A Plea For Balance

I love working out. Unequivocally. I love it so much, I decided to help others love it for a living. Unfortunately, my love for fitness and my work with it have recently begun to get in the way of other parts of my life. I let my work become my life and many negative side effects incurred because of it. I stopped paying much attention to the people I care about the most and my love for my work has left me so busy that I've barely had time to workout myself. I have constantly fought off sickness, exhaustion, and an overwhelming anxiety to be doing more all the time. The workouts I've had in the recent months were miserable at best, as well as few and far between.

Ironically, the guy who promotes health and wellness is constantly unhealthy and unwell.

Becoming enveloped in anything you enjoy is easy. Because you enjoy it. The problem starts when it begins to rule your life and become who you identify yourself as.

Hi, I'm James. I have a problem.

"Balance is key", as they say. I don't mean standing-on-one-foot-on-a-Bosu-ball-doing-bicep-curls-while-pistol-squatting balance.

I mean balance between what you do at the gym and the rest of your life. Your love of the way you feel or the way you look can end up driving you crazy if you're constantly and unintentionally living your life submersed in it.

The way you feel after a hard workout. The rush of lifting heavy and setting a new PR. It's encompasses you. But. It can become addictive.

Fitness, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing to have in your life. Once it becomes your life on the other hand, it's not such a good thing.

I use to know this person who had a lot of anxiety and to subside that anxiety, they would work out. Awesome! Then it became a problem. They would still get anxious all the time, and therefore workout all the time. Three, four, maybe five times a day.

The issues started to pile up. Constant soreness, followed by small issues here and there, followed by bigger issues that dragged them down emotionally and physically. The anxiety of not working out quickly followed. More problems. I could see the wear and tear starting to pile up.

The realities of having too much of a good thing quickly came to mean more than mere words.

Things have changed for them now. And I couldn't be happier for them.

This example is not one that most cannot relate to, but many vices often comes from somewhere else.

Netflix. Twitter. Facebook. Drinking. Eating. Not eating. Pornography. The need to be alone.

These are just some examples. Everyone has a something they turn to when things become too much.

The Plea

Exercise is wonderful. It's benefits are beyond measure. In the right dose.

Like I said, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. It can be detrimental to your health. Which is why we're all here in the first place, right? Look good and feel good.

Don't let it become the person you are. There is more than one way to exercise and still enjoy the benefits of it without feeling restricted to the gym. Go outside, pick up a basketball, shoot some hoops. Go swimming, biking, or go for a quiet walk. With your kids, with spouse, or with your friends. Even go by yourself if need be.

The point is, don't let this one thing rule your life. You are not "Suzy that works out 5 times a week, eats clean, and never does anything fun". You are not "Ally who should feel guilty because you only managed to get in 2 workouts this week". And you are not "John, bodybuilder by day, and by night, only talks about how much he benched to anyone who will listen".

Go outside. Meet people. Have a drink once in a while and don't feel guilty about it. You're not competing in the next Mr. Olympia. Let yourself have a life and for goodness sake, do something other than just going to the gym for once! Do something other than be in the gym and you may find yourself surprised at how much fun it is and how much you still get out of it.

Now that I've taken a step back to reassess, I know I will.

#balance #plea