Winning the long game of changing your life 

This essay is a bit of a thought experiment on my part. 

I know that when people are new to the gym there is a strong desire for change and likely there has been some incentivizing event to bring them to this point. Maybe it was a doctor visit with some serious news, or maybe it was reaching a point of frustration with self-image or body confidence. Perhaps recognizing everyday physical tasks getting more difficult. The status quo can not stay, something needs to change. We need to change something, now.

We are primed for immediate gratification these days. Social media shows quick and unrealistic results, we can order items to be delivered to our door within days, and nobody likes waiting. A level of un-fitness that took us years to get into will not be fixed in just 3-6 weeks but the novelty and enthusiasm of a new regimen can wear off fast when we don’t see a radical change. 

Most people get on 6 week or 12 week challenges hoping to make a difference but don’t see that those challenges should not be seen as a closed project. 

I get it, it is easier to try making changes when you only have to commit to a shorter time. Hey, maybe you can do a much harder challenge and make ALL the changes you need to because it is only for several weeks. The problem is those weeks are not long enough to make the change last, and by the time we are done we are over-tired from trying to change on several fronts! 

You can only get “that” fit in such a short time if you are pretty close already at the start. In reality, those short challenges should be looked at as little kickstarts to a longer commitment for changing the habits that are holding us in our unhappy state. 

So how can we approach fitness in a way that both delivers results and also gives us a better perspective on the necessary timeline?

When I first started CrossFit training back in 2004, there was a lot of grey area. Things are quite well organized and accessible now, but back then there were not a lot of resources available for CrossFit’s varied demands. The workout of the day was posted without any description of modifications or performance tips! I found that for me to make progress I had to spend some time practicing some of the individual skills and abilities separately before being able to “bring them in.” This seemed to be instinctive for me. I took an approach that was more like a year long course of study. Nobody gets the diploma at the start of the course, only at the end. 

And there is the saying, we overestimate what we can do in a month but underestimate what we can do in a year.

So we need to accept that a longer time frame is necessary to get life-changing fit. But how can we keep the motivation going to stick with it?

Another concept that could apply here is from the Boy and Girl Scouts: the merit badge. 

Changing your life requires effort on multiple fronts. When most people start thinking of getting in shape the attention often goes to exercise first. I think this is great, but it also seems to overshadow the need to make a dietary change. I hear people say, when I start working out I tend to eat better to support it. This can happen, sure, yet often the experience becomes one of “earning” food and treats which can undermine the overall goal. It is actually possible to out-train a poor diet, however the majority of people do not train at the Micheal Phelps level to actually make that happen! 

So working out AND eating right need to be part of the fit lifestyle. What else?

What are the habits and practices of the healthy and fit? What are the behaviors? What do they do? Suppose we take these habits, actions and attitudes and make them into practical merit badges that can be worked on and earned at different stages of our fitness journey? What badges could we aim for? 

OK, I think I know what you are thinking…

Hear me out, success leaves clues and when it comes to fitness we don’t need to reinvent the wheel! If we look at what fit people do, we can sketch out a way to copy and apply it. And merit badges are a great way to describe and practice a behavior, strengthen its habit and see the result. And an earned badge is a tangible target to help keep motivated. And as one progresses through the varying levels of badges, earning them one by one, we would also see lifestyle change! Not immediate change but ideally lasting change because the lessons and impressions you learn over the course of several months, or a year or two will be more valuable than just 6 weeks.

Here are some rudimentary badge ideas that come to my mind:

Bodyweight Movement Proficiency – achieve a minimum skill in pull-ups, push-ups, squats and lunges

Barbell Strength – achieve certain targets on the main lifts, eg bench press and/or squat bodyweight, deadlift 1.5 – 2x bodyweight

Century Ruck – accumulate 100 kms Ruck with 10-25% bodyweight

Key Nutrition 100 – 100 days of consistent nutrition habits

Family Fitness Leader – lead family to adopt and practice 2 or 3 healthy lifestyle habits over 3 months

300X3- 3 months of 300 minutes of exercise/week

1K SWEAT – 1000 workouts

BF% – achieve a healthy bodyfat % range and maintain for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year (eg. M- 12-21% W-22-32%)

Agon of Choice – pick own outside-the-gym challenge to train for and complete

Triple Threat – Achieve a baseline level of Strength (eg Deadlift weight), Endurance (eg. 2K Row time) and Gymnastic Bodyweight (eg. minimum # of strict pull-ups)

EDD – player choice to pick a fitness activity performed daily for 100 days (every damn day)

Responder Fit – Achieve passing requirements in a number of responder physical fitness assessments, eg. RCMP PARE, Canadian Forces FORCE or Army Combat Fitness tests

COMPETE – train for and compete in a sport or event of your choice

SBS Combine  – achieve a proficiency score on a TBD SBS in-house fitness test

MP5 – Design and implement a sustainable meal plan for 5 months

SEMM – build and be accountable to habits around Sleep, Eat, Move (exercise) & Manage (stress) for a block of time

Pride of Lions – Cultivate and maintain a fitness fraternity/sorority of 5 people for 1 year

These are just a number of ideas off the top of my head and they could each be developed and refined further. Do any appeal to you, dear reader? Are there any ideas that you can think of that spark interest? I would love to hear your ideas and invite you to share, maybe a program of fitness merit badges could become a reality!

When our coaches first meet with someone interested in joining the gym we ask about goals to see what a person wants to work toward or achieve. Some of these badge ideas could make a great progress goal to work toward and you can set up a free consult to talk with a coach HERE

Or if you have been working out for a while and need something new to focus attention, consider some of these as ideas when it’s time for a goal review. 

Start here

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