Below is an exchange I had with one of the members of my quarterly group coaching program. The topic of motivation was central, as it is with many in our age group struggling with their commitment to the hard work of eating healthfully and adopting a robust, balanced fitness program:
(Member) - Hi Dan- I'm so sorry for not responding sooner. I really appreciated your dedication to the program and how quickly you responded to our questions. It was very professionally presented and it was obvious how well-versed and knowledgeable you are. I enjoyed the interviews as well. I don't think you need to change anything about the program. You did a great job. For me, it is the same old story of not sticking with it. I wish I could be that success story but I never am and get quite frustrated with myself. While I was accountable to the program, I was fine. Not perfect, but better than I am now. I haven't done the exercises in weeks. I still eat pretty healthy and have been adding protein when I can but I just have this road block of not staying motivated. At least I'm not completely sedentary with teaching yoga 4x a week and playing pickleball 2x a week. I need to find something in person that will fill in the gaps of my activity with strength training. This is my honest truth and I wish I was more motivated.
(Me) - Thanks for your kind words, and for your candor. Give yourself a bit of grace on the motivation issue. It's such an individual thing, and resistance training (RT) is not everyone's cup of tea. It might help to think in terms of a very small investment of time (12- 15 min, twice per week to do the three major compound movements) to significantly slow loss of function (carrying groceries, climbing stairs) we're all going to face. My mom (85) broke her hip and her sacrum this past year and her doc and PT told her that her consistent RT beforehand (she finally let me do a zoom training session with her a few months before her first fall) is the main reason she is recovering so quickly and fully. The short-term longevity stats for catastrophic falls for her age range are pretty grim. I'm so glad she's going to be around for a while longer. Maybe have a chat with your kids about it? That might be the shot in the arm you're looking for. I'm sure they'd like to see you living as vibrant and physically robust a life as long as possible. Keep me posted and please let me know if I can support you in any way.
Take home message? Think about how you identify, both in terms of who you want to be and how you believe you influence others in your circle (by example), especially those who mean the most to you.
Then you may just find yourself doing what a person who fits that description does, today, tomorrow and beyond.
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