Athletic Goals Vs. Healthy-For-Life
For better or worse, fitness culture is steeped in an attitude of champion-athlete-or-bust. And, this may work for professional athletes bent on winning a medal and pushing past the breaking point. But, what are those athletes (and the rest of us) supposed to do when normal life sets in? As a Naturopathic Physician and Acupuncturist, I feel that we need to evolve past this all-or-nothing thinking about fitness. Furthermore, while I respect the intensity of professional athleticism, the extreme end of fitness culture risks alienating the rest of us. That’s why I’ve found a different fitness goal, a goal that aligns with naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and my lifestyle: healthy for life.
As humans, once we achieve a goal, we get bored and then we move on to other interests. With this in mind, the problem we often have when it comes to fitness is that we usually pick temporary goals like running a marathon, competing in a sport or (even if we won’t admit it) looking good in a bathing suit next fill-in-the-blank. The problem is that all of the above are temporary goals about external events, whereas our health takes a lifelong commitment. From my perspective as a naturopathic doctor in Portland, Oregon, it is far better to have balanced lifelong health and light to moderate physical activity as opposed to being an erstwhile athlete who used to be Herculean in their workouts but has put down the weights and has since picked up the TV remote.
Sure, anyone can hit the gym or go running, but many people have spent years “working out” and trying to “eat right” while the lasting change they seek proves elusive. Worse yet, we may have achieved a short-term fitness goal only to fall off after achieving it and end up worse than before. We fail to achieve our goals because our goals are contradictory to the life we’re actually choosing to live. For example, if we compare our bodies to athletes and models who have made a career of working out and calorie-counting, we’ll be consistently disappointed unless the gym becomes the most important thing in our lives and dinner is cold chicken and kale.
So what’s the way out? The answer is that we need to love ourselves by choosing fitness goals that align with our life goals. That way, our goals are realistically achievable with the investment we’re willing to make. Achieving fitness goals that fit our life goals will help us achieve those life goals.
Here are my fitness goals: I want to give myself the gift of a long, happy life where I am free to move and feel healthy and grounded in my body. I want to go on hikes where I can feel the mist of waterfalls on my face. I want to skip in the grass barefoot when my children grow up and have children of their own. I want to wake up in the morning feeling good. I want to do yoga and enjoy the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. I want to live my best life.
How will I do all of this? …I’ll do it by loving myself with nourishing foods and movements that support health & vitality.
What are your goals?
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Meet Berley White: Performance Coach
"Be Fit in a Way That Fits Your Life"
What’s a performance coach? A performance coach is someone who helps people achieve their goals more efficiently and reliably than they could otherwise. Berley White specializes in LISTENING TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU and helping YOU achieve fitness goals that align with your life goals. He works with everyone from elderly grandparents who want to be healthy so they can have active, fulfilling retirements to the working mom with a busy schedule and, yes, he also trains athletes as well. But, more than that, he’s here to help you create a realistic plan that fits your life.
When he’s not helping people like you achieve their health and fitness goals, he enjoys spending time with his two sons, Ezra and Malachi, and his wife Grace. He plays local football and basketball recreationally and also participates in a weekly bowling league.
The reason we’ve invited him to Terrain Wellness is because he’s passionate about his work and it shows.
- 30 minutes of one-on-one attention from the coach.
- A Full Functional Movement Screening & Assessment.
- Consulting on a Physical Health Roadmap to Success (Progression Model).
- Time to learn & ask questions about what it will take to actually achieve your fitness goals.
- COST: only $59.00
Your 1st Session with Berley White, Performance Coach Includes:
Call 503-847-9211 to Book Your Performance Coach Session
Berley White will be in the Terrain Wellness office on Thursday October 18th, 2018 and November 6th, 2018 where he will be conducting one-on-one sessions for people like you.
We hope this article has inspired you to live your best life and find a health program that will keep you active and happy.
Yours in Health,
Dr Danielle S. Anderson