Since working at a fitness club the last few months, I have, as I should be, been exercising and working out a lot more. It feels great to get back into an exercise routine- and to bring it up a notch. For those who don’t know, I am currently in the process of studying for an ACE personal trainer certification. My goal is not necessarily to be a full-time Personal Trainer afterward, but to certainly assist my friends, family and to have the knowledge is invaluable.
With that said, I have been much more aware of my body and my movements since then. To be fair, I started feeling certain pains and tension in various parts of my body that I have felt before (but ignored). After years of simply thinking the tension will go away, I decided it was time to take care of it and learn where the pain came from.
In between conversations with physiotherapists, personal trainers, and knowledge gleaned from podcasts and books- I have learned an immense amount. Our mind and body are incredibly integrated and unfortunately, most of our lives, we are culturally conditioned to either focus on our mind (cram for exams, stay up all night, work hard party hard, etc), or focus on our body (but only when we get injured or sick).
When was the last time you let your body heal and recover?
When was the last time you allowed your mind to detox and declutter?
It’s not easy to do both. Neither is it convenient. However, the reward of your productivity and how every single part of your body will feel (from your gut to your muscles and beyond) is worth the hard work and discipline.
A few strategies I have adopted recently include:
- Cold Showers (Wim Hof Method)
- Starting the day by drinking a glass of water with Sea Salt & Lemon (Aubrey Marcus, Own Your Day Own Your Life)
- Starting the day with a 10 to 15-minute movement routine (Exercises provided by my physiotherapist to improve my shoulder stability and muscle imbalances)
Fun Fact: I started taking cold showers about a month ago and about a week ago, the hot water in my condo building decided it was going to stop working. Thankfully, I’m already taking cold showers so it didn’t quite affect my daily routine too much!
Some adaptations are harder than others to implement, but just like how we have to spend effort and productive time exercising to gain the results we want to achieve, we have to intentionally practice cognitive awareness and functional movement. Start with one adaptation at a time, and notice how your body and your mind molds and shapes. Each person adapts differently to change, do what makes you feel the most ALIVE and WELL.
——————————————————————
See below for a few resources I have been listening to (podcasts are incredible if you tend to do quite a bit of driving throughout the day on your commutes. Trust me, it’ll make you enjoy your commute instead of being angry and impatient)
- Aubrey Marcus Podcast
- Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast
- Joe Rogan Podcast
- Book: Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal
Joanne Lam 