Hey , how's it going?

It’s been amazing to witness my own change in mood/energy/focus from adding some hard exercise back into my day.

(I've been a little ill, so was forced to take a pause).

And that’s what I’m writing about today. 

Not exercise. 

But exercising hard. 

A question to you:

Are you exercising hard, or hardly exercising? 

1. Why am I asking this? 

I had a client recently telling me how she’s never found exercise rewarding or fun.

She’s missing the runner’s high, the dopamine kick, the buzz that everyone else seems to get.

This upset her. Quite rightly. 

Is this you?

Not any more.

2. Your goal isn't the goal.

In 2021, I tried out for sales.

One of the KPIs/targets was to make 100 calls a day.  

We could all see how many we'd done.

So this KPI became the goal. Rather than the goal.

In other words:

I found cold calling scary, so found myself 'accidentally' calling old numbers, double calling etc.

My default decision became trying to reach my 100 calls without actually speaking to anyone = making no sales.  

= Not getting the sales role.

How many of us remember being 18 and saying:

"If i can spend 6 hours in the library today, that's great."

But what about actually revising...?

Presumably you know where I’m going with this and exercise…

3. Exercise needs to be the goal. Always

Going TO the gym, OUT for the run, ON the bike can often be people’s goal. 

But the exercise itself is half-hearted, inefficient or just not done. 

The funniest bit, of course, is that we think:

I've been to the gym 3x this week but I'm still the same.

= Going to the gym is a waste of time.

Gym/run/bike/yoga/whatever. It's the same.

This is exercising by default.

You’re a dog stuck on a lead, 

You’re a butterfly inside a conservatory, 

You’re a Ferrari capped at 80,

You show up ✔️

You warm up, ✔️

Turn music on ✔️

In your expensive kit ✔️

Your stupidly expensive membership ✔️

But you never really get going...

As the expression goes:

- All foreplay, no orgasm

You're thinking about exercise wrong.

Or setting the wrong goal.

4. What is exercise?

Exercise comes from Latin. 

Ex = out 

Arcere = to drive/restrain

Exercise can be interpreted as to drive out 

WHAT are you driving out?

❌ More than sweat, calories, or our daily step goal. 

☝️ To drive out frustration, anger, inertia, pain, boredom,

To drive your mind out of your head.

5. The motivation/ease paradox.

Maybe you're thinking:

"So what, now you're telling me that exercising isn't enough?"

Yes. Partly because you're barely training.

"Wait, it's hard enough to motivate myself to exercise, now you're saying I have to make it even harder?!"

Yes. But for good reason.

Some of the main benefits from exercise comes from it being HARD.

And it's too easy to connect these dots

• "I'm not doing much exercise"

+

• "I can't find the motivation"

=

• "I'll make the exercise easier so I need less motivation"

But read that back.

You'll make the exercise easier?

Then:

It's

Not

Exercise.

AND you will want to do it less, because it's boring.

It's the challenge that is the exercise.

It's the challenge that you find addictive.

6. Challenge & progress are addictive.

Stay with me here.

Candy Crush is a mobile game. It starts you on easy levels.

As you play, each level gets harder.

Failure and struggle make it a challenge,

The challenge is addictive,

You see progress - which is also addictive.

Imagine Candy Crush see you've stopped playing it.

And a notification pops up saying:

"Hey, we've not seen you play for a while, don't worry, we've moved you back to the easy levels."

You'd never play it again.

Your progress, the struggle, the addiction is gone.

With me still?

Nice one.

7. What is hard exercise? 

It’s the stuff you don’t want to do. Because it’s hard. 

It’s the extra 5 reps you skip. Because it’s hard. 

It’s the final sprint up that hill you walk. Because it’s hard. 

When you’re tired, 

When you’re lungs are burning, 

When you hear your pulse in your ears, 

When the timer/distance/count ends and you can’t even stand – barely see – sweat pouring – head spinning… 

That’s hard. 

That’s the best bit. 

That's the most human you'll feel.

8. Addiction and exercise.

In my normal life, I struggle to be still 

In my normal life, I struggle to relax. 

In my normal life, I struggle to keep my mind clear

But, after hard exercise. I get to be these things – all at once. 

And it’s the best feeling in the world. 

I imagine it’s what heroin is like. 

Because the endorphins released at this time ARE a form or heroin. 

(Fun fact, Endorphine = Endogenous morphine - where endogenous means ‘produced in the body’...)

Your body makes a morphine-like substance during hard exercise.

And that might be what you're missing.

Maybe it's been a while since you last truly felt like this.

Maybe not since you were a teen.

That's ok.

Everyone can get there. This week.

Your 3/10 effort gym sessions aren't giving you the endorphines.

You, scrolling between sets, not working up a sweat, not trying your best - are training with training wheels.

Good to start with, but you've gotta get on your shiny new adult bike and point it straight uphill.

9. Hard exercise = Tolerance to hard.

Here’s the maths. 

(I can do hard things) + (I choose to do hard things)

= (When hard things are forced on me, I can do it)

So we’re getting to this week’s goal. 

Goal 4: Find a time to do some HARD exercise.

Learn your limits.

Show yourself you can do it. 

Get the mental boost you'll really enjoy.

1. Look at your calendar over the next 7 days.
2. Book it in.
3. Choose your poison.

Here're some ideas, depending on your time/ability/bravery.

• Sprint there (50m), jog back until your legs are lead. 

• Do 50 burpees. Then do 50 squat jumps. Then repeat.

• Cycle up and down that steep hill near you until you lose count.

• Bound up and down the stairs so your neighbours think Eastenders is playing.

And most importantly, just like this video, don’t do it for Strava.

Or for anyone else.  

It’s for you. 

10. When do I stop?

You stop when you can no longer start. 

And then... That's the best bit.

Just lie down. 

You’ll smile. 

You’ll be high. 

Time is no longer real. 

Consider the quote from Fight Club:

-"When the fight was over, nothing was solved, but nothing mattered. We all felt saved"

Final reminder of why this is important:

Each week, I’m finding us ways to live a more deliberate life, as a human BEING. 

Hydration, Sleep, Presence, this week is hard.

There's nothing more deliberate than pushing yourself against a screaming body.

ALSO

One day: your heart won’t beat, your legs wont move, air won’t pass out your lungs. 

You might even wake up in the ICU.

(Me ^ 2018).

So this is a celebration of life, your body, your mind.

While you still can.

Go get it!!!

PS: Let me know what you've chosen: Hit reply to hold yourself accountable.

PPS: Better yet, forward this to a friend who you’d like to do something with. 

• Meet up and have a sprint off. 
• FaceTime each other and see who can do the most pressups, situps, squats…. 
• Sign up to a race, a Parkrun, a Marathon. Go chase the hurt.

All the best,

Live by design, not default.

James

x

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