June 13, 2025 • 25 mins
Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell and I'man exercise physiologist and
personal trainer.
I am the owner of Maxwell'sFitness Programs and I've been
in business since 1994.
The purpose of this podcast isto get to the real deal of what
really works and, mostimportantly, why things work.
Hence the name there is aMethod to the Madness.
(00:23):
Before I get started today, letme thank Jonathan and Lynn
Gilden of the Gilden GroupRealty Pros.
They are committed to providingthe highest level of customer
service in home sales.
Why don't you give them a shoutand figure out what your home
is worth?
386-451-2412.
(00:44):
886-451-2412.
Good morning, good afternoon,good evening.
Whenever you are listening tothis, coach Rob here to talk to
you about some health andfitness things.
That's always the objective ofthis podcast is to kick around
(01:06):
different ideas, help you getmotivated, help you do what you
need to do, help you try to getthe roadblocks out of your way
so we can all enjoy a healthyand active lifestyle.
Only 25% of our country isdoing it.
75% of our people in thiscountry are not on the
(01:27):
sustainable exercise program andyou know, I actually think it's
probably a little bit lowerthan that, but in any event, 75%
people being inactive is simplynot good enough, right?
I mean we want people to bemore active.
I want people to be more activebecause I know how beneficial
it is for every walk of life andI do think people know that
(01:53):
they just kind of get in theirown way.
So some of the things I talkabout on this program are you
know, they can be very technical, if I get into the exercise
physiology so people canunderstand some of the things
that we want them to do and theyunderstand some of the science,
because I think that cantrigger some people into getting
(02:13):
more motivated.
For other people they need alot of like the different tips.
They need a little, you know,steering kind of behavior
modification tips to help themget into it.
So I try to handle it allbecause ultimately my goal is to
get more and more people outthere exercising in the wellness
(02:35):
lifestyle.
So today I'm going to talkabout one of those subjects and
I think it's very helpful.
It's one that's been veryhelpful for me through the years
and it's an area I strugglewith and that is basically
perfectionism, right, thinkingthings have to be perfect.
I do think that really gets inthe way of many people trying to
(03:00):
exercise the classic paralysisof analysis.
Right, so we analyze so muchand we think it's got to be so
right and then we just don'tmove.
We don't do it.
I heard on a podcast that Ilistened to the other day.
I heard James Patterson, thegreat author, and I always liked
(03:23):
him.
Like his books are just likegood, easy reads that are
definitely entertaining.
And then he's written moreserious topics.
He wrote a book about gettinginto a little bit of the Kennedy
assassinations and stuff, so hedefinitely does nonfiction as
well.
He's got a new book out thatlooks interesting about being a
(03:43):
father.
So anyway, I've always admiredhis work and I left the podcast
admiring him even more because Ilearned about like his work
ethic when it comes to writingand you know he's a machine.
I think he holds the record formost books out, most books on
the New York Times bestsellerand all that stuff.
But like, that doesn't happenby accident.
(04:03):
I learned about like his styleand his processes and I found,
wow, this is pretty cool stuff.
One of the things he said wasthat perfection is actually the
enemy of progress in many casesand that's what inspired me to
talk about that this week andtalk about this today, because I
(04:25):
just think that is so true.
I mean, I've been doing thisfor over 31 years and for some
people that's a you know anon-issue.
It's just not anything thatcomes up, the old perfection
thing, the you know how do I dothis, how do I do this perfectly
?
How many minutes, whatever.
For some people it doesn't comeup.
(04:45):
For some people it's reallyjust trying to get them going at
all and, like I said, that'sfine.
We have to be all things to allpeople in this industry and
meet people where they are andprofessionally to help people
(05:08):
get where they need to get.
But I would say that I don'twant to say more people are
perfectionistic in nature than Idon't know, but it's pretty
even.
But that's a tough one to helppeople with because I get it
Like I can definitely have thatblack or white thinking, all in
or all out thinking, so I cantotally relate to it.
And you know I don't always dothe best job myself of following
(05:32):
the advice, but I definitelyknow how to give the advice and
I think that really helps.
So I really want to talk aboutthat and talk about where that
comes up.
And then what do we do about it?
Because we can learn aboutsomething comes up.
And then what do we do about it?
Because we can learn aboutsomething, but if we don't have
an active step right, a gameplan, then what good does
learning do really?
So let me give you some fourinstances.
(05:54):
So I was talking to somebody theother day and trying to help
them figure out how to exercise.
Like you know, that's a bigpart of what I do.
I mean I don't just sit in mygym and take people around a
facility that I have set up forpersonal training.
I mean that's a big part ofwhat I do.
(06:14):
To me, that's, you know, Idon't know, I'd say the easy
part when somebody's there.
You know, another thing that Ido and I do it often and it's
important is just helpingsomebody get started on exercise
.
Like what is it that's going towork for them?
Because you know there is noperfect way.
(06:34):
The first thing we have tounderstand and that's where this
is coming from is trying toconvince the person that you
know all of the information thatthey've been told is usually
false.
I mean, you know there's peopleout there selling something all
the time right and I considermyself more in education and you
(06:58):
know, sure, I sell personaltraining.
I don't have to sell it veryhard, I'm full and all that.
But of course there's that side.
But like I'm not sellingexercise, so I don't have an
agenda, I just want people tofigure out what works for them.
I mean, we all need to meet thehealth and fitness guidelines,
(07:19):
we need a semblance ofcardiorespiratory exercise, we
need strength training, we needmobility and flexibility.
I mean, that's a given.
But how we find that there isno perfect way.
And if you've got people outthere saying that, oh you know,
only strength machines is theway to do it, and not only that.
(07:40):
Let me take it even furtherOnly strength training.
So you get people out there nowthat are purists, black or
whiters and you know what.
I don't even think that's apersonality characteristic.
I just think that'ssalesmanship just going to beat
(08:05):
up your joints.
It's not going to create asmuch EPOC, which stands for
excess post-oxygen consumption,or burn more calories when
you're finished.
Only strength training is goingto do that.
So they're selling this perfectway to exercise and, in their
opinion, is strength training.
Then you have others, I wouldsay less common these days, but
maybe in the past that it wasthe opposite.
It was no, no, no, no.
(08:26):
Don't do strength training,that's just going to hurt you,
which drives me nuts, becauseit's not true.
You know, you need to do cardio, cardio, cardio, cardio.
And then you'll have yourpeople that maybe are yoga
purists and that's fine if thatworks for them, or Pilates, and
they'll say, well, no, this isthe way that we need to go and
(08:47):
it's the only way everybodyneeds to go, and nobody in that
instance is correct.
Any of those groups, none ofthem are correct.
You got to find your own way,understanding that to be as
healthy and fit as we can be, weneed to have a fit
cardiovascular system.
We need to have a strongskeleton, which comes from
(09:09):
strength training, and we needto have a mobile skeleton, which
comes from flexibility andthose other things Pilates, yoga
, a lot of different things.
So there isn't a perfect way.
So when I sat down and met withthis person about they want to
start exercising, like they knowit's going to make them feel
(09:30):
better, they know it.
Like they know just gettingtheir heart rate up and moving
and burning calories and gettingactive is going to help them.
But they were kind of lost,like they've heard so much crap.
And you know, I said, whatabout this?
What about this?
Well, I don't really like that.
I said, okay, I don't want togo to gyms.
(09:50):
I just don't want to go to gyms.
I don't like it in there.
I don't like people staring atme when I exercise.
All right, I'm like, well, whydo you?
You don't have to go to a gym.
So we kind of landed on runningmight be good for them.
So I said, yeah, you everthought about running?
And they said, you know I have,and I don't mind it.
(10:13):
I mean, I kind of like it.
You know, I thought I could doit.
It's something I can do for myhouse.
I've done a little bit of it inthe past, you know.
It seems like, yeah, it seemslike something I can do and I'm
waiting for the big button, youknow.
And then it comes in but I don'thave time to do this and this
and 30 minutes or four miles,and I'm like, start at 10
(10:35):
minutes.
10 minutes, is that enough?
I'm like, of course it's enough.
If you've been doing zero, thenit's 10 more minutes than zero
minutes, of course it's enough.
And I'm not saying this personwas thinking with a
perfectionistic viewpoint,because they actually weren't.
They were very open-minded andsaid oh, okay, yeah, I think I
could start with that.
(10:55):
And you know they're going tostart with that.
I bring this up because somepeople and you know they're
going to start with that.
I bring this up because somepeople I've had that
conversation more times than Ican count have said oh, come on,
what's 10 minutes going to do?
That's not enough.
I thought I was supposed to doat least 20 minutes per time, or
I thought I'm supposed to do150 minutes per week at a
(11:16):
minimum, you know.
So if I do 10 minutes fivetimes a week, that's only 50
minutes.
I'm not getting it done.
Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot.
Right, all this, you know it'sgot to be perfect, perfect,
perfect instead of progress.
And I always tell them I'm like, ok, sure, those
recommendations are out there,but something is better than
nothing.
And if you start the habit, youdon't know where that's going to
(11:40):
grow to.
You don't have to be in yourperfect, ideal workout program
from the get-go.
You can build into it and asyou're building, you are getting
the benefits.
It's the perfect time.
(12:00):
When you are starting out,everything works.
It's awesome If you're startingback.
Everything works.
It's awesome when you arepretty peaked out, like you've
been training consistently foryears and you've been doing your
cardio, you've been doing yourstrength training.
You're not going to get muchbetter.
I mean, you have peaked andthat's okay.
(12:23):
I also have to work with peopleon that one too.
The old people that are likeyou know hate the fact that
they've hit maintenance.
I'm like you know it's reallynot a bad thing, but that's a
whole other ballgame right there.
But when you're starting out,you are making progress at that
10 minutes.
But when you're starting out,you are making progress at that
10 minutes, like you're going tonotice a difference.
You go for a run for 10 minutes.
(12:45):
You know, maybe most of theweek or whatever, by the end of
the week you're like man, I havemore energy.
Maybe I dropped a pound.
You know, regardless of whatthe person's goals are, I feel
more energetic.
I'm feeling good about myselfbecause it's a win.
You know, if you go out and dosomething good for yourself, you
think of it as a win, becauseit is a win and it's progress,
(13:08):
not perfection.
So for people that areopen-minded and don't think that
way it's kind of a no-brainerand it gets them into
understanding starting is thehardest part for everybody.
It really, really is.
But for people that tend to beperfectionists it's tough
(13:28):
because they don't get that Likethere's just something in them
that won't let them do say, theminimal.
I just threw 10 minutes outthere.
Hell, it could be five minutes,it could be.
You know when you're walkingyour dog, you know the last
block run in.
I mean, it's all progress.
(13:48):
It's just about getting betterfrom where you are.
Make today slightly better thanyesterday.
There's absolutely noperfection and I promise you
with all the years I've beendoing this, perfection is one of
the things that drives peopleout of an exercise program, and
I mean even people who arepretty well established in it.
(14:12):
All right, so let's move on towhere this gets in the way with
strength training.
I probably see it, I do.
I see it even more in thestrength training realm the old.
It's got to be perfect or I'mnot going to do it.
I do.
I see it even more in thestrength training realm the old.
It's got to be perfect or I'mnot going to do it.
So to begin with, you get youropinions again out there.
You know the guy that says oh,if you really want the best
(14:34):
beach body in the world, you'regoing to have to do a split
routine training five days perweek, splitting up your muscle
groups, spending about 45minutes in the gym on your
strength training alone fivedays a week, plus your warmup,
plus your cardio, blah, blah,blah.
That's what it's going to taketo have a body All right.
(14:54):
So we get that.
We get the people out therethat are pushing those kind of
programs.
And if you've got aperfectionist that wants to
start strength training becausethey know they need to, they
know it's good for them, they'regoing to look at that and go.
I don't have time for that.
You know I work for a living.
I can't, you know.
Well, number one, that's nottrue.
That's somebody selling aprogram that is an inexperienced
(15:17):
trainer or a clueless traineror a clueless social media
influencer, telling you thatthat's what they do, maybe, or
that's what to do, but that'snot true.
If you worked with a trueexpert, a person with legitimate
personal trainingcertifications, or an exercise
physiologist or a physicaltherapist or somebody like that,
they're going to tell you well,no, let's figure out where you
(15:39):
are and let's build you aprogram.
There's's no truth to that.
Having to do all of that, thatyou know.
You just said so.
You know the perfectionistisn't even going to start if
they hear all that.
So that's one problem.
And again, the solution to thatis going to a true expert that
can help them realize thatthat's not true.
But then you also have thesituation with the perfectionist
(16:01):
that says that let's saythey're on their normal exercise
program and they have everyintention of going to the gym on
a particular day.
Maybe they're going to go afterwork, but they get behind and
they normally do 10 exercises atthe gym.
They have their normal routine,but they got behind all day.
(16:22):
The day got away from them, andso they're already thinking
somewhere after lunchtime likeI'm not going to have time to go
to the gym, you know.
And if they're a perfectionistthey're going to go.
I'm just not going to gobecause I don't have time to do
my entire workout.
So I'm not going to go.
If it's not perfect, why go?
And of course you know youlistening to this because it's
(16:43):
not you, and when it's notpersonal, we tend to give the
best advice, right?
So we're probably thinking well, just go and do something, and
that is the answer.
That is absolutely the answer.
I mean, why not just go and dofive exercises out of 10 or
three?
You know, convincing yourself,convincing people in my job,
trying to convince people tounderstand that that is
(17:06):
absolutely better than nothingand it's really good.
Missing the workout isn't good,because what tends to happen is
that snowballs and thenmomentum starts to happen and
then it's easier to miss thenext time, so it's really better
to go All right.
So the day got away from me.
(17:26):
I normally do these 10exercises.
Well, I'm going to do five ofthem and I'm going to feel
really good about that.
So my workout time is going tobe cut in half and I'm still
going to be able to get home fordinner like normal.
Well, there you go, and Ipromise you, as an expert, if
that's your new mindset, you aregoing to be more than happy
(17:48):
with your results.
Because what we don't want tohappen is for you to drop out,
because if you drop out, you'redone and it is going to take a
lot longer to get going.
So we want to build momentum.
So if we can go to the gym andcrank out five exercises.
Maybe you do that for yourentire week's worth of
(18:12):
programming.
Like maybe you just have areally crappy week.
You know, maybe whatever yourjob is, you're just overloaded
with work.
And you know for me to say, oh,don't worry about work.
Well, that's totally beingnon-empathetic on my part and,
quite frankly, stupid, becausewe are going to worry about work
, we are going to do what wehave to do.
So instead, I'd rather be thetrue expert and coach and say,
(18:37):
well, I promise you right now,if you just did a little bit,
you're not going to lose anyprogress you've made and you're
going to maintain momentum.
That's the mentality that Iwould love to see people have.
I don't remember who it was, butI was listening to somebody on
a podcast a while back and theyknew that they struggled with
(19:03):
getting their exercise in, likethey just I mean, it's not that
they hated it, but they juststruggled like getting going and
, you know, building a habit.
So they it sounds kind of funny, but I love it and so many
people like won't do it becauseit's like not proper, so to say.
But they put a couple differentdumbbells out on their kitchen
(19:26):
counter.
I think they were like 10pounders or 15 pounders, I don't
know Two sets.
And in the morning, as theircoffee was perking, they
literally did like I don't know.
I think they said it was like aminute's worth of exercise and
it was like I don't even knowwhat it was.
You know, maybe some squats andsome curls with the dumbbells
(19:46):
they had on the counter, butthat's like what they did to get
started.
I think that eventually pushedthem into a little bit more of a
habit, or I should say a habitof doing a little bit more.
But they did that for a whileand they and they talked about
that positively, like what agreat idea that they probably
(20:08):
heard from somebody else, butwhat a great idea that was to
build momentum.
Like they didn't feel like theyhad to make their workout
perfect in the beginning.
You know, like here is thegrand poobah of workouts and
it's going to be 30 minutes offull body strength training
three times per week and thenthe other four days per week
(20:29):
it's going to be 45 minutes ofcardio respiratory exercise and
on Sunday it's going to be moreof an active rest version of
that and after every workout I'mgoing to do 10 minutes of
stretching and blah, blah, blah.
Ok, that sounds like a greatroutine.
But if you think about that inthe beginning and it overwhelms
you, then don't think about that.
(20:51):
Just start to think aboutbuilding momentum, like that
person did, putting thedumbbells on the counter.
I don't know that their spousewas overly thrilled.
That's what made the story kindof funny when they told it.
That's what I meant by proper.
But they didn't care.
They're like look, I know, asmy coffee is perking, I'm going
(21:11):
to have like not a lot to do.
And I think they were kind ofADHD, so they didn't just want
to stand there.
They're like sounds like a goodtime to do a couple exercises.
And again, it worked.
It was by far an imperfectprogram.
It was just a couple exercisesdone for I don't know a minute,
but it was great and it builtmomentum and eventually it
(21:32):
worked into them continuing it,because when I heard them,
they've been strength trainingnow since that time and that was
years prior to that.
So perfectionistic thinking isabsolutely going to get in the
way of progress.
I mean, james Patterson isabsolutely right and I know he
didn't come up with that, but hewas talking about how in his
(21:54):
world of writing that that canget in the way, like if if he
sits down and goes I now have towrite the perfect paragraph,
he's screwed.
I mean I do some writing.
I've written a couple of books.
I finished my third manuscriptand again I struggle with
perfectionism for sure, and Ihave to follow these types of
advice.
So, like for him it was if so Imean for me the take home
(22:18):
message because again I like towrite and I can get stuck was
when you are stuck in aparagraph thinking is this
perfect or not, like stop, stopwhere you are and go into your
next paragraph, like don't sitthere and go through the battle.
And I was like you know, that'svery helpful.
So there are ways for us todeal with that personality.
(22:40):
Because you know, if I do thattoo much, I'm not going to sit
down in front of the computerand do it.
And I don't want to do thatbecause I want to write and I do
think I have contributions togive people in the health and
fitness world.
So I want to write and I dothink I have contributions to
give people in the health andfitness world.
So I want to continue to dothat.
So I have to battle my tendencytowards perfectionism.
So we all do, you know and again, I started to say that I doubt
(23:04):
you know, he obviously didn'tcome up with that term.
He was relating it in his life,because I know, like in 12-step
recovery programs they talkabout it all the time.
They say progress, notperfection, because addicts and
alcoholics tend to be very, very, very black and white thinkers,
you know.
(23:24):
And so, oh, they're supposed todo like if they're new to
recovery.
Seven meetings or, I'm sorry,90 meetings in 90 days, it's
like, okay, that sounds prettytough, right?
I mean, granted, they have tomake it their priority, but what
if they miss one?
Well, if they're thinkingperfectly, that's going to screw
with their head.
They got to say no, no, no, no,that's an ideal, but I just
(23:48):
need to be better.
I used to go to no meetings,now I'm getting to one almost
every day.
That's how we have to think tokeep moving forward, because we
need positive momentum.
All right, so I hope these toolshelp you and if they help you,
please share them with otherpeople.
Hit automatic download, shareit to your social media and do
(24:12):
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At least send it to one personin a text or an email.
Thank you for listening totoday's show.
I ask you to please follow thisshow on wherever you get your
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It really helps me and it helpsthe show.
Now I want to thank OverheadDoor of Daytona Beach, the
(24:35):
premier garage door company inVolusia County with the best
product with the best service.
I can vouch for Jeff and ZachHawk, the owners.
They are great people.
If you need any help with yourgarage doors, give them a shout
386-222-3165.
Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell and I'man exercise physiologist and
personal trainer.
I am the owner of Maxwell'sFitness Programs and I've been
in business since 1994.
The purpose of this podcast isto get to the real deal of what
really works and, mostimportantly, why things work.
Hence the name there is aMethod to the Madness.
(00:23):
Before I get started today, letme thank Jonathan and Lynn
Gilden of the Gilden GroupRealty Pros.
They are committed to providingthe highest level of customer
service in home sales.
Why don't you give them a shoutand figure out what your home
is worth?
386-451-2412.
(00:44):
886-451-2412.
Good morning, good afternoon,good evening.
Whenever you are listening tothis, coach Rob here to talk to
you about some health andfitness things.
That's always the objective ofthis podcast is to kick around
(01:06):
different ideas, help you getmotivated, help you do what you
need to do, help you try to getthe roadblocks out of your way
so we can all enjoy a healthyand active lifestyle.
Only 25% of our country isdoing it.
75% of our people in thiscountry are not on the
(01:27):
sustainable exercise program andyou know, I actually think it's
probably a little bit lowerthan that, but in any event, 75%
people being inactive is simplynot good enough, right?
I mean we want people to bemore active.
I want people to be more activebecause I know how beneficial
it is for every walk of life andI do think people know that
(01:53):
they just kind of get in theirown way.
So some of the things I talkabout on this program are you
know, they can be very technical, if I get into the exercise
physiology so people canunderstand some of the things
that we want them to do and theyunderstand some of the science,
because I think that cantrigger some people into getting
(02:13):
more motivated.
For other people they need alot of like the different tips.
They need a little, you know,steering kind of behavior
modification tips to help themget into it.
So I try to handle it allbecause ultimately my goal is to
get more and more people outthere exercising in the wellness
(02:35):
lifestyle.
So today I'm going to talkabout one of those subjects and
I think it's very helpful.
It's one that's been veryhelpful for me through the years
and it's an area I strugglewith and that is basically
perfectionism, right, thinkingthings have to be perfect.
I do think that really gets inthe way of many people trying to
(03:00):
exercise the classic paralysisof analysis.
Right, so we analyze so muchand we think it's got to be so
right and then we just don'tmove.
We don't do it.
I heard on a podcast that Ilistened to the other day.
I heard James Patterson, thegreat author, and I always liked
(03:23):
him.
Like his books are just likegood, easy reads that are
definitely entertaining.
And then he's written moreserious topics.
He wrote a book about gettinginto a little bit of the Kennedy
assassinations and stuff, so hedefinitely does nonfiction as
well.
He's got a new book out thatlooks interesting about being a
(03:43):
father.
So anyway, I've always admiredhis work and I left the podcast
admiring him even more because Ilearned about like his work
ethic when it comes to writingand you know he's a machine.
I think he holds the record formost books out, most books on
the New York Times bestsellerand all that stuff.
But like, that doesn't happenby accident.
(04:03):
I learned about like his styleand his processes and I found,
wow, this is pretty cool stuff.
One of the things he said wasthat perfection is actually the
enemy of progress in many casesand that's what inspired me to
talk about that this week andtalk about this today, because I
(04:25):
just think that is so true.
I mean, I've been doing thisfor over 31 years and for some
people that's a you know anon-issue.
It's just not anything thatcomes up, the old perfection
thing, the you know how do I dothis, how do I do this perfectly
?
How many minutes, whatever.
For some people it doesn't comeup.
(04:45):
For some people it's reallyjust trying to get them going at
all and, like I said, that'sfine.
We have to be all things to allpeople in this industry and
meet people where they are andprofessionally to help people
(05:08):
get where they need to get.
But I would say that I don'twant to say more people are
perfectionistic in nature than Idon't know, but it's pretty
even.
But that's a tough one to helppeople with because I get it
Like I can definitely have thatblack or white thinking, all in
or all out thinking, so I cantotally relate to it.
And you know I don't always dothe best job myself of following
(05:32):
the advice, but I definitelyknow how to give the advice and
I think that really helps.
So I really want to talk aboutthat and talk about where that
comes up.
And then what do we do about it?
Because we can learn aboutsomething comes up.
And then what do we do about it?
Because we can learn aboutsomething, but if we don't have
an active step right, a gameplan, then what good does
learning do really?
So let me give you some fourinstances.
(05:54):
So I was talking to somebody theother day and trying to help
them figure out how to exercise.
Like you know, that's a bigpart of what I do.
I mean I don't just sit in mygym and take people around a
facility that I have set up forpersonal training.
I mean that's a big part ofwhat I do.
(06:14):
To me, that's, you know, Idon't know, I'd say the easy
part when somebody's there.
You know, another thing that Ido and I do it often and it's
important is just helpingsomebody get started on exercise
.
Like what is it that's going towork for them?
Because you know there is noperfect way.
(06:34):
The first thing we have tounderstand and that's where this
is coming from is trying toconvince the person that you
know all of the information thatthey've been told is usually
false.
I mean, you know there's peopleout there selling something all
the time right and I considermyself more in education and you
(06:58):
know, sure, I sell personaltraining.
I don't have to sell it veryhard, I'm full and all that.
But of course there's that side.
But like I'm not sellingexercise, so I don't have an
agenda, I just want people tofigure out what works for them.
I mean, we all need to meet thehealth and fitness guidelines,
(07:19):
we need a semblance ofcardiorespiratory exercise, we
need strength training, we needmobility and flexibility.
I mean, that's a given.
But how we find that there isno perfect way.
And if you've got people outthere saying that, oh you know,
only strength machines is theway to do it, and not only that.
(07:40):
Let me take it even furtherOnly strength training.
So you get people out there nowthat are purists, black or
whiters and you know what.
I don't even think that's apersonality characteristic.
I just think that'ssalesmanship just going to beat
(08:05):
up your joints.
It's not going to create asmuch EPOC, which stands for
excess post-oxygen consumption,or burn more calories when
you're finished.
Only strength training is goingto do that.
So they're selling this perfectway to exercise and, in their
opinion, is strength training.
Then you have others, I wouldsay less common these days, but
maybe in the past that it wasthe opposite.
It was no, no, no, no.
(08:26):
Don't do strength training,that's just going to hurt you,
which drives me nuts, becauseit's not true.
You know, you need to do cardio, cardio, cardio, cardio.
And then you'll have yourpeople that maybe are yoga
purists and that's fine if thatworks for them, or Pilates, and
they'll say, well, no, this isthe way that we need to go and
(08:47):
it's the only way everybodyneeds to go, and nobody in that
instance is correct.
Any of those groups, none ofthem are correct.
You got to find your own way,understanding that to be as
healthy and fit as we can be, weneed to have a fit
cardiovascular system.
We need to have a strongskeleton, which comes from
(09:09):
strength training, and we needto have a mobile skeleton, which
comes from flexibility andthose other things Pilates, yoga
, a lot of different things.
So there isn't a perfect way.
So when I sat down and met withthis person about they want to
start exercising, like they knowit's going to make them feel
(09:30):
better, they know it.
Like they know just gettingtheir heart rate up and moving
and burning calories and gettingactive is going to help them.
But they were kind of lost,like they've heard so much crap.
And you know, I said, whatabout this?
What about this?
Well, I don't really like that.
I said, okay, I don't want togo to gyms.
(09:50):
I just don't want to go to gyms.
I don't like it in there.
I don't like people staring atme when I exercise.
All right, I'm like, well, whydo you?
You don't have to go to a gym.
So we kind of landed on runningmight be good for them.
So I said, yeah, you everthought about running?
And they said, you know I have,and I don't mind it.
(10:13):
I mean, I kind of like it.
You know, I thought I could doit.
It's something I can do for myhouse.
I've done a little bit of it inthe past, you know.
It seems like, yeah, it seemslike something I can do and I'm
waiting for the big button, youknow.
And then it comes in but I don'thave time to do this and this
and 30 minutes or four miles,and I'm like, start at 10
(10:35):
minutes.
10 minutes, is that enough?
I'm like, of course it's enough.
If you've been doing zero, thenit's 10 more minutes than zero
minutes, of course it's enough.
And I'm not saying this personwas thinking with a
perfectionistic viewpoint,because they actually weren't.
They were very open-minded andsaid oh, okay, yeah, I think I
could start with that.
(10:55):
And you know they're going tostart with that.
I bring this up because somepeople and you know they're
going to start with that.
I bring this up because somepeople I've had that
conversation more times than Ican count have said oh, come on,
what's 10 minutes going to do?
That's not enough.
I thought I was supposed to doat least 20 minutes per time, or
I thought I'm supposed to do150 minutes per week at a
(11:16):
minimum, you know.
So if I do 10 minutes fivetimes a week, that's only 50
minutes.
I'm not getting it done.
Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot.
Right, all this, you know it'sgot to be perfect, perfect,
perfect instead of progress.
And I always tell them I'm like, ok, sure, those
recommendations are out there,but something is better than
nothing.
And if you start the habit, youdon't know where that's going to
(11:40):
grow to.
You don't have to be in yourperfect, ideal workout program
from the get-go.
You can build into it and asyou're building, you are getting
the benefits.
It's the perfect time.
(12:00):
When you are starting out,everything works.
It's awesome If you're startingback.
Everything works.
It's awesome when you arepretty peaked out, like you've
been training consistently foryears and you've been doing your
cardio, you've been doing yourstrength training.
You're not going to get muchbetter.
I mean, you have peaked andthat's okay.
(12:23):
I also have to work with peopleon that one too.
The old people that are likeyou know hate the fact that
they've hit maintenance.
I'm like you know it's reallynot a bad thing, but that's a
whole other ballgame right there.
But when you're starting out,you are making progress at that
10 minutes.
But when you're starting out,you are making progress at that
10 minutes, like you're going tonotice a difference.
You go for a run for 10 minutes.
(12:45):
You know, maybe most of theweek or whatever, by the end of
the week you're like man, I havemore energy.
Maybe I dropped a pound.
You know, regardless of whatthe person's goals are, I feel
more energetic.
I'm feeling good about myselfbecause it's a win.
You know, if you go out and dosomething good for yourself, you
think of it as a win, becauseit is a win and it's progress,
(13:08):
not perfection.
So for people that areopen-minded and don't think that
way it's kind of a no-brainerand it gets them into
understanding starting is thehardest part for everybody.
It really, really is.
But for people that tend to beperfectionists it's tough
(13:28):
because they don't get that Likethere's just something in them
that won't let them do say, theminimal.
I just threw 10 minutes outthere.
Hell, it could be five minutes,it could be.
You know when you're walkingyour dog, you know the last
block run in.
I mean, it's all progress.
(13:48):
It's just about getting betterfrom where you are.
Make today slightly better thanyesterday.
There's absolutely noperfection and I promise you
with all the years I've beendoing this, perfection is one of
the things that drives peopleout of an exercise program, and
I mean even people who arepretty well established in it.
(14:12):
All right, so let's move on towhere this gets in the way with
strength training.
I probably see it, I do.
I see it even more in thestrength training realm the old.
It's got to be perfect or I'mnot going to do it.
I do.
I see it even more in thestrength training realm the old.
It's got to be perfect or I'mnot going to do it.
So to begin with, you get youropinions again out there.
You know the guy that says oh,if you really want the best
(14:34):
beach body in the world, you'regoing to have to do a split
routine training five days perweek, splitting up your muscle
groups, spending about 45minutes in the gym on your
strength training alone fivedays a week, plus your warmup,
plus your cardio, blah, blah,blah.
That's what it's going to taketo have a body All right.
(14:54):
So we get that.
We get the people out therethat are pushing those kind of
programs.
And if you've got aperfectionist that wants to
start strength training becausethey know they need to, they
know it's good for them, they'regoing to look at that and go.
I don't have time for that.
You know I work for a living.
I can't, you know.
Well, number one, that's nottrue.
That's somebody selling aprogram that is an inexperienced
(15:17):
trainer or a clueless traineror a clueless social media
influencer, telling you thatthat's what they do, maybe, or
that's what to do, but that'snot true.
If you worked with a trueexpert, a person with legitimate
personal trainingcertifications, or an exercise
physiologist or a physicaltherapist or somebody like that,
they're going to tell you well,no, let's figure out where you
(15:39):
are and let's build you aprogram.
There's's no truth to that.
Having to do all of that, thatyou know.
You just said so.
You know the perfectionistisn't even going to start if
they hear all that.
So that's one problem.
And again, the solution to thatis going to a true expert that
can help them realize thatthat's not true.
But then you also have thesituation with the perfectionist
(16:01):
that says that let's saythey're on their normal exercise
program and they have everyintention of going to the gym on
a particular day.
Maybe they're going to go afterwork, but they get behind and
they normally do 10 exercises atthe gym.
They have their normal routine,but they got behind all day.
(16:22):
The day got away from them, andso they're already thinking
somewhere after lunchtime likeI'm not going to have time to go
to the gym, you know.
And if they're a perfectionistthey're going to go.
I'm just not going to gobecause I don't have time to do
my entire workout.
So I'm not going to go.
If it's not perfect, why go?
And of course you know youlistening to this because it's
(16:43):
not you, and when it's notpersonal, we tend to give the
best advice, right?
So we're probably thinking well, just go and do something, and
that is the answer.
That is absolutely the answer.
I mean, why not just go and dofive exercises out of 10 or
three?
You know, convincing yourself,convincing people in my job,
trying to convince people tounderstand that that is
(17:06):
absolutely better than nothingand it's really good.
Missing the workout isn't good,because what tends to happen is
that snowballs and thenmomentum starts to happen and
then it's easier to miss thenext time, so it's really better
to go All right.
So the day got away from me.
(17:26):
I normally do these 10exercises.
Well, I'm going to do five ofthem and I'm going to feel
really good about that.
So my workout time is going tobe cut in half and I'm still
going to be able to get home fordinner like normal.
Well, there you go, and Ipromise you, as an expert, if
that's your new mindset, you aregoing to be more than happy
(17:48):
with your results.
Because what we don't want tohappen is for you to drop out,
because if you drop out, you'redone and it is going to take a
lot longer to get going.
So we want to build momentum.
So if we can go to the gym andcrank out five exercises.
Maybe you do that for yourentire week's worth of
(18:12):
programming.
Like maybe you just have areally crappy week.
You know, maybe whatever yourjob is, you're just overloaded
with work.
And you know for me to say, oh,don't worry about work.
Well, that's totally beingnon-empathetic on my part and,
quite frankly, stupid, becausewe are going to worry about work
, we are going to do what wehave to do.
So instead, I'd rather be thetrue expert and coach and say,
(18:37):
well, I promise you right now,if you just did a little bit,
you're not going to lose anyprogress you've made and you're
going to maintain momentum.
That's the mentality that Iwould love to see people have.
I don't remember who it was, butI was listening to somebody on
a podcast a while back and theyknew that they struggled with
(19:03):
getting their exercise in, likethey just I mean, it's not that
they hated it, but they juststruggled like getting going and
, you know, building a habit.
So they it sounds kind of funny, but I love it and so many
people like won't do it becauseit's like not proper, so to say.
But they put a couple differentdumbbells out on their kitchen
(19:26):
counter.
I think they were like 10pounders or 15 pounders, I don't
know Two sets.
And in the morning, as theircoffee was perking, they
literally did like I don't know.
I think they said it was like aminute's worth of exercise and
it was like I don't even knowwhat it was.
You know, maybe some squats andsome curls with the dumbbells
(19:46):
they had on the counter, butthat's like what they did to get
started.
I think that eventually pushedthem into a little bit more of a
habit, or I should say a habitof doing a little bit more.
But they did that for a whileand they and they talked about
that positively, like what agreat idea that they probably
(20:08):
heard from somebody else, butwhat a great idea that was to
build momentum.
Like they didn't feel like theyhad to make their workout
perfect in the beginning.
You know, like here is thegrand poobah of workouts and
it's going to be 30 minutes offull body strength training
three times per week and thenthe other four days per week
(20:29):
it's going to be 45 minutes ofcardio respiratory exercise and
on Sunday it's going to be moreof an active rest version of
that and after every workout I'mgoing to do 10 minutes of
stretching and blah, blah, blah.
Ok, that sounds like a greatroutine.
But if you think about that inthe beginning and it overwhelms
you, then don't think about that.
(20:51):
Just start to think aboutbuilding momentum, like that
person did, putting thedumbbells on the counter.
I don't know that their spousewas overly thrilled.
That's what made the story kindof funny when they told it.
That's what I meant by proper.
But they didn't care.
They're like look, I know, asmy coffee is perking, I'm going
(21:11):
to have like not a lot to do.
And I think they were kind ofADHD, so they didn't just want
to stand there.
They're like sounds like a goodtime to do a couple exercises.
And again, it worked.
It was by far an imperfectprogram.
It was just a couple exercisesdone for I don't know a minute,
but it was great and it builtmomentum and eventually it
(21:32):
worked into them continuing it,because when I heard them,
they've been strength trainingnow since that time and that was
years prior to that.
So perfectionistic thinking isabsolutely going to get in the
way of progress.
I mean, james Patterson isabsolutely right and I know he
didn't come up with that, but hewas talking about how in his
(21:54):
world of writing that that canget in the way, like if if he
sits down and goes I now have towrite the perfect paragraph,
he's screwed.
I mean I do some writing.
I've written a couple of books.
I finished my third manuscriptand again I struggle with
perfectionism for sure, and Ihave to follow these types of
advice.
So, like for him it was if so Imean for me the take home
(22:18):
message because again I like towrite and I can get stuck was
when you are stuck in aparagraph thinking is this
perfect or not, like stop, stopwhere you are and go into your
next paragraph, like don't sitthere and go through the battle.
And I was like you know, that'svery helpful.
So there are ways for us todeal with that personality.
(22:40):
Because you know, if I do thattoo much, I'm not going to sit
down in front of the computerand do it.
And I don't want to do thatbecause I want to write and I do
think I have contributions togive people in the health and
fitness world.
So I want to write and I dothink I have contributions to
give people in the health andfitness world.
So I want to continue to dothat.
So I have to battle my tendencytowards perfectionism.
So we all do, you know and again, I started to say that I doubt
(23:04):
you know, he obviously didn'tcome up with that term.
He was relating it in his life,because I know, like in 12-step
recovery programs they talkabout it all the time.
They say progress, notperfection, because addicts and
alcoholics tend to be very, very, very black and white thinkers,
you know.
(23:24):
And so, oh, they're supposed todo like if they're new to
recovery.
Seven meetings or, I'm sorry,90 meetings in 90 days, it's
like, okay, that sounds prettytough, right?
I mean, granted, they have tomake it their priority, but what
if they miss one?
Well, if they're thinkingperfectly, that's going to screw
with their head.
They got to say no, no, no, no,that's an ideal, but I just
(23:48):
need to be better.
I used to go to no meetings,now I'm getting to one almost
every day.
That's how we have to think tokeep moving forward, because we
need positive momentum.
All right, so I hope these toolshelp you and if they help you,
please share them with otherpeople.
Hit automatic download, shareit to your social media and do
(24:12):
me a favor At least.
At least send it to one personin a text or an email.
Thank you for listening totoday's show.
I ask you to please follow thisshow on wherever you get your
podcasts and also please hitautomatic downloads.
It really helps me and it helpsthe show.
Now I want to thank OverheadDoor of Daytona Beach, the
(24:35):
premier garage door company inVolusia County with the best
product with the best service.
I can vouch for Jeff and ZachHawk, the owners.
They are great people.
If you need any help with yourgarage doors, give them a shout
386-222-3165.
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