Four years ago I wrote Part 1, which I found to be a neat little exercise. Since I’ve been sharing archived posts lately I read through it and marveled at how much similarity exists in the things I tell people now. I thought it would be interesting to repeat the same experiment and so here is what I talked to people about last week…

Sunday

Guys have a much harder time just eating one cookie.

Be consistent but don’t overdo it. That’s when progress happens.

Cardio isn’t necessary. Do your exercise well and “cardio” happens by accident.

Monday

It’s amazing that something as complex as a car needs to be so carefully taken car of yet the human body is a thousand times more complex and we keep wanting to simplify it down to “just eat well” or do this or do that and think it’s going to work.

Tightness can’t be fixed overnight. Move as often as you can. Hips get tight as an adaptation to how we live. Move them through as much range of motion as you can as often as you can. The problem is being static. Breaking the static, even for a second, is where you encourage change.

There’s a big difference between moving your body and moving with intention. They are and result in two different things. Moving your body is step one. Paying attention to how your body feel when it moves is step two. Both are important but moving with intention and connection is the best way to change your body and how it moves.

The rotator cuff is very complex. It’s a group of muscles designed to protect and control the shoulder. Bad posture puts it into a bad place. Good posture helps it work how it’s designed.

Body position matters. Pay attention to yours.

When you stretch a complex it’s the tightest link in the chain that gets stretched.

Movement brings out emotion. That’s ok- it’s a good thing. Feel your exercise, don’t disconnect from it.

Tuesday 

You’re only as bright as you dress.

Breakdown your 8 headed monster. What are your demons that prevent you from making change and living well. The ones you can see right away the usual or immediate suspects are often just along for the ride while the biggest offenders (the ones pulling all the strings) are usually hidden until you flush them out- just like a last minute twist in a movie. YOU were behind this the whole time??

Blood work explanation with triglyceride detail and liver function:

Neck pain is posture. So is back pain. Conditions usually don’t develop overnight and/or quickly. They progress slowly but that allows you to realize it if you pay attention.

Pre workout drinks are tricky- be careful with them. Do we need pre workout drinks? If your body isn’t brimming with energy to expend in a workout what are you doing forcing it to work out? Isn’t that the opposite of the signal your body is giving you?

Much of exercise is skill. Don’t practice for a while? Expect to be rusty. Most of its neuromuscular so think about practicing if you want to be better. Also, the better you practice the better you perform.

Wednesday

Make sure you move. Even if it’s for a minute, try not to be in the same position for too long.

Movement is is your diet- get everything in your palate. Even healthy movers can be nutrient deficient.

Thursday

You’re only who you are. Don’t live in someone else’s shoes or expectations. That’s a recipe for disappointment and frustration.

Pain is a warning signal. Think of it as an alarm to impending damage or a threat. Listen to it. Something I have failed to do in the past… 🙂

Friday

Movement is nutrition. How diverse is your “diet”? (Different person, same basic conversation as Wednesday)

Take care of yourself. Seriously.

There is no magic formula for exercise. Just do your best.

If you can’t step up without back pain something’s going on. That’s not a good thing and shouldn’t be ignored.

Wrapping Up

So what stands out? A couple things: I talked a bunch less (which is always a goal) and there was lots of movement talk and very little nutrition talk. Not sure if there was even much chatter about it at all which is a lot different than four years ago. Maybe that’s because I’ve had all the nutrition conversations already or maybe I’ve just been paying attention and studying movement more lately. Or maybe it’s just the week. Certainly I have diet and nutrition discussions much more around the holidays and pre-summer time so I’m sure it won’t be long until I have a week filled with what people should be putting on their plates. Whatever the case, it is always interesting to take a step back and see what I’ve been busy telling people in a week. 🙂

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

P.S. Found this from Nature as I was double checking the diagram I created. Glad to know I was pretty close…