Fit For Life: Stand Out & be the Minority

Saturday, July 07, 2018

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

I was at a conference last week and one of the great presenters I have been following for years made a big slip up.

He first asked who trained only pro athletes?

No one raised their hands

Then he asked who trains people that are out of shape, overweight, discouraged, unmotivated, stressed out, on medication, and don’t know how to eat and exercise properly?

The whole room raised their hands.

Then he started to say what that population needed.

Not fancy equipment or an anatomy lesson about how the body functions, but how to do the general things in life just to be normal again.

Exercises, and nutrition plans that make people move better, look better, feel good about themselves, and regain some self-confidence again. That’s what this population needs. Not a bunch of exercises that are going to crush them or make them throw up. Nor do they need some complex nutrition program where they need to micromanage their calories or macronutrients.

The average Mrs. Jones, or Mr. Smith doesn’t care about doing box jumps or running the 40-yard dash in 4 seconds. That’s for the pro athletes that not many people ever get to train. Pro already has motivation, are in shape, and on fire. They just need to fine-tune their programs to get faster at their particular sport.

The mistake he made was that he said the average person just wants to do normal things again, like pushups, squats, and planks.

Well, his mistake is, that sadly, it is normal to be de-conditioned and out of shape, and NOT able to do pushups and planks.
That’s because the MAJORITY of people you see on a daily basis are so out of shape and pumped up full of medication; that’s the normal state of physical conditioning these days.

I know this, because I see it every day. I watch my clients in amazement when they are crushing workouts and doing moves that they wouldn’t have dreamed of just weeks before joining our program at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp.

As a matter of fact, while I was coaching a day last week, I watched several people doing pushups, that could barely hold themselves up when they came to us.

Then I started thinking to myself: We are not making people “normal” but are creating anomalies.

I asked a woman if she could do that many pushups before joining us, and she said, “I couldn’t do anything before joining”.
We are seeing this every day! The Mrs. Jones that didn’t have enough confidence to walk through the door or could barely get up off the floor are now doing planks, pushups, and burpees. Today, that’s not normal seeing soccer moms crushing HIIT workouts. But its normal here. Because we focus in what matters, and what people need to improve on every level.

So, in today’s day and age, the majority of the population is de-conditioned, sick, overweight, lack mobility and stability, and are overall unhealthy. That means that if you take care of yourself, eat healthy, look fit and move well, you are not normal anymore.

I personally hear “why can’t you eat like a normal person” all the time, and I need to bite my tongue, so I don’t speak irrationally, or fly off the handle. Why am I abnormal because I won’t eat processed food that will make me look and feel like crap?

It’s not just me. Folks that eat quality organic food, work out every day, care about their health, are a minority in this country.

Why are we considered abnormal because we take care of ourselves, eat clean, exercise daily, and don’t need any medication?

What is normal? Let’s take a look.

Its normal to eat convenient packaged and processed food in bright colored boxes. With today’s busy schedule, it’s an easier way to eat. You don’t have to shop as frequently or prepare and cook meals.
It’s also expected that if you go to an event, you will eat like crap while you are there. Ball games, carnivals, fairs, and the snack bar at the beach are all full of vendors selling low quality garbage for insane prices, and people just succumb to being trapped so they eat it.

Its normal for folks to let their kids eat school lunches that are loaded with soy, GMO’s, and all other processed fillers. It’s also normal to give your kid ice cream from an ice cream truck that sells nothing but artificial stuff full of chemicals and dyes.

It’s also normal for kids to be on ADHD, or ADD medication, and experience behavioral problems and learning disabilities at school.

Finally, it's “normal” to have your belly hanging over your waistline, being on some sort of medication, and to be experiencing some sort of inflammation, like acid reflux or arthritis. It’s also normal to have some sort of food allergy like celiac, lactose intolerance, or Crohn’s disease from years of ingesting poor-quality food.

So, in conclusion, I want to tell you all NOT to be normal anymore. Be the outcast. Be the one that reads labels in supermarkets, orders special food in a restaurant, avoids processed foods and chemicals, makes going to the gym a routine and constantly strives to be better by taking care of themselves.

In other words, don’t fit in with the unhealthy population, “Stand Out” and be the minority. Join the healthy bunch and feel good for a change!!

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

Prev Next

MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

Prev Next

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

Prev Next

SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

Prev Next

Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android