The Royal Baby & YOUR Fitness

This week the country’s been revelling in royal baby madness. 

What’s not to like? I love the royal family. I love babies. The combo is brilliant.

BUT, ‘what does this have to do with me getting fit?’ I hear you ask... 

The coverage on the week leading up to it was insane. This was only topped off by the coverage on the day he was born. Talk about a story with no content. With a camera fixed on a newsreader on location and several ‘qualified’ guests, the news, or lack of it, at the time just rolled and rolled.

Knowing the baby was born, the sex was kept secret for the hours immediately after birth. The ‘experts’ made assumptions as to what sex the baby was, where the new family would live for the weeks after birth and what kind of parents they would be. Talk about lack of content...

Talk about lack of content...

EJ (my wife) loved it. I was a little bored. It was clear they were making everything up. I’d seen enough, and despite wanting to know the sex of the baby, I wanted to turn over. EJ was having none of it. Whilst we discussed turning over (read: argued) the sky news correspondent went over to the crowd and asked ‘what do you hope the royal baby will be?’

What happened next has left me in fits of laughter ever since. Upon asking the question a tall black man with a massive smile on his face lent forward to the microphone and said, ‘...black’. 

Ask a better question

Whilst I think this is terribly funny and the man’s delivery was exceptional, it highlighted the importance of asking a better question. Her question was ambiguous and his response brilliant. 

I see a similar thing happen in fitness again and again and again.

When embarking on a fitness plan many people just don’t start at the right place.

Everybody knows the power of the mind. If you are not thinking correctly, despite your best intentions, you will not be able to achieve your true potential. 

Physiology is ALWAYS led by psychology.

To demonstrate this point you only need to look at the body’s reactions.

• First you are embarrassed (psychological) and then you go red (physiological)
• First you feel cold (psychological) and then you shiver (physiological)
• First you are nervous (psychological) then you shit yourself (physiological) 

...too far? Maybe. I guess I made my point.

BUT how do you access the power of the mind? You ask a better question.

If the newsreader asked a more specific question she’d have got the response she wanted. And this is true with fitness.

Before embarking on a fitness plan if you position it right by trying to find out exactly what you want and why you want it then you’ll have a half decent chance of success. To further magnify this, if you write it down and take the time to think about it and let it evolve you will get the leverage on yourself to help you succeed. 

What kind of questions should you ask...

What do you want? Is it a feeling you’re after? Is it a look you want? Do you want to fit in your skinny jeans again? Do you want to feel sexy and be able to wear what you want with confidence? Do you want more energy? Do you want to feel better in clothes? Or maybe out of clothes? Why do you want to get fit?

Are you ready to change? Are you ready to do what it takes? Why now?

What has stopped you from following your heart and making these changes in the past? Are those obstacles still a problem? What motivates you?

Heavy stuff, eh? But don’t stop there...

Without considering whether its realistic, write down absolutely what you want to achieve. Be very specific. What will you look like? How will you feel? How will you know if you’ve reached your goal?

What are you willing to do to make this reality for you? What sacrifices are you willing to make? Are you willing to give up your favourite foods? Are you ready to get up earlier in the morning? Will you make time to plan your meals ahead? Skip the after dinner snacks? Are you ready to do what you need to do to reach the goal above?

What sacrifices are you absolutely not willing to make? What will you not give up? Will this keep you from reaching the above goal?

How will you feel when you achieve your goal? What type of clothes will you be wearing? What will this mean to you?

Next time you start a fitness plan ask a better question.