Fitness.... A matter of heart versus brain

She had spent the last 10 years convinced that she had too many health issues to get back in shape. It seemed like everything hurt and the everytime she tried to move, things hurt worse.

 It was no way to live.

Finally, her doctor convinced her to investigate working with a coach, one that was familiar with her limitations and could work around them. She reluctantly decided to give it a shot.

After her first couple workouts, she felt amazing. Things didn't hurt like she expected and all she wanted to do was.......more! She finally felt like her life was improving and she couldn't get enough. She was exercising on her own....every day. Her coach told her that this was a marathon and to take it slow but he didn't understand how good she felt!

10 days later, she was exhausted and somewhat dejected. What happened?  The next week she showed up for her workout beat up and tired. She told her coach what she had been doing and he smiled. "Heart versus brain." , he said. "You've spent the 10 years thinking that you couldn't do anything. You've learned otherwise and now the heart wants to do everything....... today."

 Many people spend years thinking their way to inaction. The "what if's" in their mind keep them paralyzed in their current situation. Getting past that is the first step in taking action.

 Once that happens,  the heart can take over. The heart is passionate, not reasonable and makes us feel alive. It's addicting. It's also the thing that can make us flame out quickly.

The most important word in fitness is sustainability. Simply put, those who don't quit,

succeed.

It takes both the heart to give you the motivation to take action and the brain to keep things reasonable. One without the other usually leads to failure.