Guest Post from Alex Shalman.

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Subtitle: No introduction necessary.  To know Alex is to love him. And we already know him.

CI4 Principles to Pump-Up Your Workout

Hey hey! Alex Shalman here, and Carla tells me that there are a bunch of MizFits roaming around these parts of blog-town. I’m forced to listen to her, in fact, when Queen MizFit and I skype-chat.

I come wearing a bullet-proof vest… I mean, have you SEEN her GUNS?!?


Carla is a great example of what we can accomplish with our bodies when we put our heart and soul into our training. In fact, I’m willing to bet that she absolutely loves her workouts, gets super excited about them, and because of this she’s able to get into such insane shape.

I’ve been working out myself, and, my energy levels have been going through the roof. Not only in my workouts, but throughout my whole day. In fact, it’s been affecting and infecting every part of my life. More energy, more focus, better mood, better attitude, better diet.

It’s turned into a positive feedback loop – more excitement about working out leads to more exercise, and more exercise leads to more excitement about it. Some of us are stuck on another loop – or more of a hamster wheel – especially when it comes to our jobs (aka, the rat race).

That’s the problem. We’re creatures of habit… we’re slaves of habit. One of my favorite personal development writers, Og Mandino (R.I.P.) says “If you must be a slave to habit, then be a slave to good habits.”

I totally agree, and this is why it’s so important to get ourselves into that positive feedback loop of exercising and feeling great. In order to do that, I use 4 principles to get myself excited about exercise.

1. Start Slow. Our motivation comes and goes, so whenever you feel motivated, start. The problem is, when we’re first starting out, our motivation is much larger than our fitness level. We rush off to the gym, pick up the heaviest weights, and regret it the next day.
We’re setting ourselves up for a negative feedback loop. Work out, suffer pain, never come back. Instead, start slow, know that you can give more, but hold yourself back. Feel great the next day and push yourself a little harder next time.

2. Set a Schedule. Our bodies are very intuitive. When we exercise during the same time each day, our bodies compensate by giving us extra energy right before the work out starts. This “prepare for battle” mode may take a couple of weeks to ingrain into our bodies, but once it’s there, we’re able to take our workouts to a new level.
Morning time is my favorite time to exercise. Before the day gets to me, and before my time is demanded elsewhere, I “get my workout in.” At the end of the day, I personally find that there is too much possibility for excuses. Whichever works for you, try to stick with a daily exercise routine, and your body will appreciate you for it.

3. Get People Involved. Whether it’s a trainer at the gym, a friend, or exercise partner, get other people involved. Being accountable to others allows them to keep an eye on you like a watch dog. On your most lazy days, the power of guilt from these people will get you working out – a case of positive guilt? Yes!
My trainer is there to make sure I push myself to my limits. My girlfriend is there to remind me to go to sleep, because I have a workout coming up in the morning. My friend is there to set an example as to what a real athlete’s dedication looks like, and inspire me. Get several people in your life that you admire, who will motivate you, and keep you accountable.

4. Have Fun Working Out. This is the most important principle. Take pleasure in training towards a goal, but more importantly take pleasure in every rep, and every step. We’re not actually going to get anywhere with our workouts. Sure, we might set a new personal record, or beat our friends in a friendly-competition, but then what?
Then you start a new goal, and train towards that. It will be some time before you reach that goal, and reaching the goal is just one moment in time. The rest of the time is spent on the journey, and that’s what the majority of our life is made of. Enjoy the sweat, the pain, and the relaxation that comes after a workout. Enjoy Life!

Alex Shalman does for personal development what Chuck Norris does for karate, and he’s got a very bad (to the bone) Podcast on self-improvement.


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Comments

  1. Thank goodness it’s another male around here!

    I found your site Alex from Miz’ guest post and have really enjoyed it too.

  4. Great post!

    Um, but exercise is supposed to be fun??? Whoops, there’s my problem right there.

    (OK, it’s fun SOMETIMES. I gotta work on making it less dreary.)

  5. Big yes on all four points.

    I personally don’t have to deal with #1 any more, thank goodness, but I encounter it frequently with people at the Y. I always tell people “Slow down! You can’t undo years of nothing with one week of wild workouts. If you get too sore, you’ll never want to come back again!”

  6. I didn’t know about the “prepare for battle” mode our body goes into if we work-out the same time everyday…makes sense. I’ll have to try that out…I generally work-out at different times on different days based on mood…lol…sometimes I’m a go-get’er for the morning (rare), or a lunchtime cardio blaster (often) or a afterwork “Shredder” (very often)…I think I’ll start a little experiment and see if I can get that burst of energy to happen for me 🙂

  7. I feel like those points (beyond 1 and 2) are subjective. For me, talking to others about my workouts sometimes send me into obsessive modes. And you can work out and hate it, but do it so that you can do something else (lifting weights to rock climb).

  8. I couldn’t agree with you more.
    “If you must be a slave to habit, then be a slave to good habits.”

  10. I’m with some of the people up there. Number 4 tends to be my hardest part, besides inertia that is!
    Great post. Thanks!!

  12. This was a great post today. Thanks Alex and Miz.

    re: your comment in my blog – Splenda Daddy! I almost hurt myself laughing which I REALLY needed today. You are hilarious and thank you so much for your support!

  14. Oooo, I love your blog! (I can’t believe it took me this long to find it.)

    I like that list – unfortch, I have yet to find a way of working out that’s ALWAYS fun to me, so I’ve found that training *for* something always helps. Even when I can’t fathom staying on the treadmill for another second, I just remind myself of the race I’ve got coming up and it scares me enough to keep me going. Fear tactics. They’re the wave of the future.

  15. Great suggestions! And so true. It’s so easy to get into bad habits but once you have developed good habits exercise is enjoyable and no longer a battle!

    I had never thought about #2. I usually work out in the morning but worked out in the afternoon yesterday. I had a really hard time getting through my workout. I have noticed in the past that when I don’t work out first thing in the morning, as I do most of the time, I have a much harder time. Interesting point to consider. I’ll try to stick to the same time from now on. Thanks for the suggestion!

  17. great post from Alex! I love my morning exercise best but will do it anytime of the day as long as I can get it in 😉 Love to incorporate the FUN too!

  19. These are great tips.

    I’m at a point right now when I’m esp. appreciating the words about setting a goal vs. enjoying the journey.

    So, so true.

    For me the problem with goals is that accomplishing them sometimes feels like The End…

  21. Hiya

    Good post and I really like the Have Fun exercising attitiude. It make me so much more flexible in choosing different workouts and inspired to workout again.

    Take it slow to start is excellent advice too. Find your ‘rhythm’ and ability first.

    S’pose I’d better go for a short run tonight!

    Thanks
    Jens

  22. I need to remember when I am too tired to work out that I will have more energy if I go and workout.

  23. Great information. I am a creature of habit. I have trained my body to exercise in the early AM and when I can’t do it then, getting it done later during the day is difficult.

  24. Hey everyone. I have read each and every one of your comments… you guys rock.

    Thank you for having me here. I’m glad that most of you got at least one good tip out of the post, and that a bunch of you are validated because you recognize that you already do these things.

  25. I follow them all! I also like to change it up & challenge myself to keep things exciting because I see results… for me, that is fun.. yes, a sadistic fun, but it works for me!

    Good post!

  26. Hey Evan, I drop by often too.

    Nice ideas Alex. The involvement of others is really important if you want to stay on some schedule. They need to know that some workout time is necessary even when they want to drag you along.

    Thanks

  30. just wanted to say LOVE your part 2 where u shared what you eat every day!

    am i too late for a question?

    what do u do about social gatherings? eat before? find the best option there? sneak a smoothie in your purse?

  32. Excellent post Alex, nice to see you here. You’ve put into words what has taken me almost 20years to work out. Thank you 🙂

  33. What a great post, and what wonderful advice. I particularly like the advice to start slow. Over-enthusiasm and over-work at the beginning of any process is a major downfall of mine. When I started this whole getting-healthy process and had such great success, I started slow, doing a little and building up to a lot. There’s a lot to be said for baby steps. For one thing, they’re a lot easier to keep taking than grand jetes. 🙂

    V.

  34. @rhodeygirl You don’t always have to eat at social gatherings just because other people do. For example, my mom doesn’t eat after 6, even at family gatherings. That combined with the personal trainer 3x week, and daily exercise, and she’s lost 15 pounds in the past month. Looking great, feeling great.

    Don’t let other people, and what they’re doing, influence what you know is right for you.

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