What Motivates You?
When It Comes to Fitness, Figuring Out What Drives You to Exercise Will Help You Achieve Your Fitness Goals
Brief Vacation Update
In my last post, I said that perhaps Apple and other fitness platforms will introduce functionality that values the importance of rest as a part of a successful fitness regimen, but until then, I’ll need to do a better job of incorporating rest into my routine and not be so “obsessed” with closing my rings. I was in fact able to “rest,” but I wasn’t able to let go of my move goal. With that said, I did take baby steps in the form of reducing of my move target while I was away (it was pretty high, so I made it less high) and I was able to let go of my Peloton daily streak. I did run almost every day, which felt great in the warm weather, but I definitely cut down the intensity, which I consider progress.
In the News
Lots to get to today.
These Apps Turn Your Apple Watch Into a Fitness Tracking Machine - Wired details a number of apps that track running, skiing, swimming and weight-training. Apple Watch can already track most of these types of workouts, so unless you’re invested in a particular platform, you’ll probably be just fine with the native tracking. If you don’t see a workout type in the workouts list on the Apple Watch, scroll to the bottom of the app to “add a workout.” From there, you’ll be able to add other types of workouts that include everything from pickleball to snowboarding to bowling.
CEO BARRY MCCARTHY PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO POTENTIAL NEW DIRECTIONS FOR PELOTON - Peloton founder and CEO John Foley stepped down as CEO last month and was replaced by Barry McCarthy, formerly of Netflix and Spotify, so he comes with subscription business chops. I’ve long thought that Peloton’s biggest asset was its membership platform where they boast close to 6M users, with around half of them paying Peloton’s monthly membership fee. What’s lacking is the ability to find and interact with members who share the same interests or who perhaps have enlightening approaches to working out on the platform. You can of course find friends and family members when you know their usernames and you can filter users by age, gender or hashtags while working out, but beyond that, users typically turn to Reddit or other user-generated platforms. If this reporting is accurate, it seems that Peloton is finally recognizing that the strength of the business is in its user base and not simply by selling hardware. Selfishly, I’d like to see them slow-walk this a bit as I’m working on a side project related to Peloton Stacks. But that’s for a future discussion.
Strength training 101: Is it better to lift heavier weights or do more reps? The Today Show ran a segment with fitness guru Stephanie Mansour about whether it was better to lift heavy with less reps or lift lighter with more reps. She says that “as a weight loss coach and personal trainer who specializes in women’s health and physique, what every single one of my clients has wanted over the past 15 years is a sleek and toned look — and that is usually achieved (no matter what your current size or weight-loss goals) by more repetitions with lighter weights. With that said, she also says that the decision is also driven by your fitness goals, so if you are looking to bulk up, heavier weight and less reps is the way to go.
AARP Online Fitness powered by LIFT session - AARP has announced their own fitness platform specifically geared toward individuals aged 50 and up. They offer non-member and member pricing and the program has options for one-on-one training sessions or group training sessions that are reasonably priced. I have not yet had a chance to try it out, but I’ll provide some insight once I’ve had a chance to take a look.
Peloton Guide - Peloton will soon launch their latest product, Peloton Guide. It’s a camera that allows you to see yourself on screen (TV) while guiding you through strength workouts. It will come with a remote control and heart rate monitor and will sell for $495. If you are already a Peloton subscriber, you can add on the Peloton Guide membership at no additional charge. Otherwise, membership will cost $12.99 per month. It will require you to have your own weights or other related equipment.
10 plant-based foods nutritionists eat every week - After my last post, I was asked by one of the readers whether it made sense to speak to a nutritionist about developing healthy eating habits. Food, dieting and eating are, in my opinion, very personal choices so for this, I am not the best person to ask. I do know what works for me and plant based foods can be an important part of daily nutrition. I’m planning to interview a nutrition expert for a future post, so stay tuned.
The #1 Best Coffee Habit for Muscle Building, Says Dietitian - This article touts coffee as a protein delivery vehicle by adding protein power to your morning cup. I’m a big coffee drinker (just not past 10AM) and this seems like a relatively easy way to add another 20g of protein to my diet. Definitely going to give this a “shot.”
Motivation and Exercise
You’ve all heard the phrase “no pain, no gain,” made famous by Jane Fonda’s workouts from the 1980’s. I’m sure there is some truth to the fact that there is “good” pain (muscle soreness after a tough workout) and pain that means you should probably ease up (strained muscles and limps). My guess however, is that pain in general is probably not motivating many of us to exercise. I certainly don’t wake up each day with a “no pain, no gain” mindset. That is not something that motivates me.
A Simple Google search brings up the following definition for motivation:
What motivates you is of course personal and differs from person to person. We may exercise because it improves health, or because we want to be active for our children or it may even be because you just want to look good and feel your best. Figuring out what gets you on the bike or on the treadmill or in the gym will go a long way to helping you begin and maintain a fitness regimen.
Now practically speaking, motivation will only get you so far. There are going to be times where you just don’t feel like exercising or responsibilities at home or work will require your attention, so what then?
Start with building exercise into your schedule on the days that you intend to workout. I covered this in one of my initial newsletter posts, but if you can schedule exercise as you would a meeting, you’re much more likely to complete a workout. This article published by the Harvard Medical School is an excellent read and offers a lot of practical advice for a variety of situations.
Vary your workouts - This seems fairly obvious, but varying your workouts, even within your scheduled exercise time, can make them go by much faster and, if something comes up, you can complete some of the workout and get to the rest later. Today for example, I’ve scheduled an hour to exercise (which, as I write this, I’ve yet to complete) that consists of the following:
5 minute warm up and cool down rides.
2 main rides of 10 and 15 minutes
15 minutes of strength training
5 minutes of core
5 minutes of stretching
Workout Partner(s)/Team Sports - Having a workout partner can also help keep you on track and keep you accountable and team sports are even better as they afford you the opportunity to socialize while getting in a workout.
Good Music - On days when I’m really not feeling it, I’ll turn to a workout with a good playlist (my go-to is the Foo Fighters). When I exercise by myself, I ALWAYS listen to music.
If you are enjoying this newsletter, please spread the word. If you have feedback you’d like to share, you can do so in the comments section or you can email me at ccotnoir@gmail.com. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!