"Reasonable" expectations

Here’s my opinion: Most of us set the bar way too low for what we’re capable of. We settle. We accept something less than what we know we can do because we lack information or time or motivation or something else.

I think this is true in most aspects of life: fitness, nutrition, relationships, career…

We’re ok with being kind of average because that’s what most people are (by definition), right?

What if average is artificially low because most people are in the same boat of underperforming relative to what they can do? Think about it for a minute in the fitness realm: Is it unreasonable to think that most people can maintain a healthy body fat percentage and have moderate strength and good endurance? Does it make sense to think that we were created for anything other than pretty good health and fitness?

Then why are we ok with something less? Why do we, as a society, accept as reality that fitness and health are primarily the domain of 20-somethings? Should we expect 30-somethings to be fit? What about people in their 40’s? 50’s? 60’s? What about people in their 80’s?

Each one of us is capable of maintaining a solid foundation of fitness across our lifetime. We can maintain strength and endurance even as we age. You can be strong and confident.

So why do we not see mostly strong and confident people when we go to Publix or Costco? I think it’s because most people think getting fit or maintaining fitness is out of reach for them. Maybe they’ve tried and missed the mark before. Maybe they’re discouraged.

I have good news. Your goal of feeling strong and confident is within reach. You can definitely do it regardless of your age or where you’re starting from. And we can help - it’s what we do and we love doing it. Book a Discovery Call today.

To those who are on a solid path now: Keep working to maintain and even improve. The personal records may come more slowly, but they can definitely still come.

I recommend you also look at personal records based on phase of life. I ran cross country and track in high school. I wasn’t top-tier, but I was reasonably fast. Back in the 1980’s (when I was in high school) in Nashville, the top three finishers got their name in the newspaper the day after a cross country meet. I vividly remember the excitement when I scored a top-three finish. I don’t compare my mile time now to my mile time as a 17 year old running at Shelby Park in Nashville. But I do compare my mile time now to everything from early 20’s on.

In the last 6 months, I’ve run a mile faster than at any other point in my adult life. Last week, I set a new personal record for the deadlift (I’ve been deadlifting and tracking progress for about 10 years). I’m 53 years old as I write this. My capacity for improvement in strength and endurance is definitely declining based on physiology. That doesn’t detract from the enjoyment and physical benefits I derive from continuing to pursue my best, whatever that may be for the day.

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