Management versus Routine

Routine: habitual or mechanical performance of an established procedure

Management: to handle or direct with a degree of skill; to work upon or try to alter for a purpose

Working as a health and fitness educator has it moments of frustration. A reoccurring frustration is that many prospective clients come to me for assistance in their goals but are under the misunderstanding that they are sheep or lemmings. Human beings have cognitive abilities that greatly differentiate us from animals that live in herds and packs. Herds of sheep follow vacuously to the slaughterhouse and the cute, energetic lemmings follow the pack into rivers to drown or off cliffs for a fatal attempt at flying. We have the brilliant capacity to foresee this type of conclusion and separate from the pack. But, as we all know having the ability and applying it are two different. My point is that asking for a “routine” to loose weight, get buffed and sexy, re-create the ability to please your wife in bed, or ward off serious health complications or disease is only going to create minimal improvements. On the other hand, helping you to create a means of “managing” your own unique situation is going to equip you with tools that will serve you for life and make possible a state of health and fitness that was beyond your original comprehension.

A very popular “routine” out there is “cleansing”.  Cleansing is purported reduce love handles, slim your waist, and drop more than 10 pounds in a few days. My reply: If you are that full of shit you need to seriously consider doing a much better job of managing your diet, and the only way a cleanse will reduce your love handles is to do so temporarily from the dehydration involved in the routine. A routine might consist of a “diet” of obscure foods that you can’t wait to stop from eating and an aggressive exercise regimen that is making every waking hour painful, if not injuring you and giving a reason to quit. I suppose it would be safe to say that routines fall under my definition of underachieving efforts.

A managed approach would be to create a transition by starting at a point that is a positive step but not extreme in reworking your eating habits and recommending an exercise schedule that allowed for moderate daily application. This type of approach is going to allow for adaptation and habit building. A managed approach would stress the application and habit of time managed, daily application of healthy food, physical activity and proper rest for optimal long term results. An integrated, managed approach to health and fitness is going to systematically check and adjust your needs, ensuring continually progress and improvement.

I hope this has been helpful, as that is my intent. If you have the discipline, time, and knowledge to manage your health, does so today. If you need some help getting started, help in organizing a plan and accountability to stick with it until it is habit let me help you with Blue Collar Zen Wellness Coaching.