Deep Thoughts About Fitness

1.) It’s far better to brush your teeth for 2-3 minutes a day than for 45 minutes 2-3 times a month.

This was my first deep thought related to fitness. I came up with this saying 30 years ago and it has served me well. I always get a hearty laugh from the audience when I say this, but it’s nervous laughter because everyone realizes that as it relates to exercise, they’ve been guilty. The simple truth of this statement cuts to the very core of why spending a much shorter time working out, on a daily basis, will always trump spending a longer period of time, every so often. 

2.) What’s done today is done. What waits for tomorrow often ends in sorrow.

This deep thought speaks to our propensity to procrastinate. I love the old poem:

Procrastination is my sin; it is my shame and sorrow. I think I will correct myself. I think I'll start tomorrow.

After all these years of dealing with procrastination, related to many different things, I’m convinced that there is a power that comes with daily. In other words, the things in life that are really important, should become habits done daily. 

3.) Small Changes make a BIG difference over time.

I really do not know of a more profound truth that applies more aptly to health and fitness. Why? In part because we are a consumer society, bombarded with advertisements. And now more than ever with so many electronic devices and social media. So many of those click-here, buy-this ads promise quick, if not instant results. Maybe in some cases the product can deliver on that promise, but not when it comes to diet and exercise. Most people that fail with fitness, do so because they bail way too soon. 

4.) For any change to be permanent, you must be willing to live with that change permanently for the rest of your life.

When explaining this deep thought, I always draw a distinction between dying your hair and getting a tattoo. One is temporary, and the other is far more permanent. Most people approach changes they make with diet and exercise like dying their hair. If you came to me and said, I need to lose 15 pounds in three weeks because I’m in a wedding, I would tell you that that’s possible and give you the plan to accomplish it. However, there is no way you can continue to execute that plan long term because it’s too radical. When you make exercise or diet changes, do so with the understanding that in order for it to last, the change you’re making must become a permanent part of your lifestyle. That will work every time!