Heaven and Hell...
Yesterday a client recommended Your Money or your Life, and this morning I started reading through it.
The book itself was originally written back back in the 60s, but has been revised and updated for the 21st Century. I'm only a chapter in but it's already resonating with me.
I don't know if you recall that story about a guy going up to heaven and just before he goes through the pearly gates, his sage guide shows him hell.
It's a huge banqueting hall and the tables are laden with food, but everybody has a long handled spoon, too long for them to be able to feed themselves so they are all emaciated and starving.
In heaven there is a similar room but everybody is feeding each other and they are happy and working together.
Well isn't that kind of the state we find ourselves in right now?
Since I was a kid we have been encouraged to look after number one first and be as selfish as possible. I didn't subscribe to this as a child and I still don't. Perhaps that's the reason I became a trainer, I want to help people.
This week has seen an explosion in people training in the gym. Existing members become territorial, newbies not knowing the rules breaking every gym etiquette rule there ever was. But rather than being contrite and trying to learn responding by being rude.
I never understand this, every year we go through this cycle. The regular trainers roll their eyes as the New Year's resolution crew rock up and take up space. But it could be so simple and avoided. Why not issue a common sense gym etiquette with each membership?
AT Virgin Active in Bromley I dispair at the amount of times I have some muppet doing doogy paddle or some other equally slow, lame stroke in the fast lane.
There is a recreational HALF pool, a SLOW lane, a medium lane and a FAST lane. I'm a half decent swimmer by any standards. I look. Yup fast guy/girl pounding up and down the pool, definitely faster than me, I move into the medium lane. 3 minutes later a newbie will walk in drop into either my lane OR the fast lane, roll over onto their back and gently kick while thinking calm slow thoughts.
So hell in the gym looks like a place where everybody has a long spoon but isn't helping anyone.
How can we create heaven?
By teaching mutual consideration, sharing and learning that you can share. In most gyms I train in I can ask to 'borrow' a weight for a set, only once in almost 30 years has someone refused and then chosen to get aggressive. A London Tower basketball player who had already spent 45 minutes on the bench press taking 10 minutes between sets.
So a quick list of things to avoid in January:
If you're new just be pleasant ask questions and the vast majority of people will happily accommodate you.
Start moderately. I had a client for many years who understood that each workout was 100% about him. He didn't compete. He focussed on perfect form on every single rep. He didn't try to outlift his training partners, he started and let his technique and form dictate his progress.
Lots of people are going to get injured, don't be one of them.
Some people say it's a marathon not a sprint, they're wrong. It's a lifestyle. If you want to live longer, feel healthier and enjoy a better quality of life, get in shape, and make training an integral part of your life. For me it's like taking a shower or brushing my teeth, something I do everyday.
The book itself was originally written back back in the 60s, but has been revised and updated for the 21st Century. I'm only a chapter in but it's already resonating with me.
I don't know if you recall that story about a guy going up to heaven and just before he goes through the pearly gates, his sage guide shows him hell.
It's a huge banqueting hall and the tables are laden with food, but everybody has a long handled spoon, too long for them to be able to feed themselves so they are all emaciated and starving.
In heaven there is a similar room but everybody is feeding each other and they are happy and working together.
Well isn't that kind of the state we find ourselves in right now?
Since I was a kid we have been encouraged to look after number one first and be as selfish as possible. I didn't subscribe to this as a child and I still don't. Perhaps that's the reason I became a trainer, I want to help people.
This week has seen an explosion in people training in the gym. Existing members become territorial, newbies not knowing the rules breaking every gym etiquette rule there ever was. But rather than being contrite and trying to learn responding by being rude.
I never understand this, every year we go through this cycle. The regular trainers roll their eyes as the New Year's resolution crew rock up and take up space. But it could be so simple and avoided. Why not issue a common sense gym etiquette with each membership?
AT Virgin Active in Bromley I dispair at the amount of times I have some muppet doing doogy paddle or some other equally slow, lame stroke in the fast lane.
There is a recreational HALF pool, a SLOW lane, a medium lane and a FAST lane. I'm a half decent swimmer by any standards. I look. Yup fast guy/girl pounding up and down the pool, definitely faster than me, I move into the medium lane. 3 minutes later a newbie will walk in drop into either my lane OR the fast lane, roll over onto their back and gently kick while thinking calm slow thoughts.
So hell in the gym looks like a place where everybody has a long spoon but isn't helping anyone.
How can we create heaven?
By teaching mutual consideration, sharing and learning that you can share. In most gyms I train in I can ask to 'borrow' a weight for a set, only once in almost 30 years has someone refused and then chosen to get aggressive. A London Tower basketball player who had already spent 45 minutes on the bench press taking 10 minutes between sets.
So a quick list of things to avoid in January:
If you're new just be pleasant ask questions and the vast majority of people will happily accommodate you.
Start moderately. I had a client for many years who understood that each workout was 100% about him. He didn't compete. He focussed on perfect form on every single rep. He didn't try to outlift his training partners, he started and let his technique and form dictate his progress.
Lots of people are going to get injured, don't be one of them.
Some people say it's a marathon not a sprint, they're wrong. It's a lifestyle. If you want to live longer, feel healthier and enjoy a better quality of life, get in shape, and make training an integral part of your life. For me it's like taking a shower or brushing my teeth, something I do everyday.
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