By Josh Leeger
There's a strong link between fitness motivation and gardening - one that I think will help you to stay motivated in your exercise program.
One of my favorite farmers was a man named Masanobu Fukuoka. He was a pesticides chemist in the 1930's, and had a realization one day - that plants could work just as well as any man-made chemical fertilizer.
Fukuoka excitedly took his new idea to his father's farm. His father was pleased that Masanobu had returned from the city, and let him take over the orange orchard on the property. Masanobu immediately let the orchard "return to nature." He didn't prune, weed, or deal with the plants in any way.
The orchard withered and died.
Masanobu's father was irritated, and sent him back to the city. Fukuoka went back to his lab job, but continued to investigate what had happened. What he discovered was relatively simple - he'd taken cultivated plants and attempted to make them wild again with no assistance.
The cultivated plants relied on their human caretakers for sustenance and support. They weren't the robust wild orange trees they once were (they also didn't produce the bitter wild-oranges, but rather the sweeter cultivated variety).
Fukuoka eventually bought his own farm and spent the next 60 years continuing to learn how to grow massive crops of food plants with very little human intervention.
That's great, Josh. But what the heck does it have to do with fitness or motivation?
Most of us are like those cultivated orange trees. We get a lot of sustenance from things that might not necessarily be very "natural" (or even very good for us).
The truth is, we do get sustenance from those things. A lot of times it can even be more stressful when they're taken away from us than it is to actually have them - at least in the short term. That's why it's so important to look at your fitness routine as your fitness garden.
Going into your garden and taking away all of the "support" (good or bad) that you've had for so long - whether it's sitting on the couch, TV, alcohol, unhealthy foods - is just going to stress you out. Ever heard of the "yo-yo diet" phenomenon? Same thing.
Drastic overhauls almost never work. They create more stress, take away the things we find comfortable and normal, and make us generally long for the old days. Everyone else around us feels the same way - God I wish s/he would just have a few beers and a plate full of nachos like we did in the old days!!!
I mean, if we've been doing things for one way for the past 20, 30, or 40+ years, it might take a little longer than the 30 days in the New Improved Master Diet/Workout Plan to really change.
Instead we should try to make the smallest change we can that still lets us (and everyone else we know) feel somewhat comfortable and somewhat normal. Wait for that change to take effect, and then introduce another one.
What is that change? It's different for everyone. It could be working with a trainer, joining a boot camp, or taking a walk every night after dinner.
Pick your one thing and start today!
