Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
So you put a frog in water
Hi guys,
When was the last time you felt great?
Ever thought “Yeah I’m overweight but I’m fine compared to my friends who are all much bigger than I am”? Do you think being tired and feeling lethargic is a normal part of getting older? Do you long for the days when you had energy in abundance and you don’t know what the hell happened?
I was listening to Radio4 a few weeks ago and this biologist came on and shared a fascinating, if slightly gruesome metaphor;
If you put a frog in a pot with cold water, it sits there quite happily. The water is at the right temperature for the frog to be very content and to function optimally. If you then put that pot on a stove and slowly start to warm the water up the frog remains in the water. It acclimatises to the new temperature fairly quickly. Sure, it’s not as comfortable as it used to be but it’s fine. Now you keep warming the water and it gets to the level where the frog should be very uncomfortable and do something about getting out of the pot, but it doesn’t. The frog just sits there, getting hotter and hotter, and yet does not jump out. Eventually, if you keep warming the water, the frog will just boil alive without ever having made an attempt to get out. (Before you walk away re-telling this story, it is just a metaphore)
This is what a lot of people are like. You eat a take-away or two a week and you don’t feel 100% anymore but that’s OK, the take-away is tasty. You have a couple of nights out and you feel a bit worse for wear, but that’s OK really. Then you stop exercising and you get a bit winded when you climb the Spanish steps on your holiday in Rome. But that’s OK, it’s warm, sunny and they are big steps so why would you not be out of breath when you get to the top?
You get home from holiday a few pounds, or kilos, heavier…again.. and have a bit less energy than you used to have. “I need a holiday after my holiday, I’m exhausted!”, you, jokingly, tell your colleagues and friends. Getting out of bed in the morning gets that little bit more difficult. That 3PM dip in energy that you used to get now comes at 2, and again at 3. You don’t have the energy to cook anymore so you grab something easy. A microwave meal will do. Man, better grab an early night tonight as you’re shattered. Seems to happen a lot now, but that’d just the way it goes, isn’t it?
Do you know the phrase I hear the most from new clients? “It’s amazing how good I feel after eating real food for a week and exercising twice!”. And the phrase I hear from existing clients when they come back from holiday; “I can’t wait to get back to eating properly and exercising again”.
The things you can do.
That first group is discovering how they actually SHOULD be feeling all the time and the second realises when the water is getting too warm for them. That’s what a good Personal Trainer can give you. It’s about more than just helping you eat better and get physically fitter. It’s about helping you realise your full potential and make each and every day that little bit easier because you can do more and be more. I’m not here to sell you on PT, most of you reading are well outside my geographical area, but I am here to let you know that when you’re not feeling 100%, it’s not normal. And if you can’t get yourself out of the pot, ask for some help….there’s a lot out there.
Stay good and take care of yourself,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 