I remember running down the escalator at Macy's at the Cape Cod mall.
My mother, calmly climbing the escalator like a regular human, would say that I was going to get hurt (possible) or that I was making a scene (correct) or that I was interrupting people trying to get down the escalator (also correct ).
Sometimes I would arrive at the top, exhausted and out of breath, while my mother arrived at the same time laughing at how hard I had to work.
Spend enough time in an airport (or traveling with young children) and within minutes you'll see kids trying to run over a People Mover moving in the other direction. Exhaustion for them, entertainment for us.
Do you see where I'm going with this?
My friend Mark Manson posted the following his newsletter this week:
“All the courage, perseverance, and motivation in the world won't do you any good if you're working on the wrong thing. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.
Which brings me to today’s question…
Where do you take the escalator DOWN?
Earlier this year I remember having a conversation with Coach Matt from the NF team about coach clients who succeed and who struggle.
- Those who succeed: they identify the escalator that is going in the right direction and work hard to get there. Each step actually amplifies their efforts.
- Those who struggle: they continue to devote their energy, will and effort to changes that do not make a difference.
I bet you've had moments where you've wondered if all the effort was REALLY worth it, or why progress seemed harder than normal.
Here are some examples of attempts to climb the escalator:
- Spending a lot of money on expensive supplements (not prescribed by a healthcare professional).
- Switch to organic, gluten-free, or low-carb keto snacks uniquely on the latest trend.
- Trying Complicated Diets That Don't Work In fact reduce the amount of food you eat.
- Doing exercise you hate exclusively for weight loss reasons.
Running (and anything considered cardio) is great for heart and lung health. But running and cardio are much less effective for weight loss than we think (unless we ALSO adjust our nutritional strategy).
I'm assuming you want to look more “toned”, which means you don't just want to “lose weight”, but rather keep the muscle you have and lose the fat on top.
If these are our goals, it is essential to focus on the right escalator.
Here are examples of climbing the escalator:
Show me someone who eats mostly protein, fruits, and vegetables and strength trains (with progressive overload) for 30 minutes several times a week, and I'll show you someone who rides the right escalator.
Here's the thing: humans are not programmed to like exercise. We're also not designed to thrive in a world in which delicious, high-calorie foods with no nutritional value are always available.
Which means that if we have to devote precious brain power and energy to doing something, you might as well choose the right things to do.
Yes, there is also a whole element of “life versus behavior” change (which I talked about in a previous newsletter on Manageable vs Significant). But deciding “how quickly I want to implement these meaningful measures” is a better question to ask than “Why am I not making progress despite you work so hard?
Get off the wrong escalator and take the right one.
We might as well put this effort to good use!
-Steve
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#Wasted #Effort #Nerd #Fitness