victim to it and used the following tactics to recover.
Don’t be Too Hard on Yourself
You have worked very hard for what you’ve achieved. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and the body you have created. Human beings are allowed to go through funks. No one on planet earth can be perfect at all times. If you find yourself slipping on the diet or training then call it a break. Take this time to just relax! WARNING: Don’t let the break linger too long or you’ll ruin all your good work. Set a date on the calendar to snap back into the swing of things and get back on track and stick to this date no matter what.
Return to Familiar Territory
I always have liked the phrase “stick with what got you here”. Unfortunately, this is bad advice in fitness. If your routine is the same for too long your progress will stop. As people we find comfort in the familiar. Revisit old workouts that you enjoyed and brought success. You’ll be surprised at how much stronger you’ve gotten. Your confidence will surge. Most importantly you’ll back in the swing of things. All of a sudden you’re back
Create New Goals
Going to the gym is a results based outing. If you have no goals you’ll just shoot yourself in the foot. You will literally be wasting your time. Set out a clear set of goals like the old you had.
The Fitness Success Curse strikes many people. It’s difficult to acknowledge once you’ve achieved a certain degree of progress. A bit of self-reflection is in order to get the train back on the tracks. It can be easily tackled by remembering the antedote:
- Don’t be too hard on yourself
- Return to Familiar Territory
- Create New Goals
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