Written by Understanding your body is the first big step in figuring out how to appropriately achieve the goals you set when starting your fitness journey. Many people have the idea that simply stepping into a gym or going to hire a professional (hopefully) will be all they need in order to get everything done. The problem with this is that it often limits your own accountability to your goals.
Even hiring the best professional you can find – whether that is a strength coach or a functional medicine practitioner, will require you to be have to learn how to adapt principles and develop habits that will make you improve continuously. The best way that I’ve heard this concept being phrased was by Dr. Ben House. I’m paraphrasing here but he basically said that often times people are coming to you (a coach) looking for a recipe, but they have no idea how to cook. Think about this for a second, and reflect on if you might fall into this category. Your coach can give you the best advice, best plan, run the best blood panels, and come out with exactly what you need to do in order to achieve you goals, but you need to do them. You need to be able to train the way that is necessary, or hold back on training; Work on your sleep; Eat a certain way; And allow yourself to be able to make adjustments as they come.
Remember: no plan will work forever. The best thing you can do to improve your results and make the process easier is to understand how your body functions.
- What makes you feel good? What doesn’t?
- How do you feel when you eat certain foods?
- Can you recognize when you recover well?
- Can you recognize and deal with stress?
The process is never easy, but you that doesn’t mean you have to make it harder for yourself.
James
