When Did Your Problems Start?

You don’t work out, so you get stiff and lose energy…  You lose energy and get stiff so you don’t work out…  So you don’t work out, lose energy and get stiff, etc. etc…

When did this start for you? For many people, working out or playing sports of some kind was at one point in our lives a regular practice. What changed? Was it the desk job that made you sit all day? Was it the kids that took the time you used to spend at the gym? Was it money? An injury or illness?
Whatever it was, its here now and unless something changes, it’s here to stay. And it only gets worse. None of us are getting younger. But have you thought about how that affects your work? Your productivity? Or simply your quality of life? Here are some stats to consider:

• Employees in poor health take 9 more days of sick leave over healthy employees
• Employees in good health are 3 times more productive than employees in poor health
• Employees that exercise on a daily basis are more alert during work hours and they are less likely to get tired during the workday
• Healthy employees are able to concentrate more on their jobs and they make 60% fewer errors than employees in poor health
• If an employee will exercise at least once a week, they will reduce their average number of sick days from 10 to 5

And it’s not easy. Working out is painful, your body enjoys a situation called homeostasis, and it really doesn’t want to change. Research shows that it takes six weeks of an activity for it to become a routine. So what are you doing for the next month and a half? There’s a reason we idolize those with ripped abs and rippling muscles, it’s really hard to accomplish! There are a million reasons not to work out, but there are a couple of really good ones to start. So where do you start? You start by finding out where to start. If you were sick would you go to a doctor or just read about it in a magazine? 
If your car blew a gasket would you take it to a mechanic or your buddy that can change his own oil? 
If you needed a dress or a suit made, would you go to a tailor or just ask the guy that dresses well?

You hire a trainer for their expertise. You find someone that has a degree and experience. Someone that really understands both what you’re looking for and what you may not know you need. The trainer that is well versed in physiology, kinesiology, nutrition, movement mechanics with a dash of psychology mixed in. 

You don’t hire a trainer because he or she looks good in a t-shirt or because they happen to have good genetics or played sports in high school or college. You don’t hire one who really, really likes to work out so they figure they’ll try it as a career or worse a burned out banker or lawyer that’s coming off a mid-life crisis. And you certainly don’t hire one that took a course online or went to a weekend seminar and claims they’re an “expert”.

Money is tight for everyone these days. This is precisely the reason you should be able to think of your trainer as an investment or an education, so the value becomes more apparent. Your health has a premium, you might not know what it is yet, but if you take the time to care for it, you may develop a new appreciation for it.

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