There are no rules, just recommendations. And, it's 'ok' to break the recommendations (rules).

So, I met with an individual a few days ago. She had emailed me specifically to discuss some things regarding her current workout program. As I've learned over the years, these discussions typically evolve into a little more than just talking about 'working' out, and this one took the same course.

She shared a little about her personal health history, which was very helpful, and included a history about her workout experiences and what she'd been doing up to this point. We discussed some of her past successes, as well as, some of the challenges she'd faced, what she'd done to overcome those challenges, and which ones still lingered on. We summarized the general components of her overall 'health plan' which I find to always be helpful as it ties the bigger picture together with the smaller elements of more individualized, creative health aspects. And what I learned about her fitness component was that she'd been working out in an all-women's club for quite some time.

We continued to chat and talked a little more about what her current workout program consisted of and the advice she'd been following for quite some time. It became apparent that her fundamental thinking needed to be tweaked a bit. She'd been following the 'recommendations, guidelines, and advice' from professionals at her club and it was becoming apparent that this was precisely what was burdening her and actually bringing added stress to her routine. In her case, as is quite common, the recommendations given to her had become 'rules' in her mind and in turn, were actually complicating the process for her and leaving her feeling like her success was strictly tied to her ability to follow the 'rules' placed before her.

Experience has shown me that there's a segment of the workout population that demand rules, guidelines, steps, a very exact plan. They need/want to be told exactly what they need to do. Don't want to have to think about it on there own at all. "Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it". Generally, these individuals have the fortitude to take what's given to them and make it happen for themselves and are able to successfully self-motivate or they lose steam after a short period of time and drop it altogether.

The fitness industry has done an effective job of catering to these folks. In part, because 'rules and guidelines' show legitimacy. And, lots of money can be made from those wiling to pay for 'guidance by the rules' who don't have the self-discipline to 'go it alone'. And, because the overall health of Americans has seen such a rapid decline over the years, guidelines and recommendations have been put in place in an effort to educate and slow this decline. However, as was the case with this individual, there are also those who take these guidelines quite literally and eventually find themselves on the verge of exercise meltdown as they begin feeling overwhelmed by the demands of following 'the rules'. In most cases, time, boredom and a sense of hopelessness contribute to the meltdown. But, it's the pressure of feeling like if you don't do this much or that much, for this long or that long, or this way or that way, you perhaps shouldn't be doing it at all. And before you know it, you find yourself not doing anything at all. And, that's exactly how this individual felt.

We had a good chat. My message to her was to toss the 'rules', err recommendations out the window, forget about them. I gave her permission to find a routine that worked especially for her and we set in motion a plan that fit her schedule, her lifestyle, and ultimately met her personal health concerns. The sense of relief that I could see on her face was priceless. I could tell it felt very different for her and I actually had to bring an end to the conversation a number of times. She was soaking it all up. It made sense to her and it was very cool to see.