I’m talking about your body and I want you to think about what it can do and not just what it looks like.
It might not seem like it with the weather this week but we are officially in Spring. This is a point where a lot of people start to think about wearing less clothes which for some can be uncomfortable because they might not like what their body looks like.
In my experience, people start to look for fitness or nutrition changes as much in March as they do in January. It makes sense if you’re not happy with your appearance then you should start to think about making a change.
I wish that there wasn’t as much emphasis on aesthetics when it came to the fitness industry but that’s just the way it is. Appearance matters to a lot of people. At Defy we focus so much more on what our bodies can do than what they look like.
We want to to help people Get Better At Life through health and fitness. That’s our number one mission. That’s why we open the doors each day. Functional Fitness is the method we use to help people achieve this.
I could go deep into explaining functional fitness but think of it like this; what you do in the gym should help you outside of the gym. A burpee for example helps someone get up of the ground if they fall over, you may not need to do it 30 times in a row outside of the gym but if you practice that often inside the gym then getting up off the ground when you’re 80 should be easy. Plus, the 30 reps in the gym build other muscles in your arms and legs and help your heart too! Burpees for the Win!
If we focus on things like how much weight we can squat or deadlift, how fast we can run a mile or how many pull ups we can do; then we will increase our level of function outside the gym – we will be functionally fit.
The really cool thing about this approach is if you focus on being good at a variety of things like I mentioned above, you wont become a specialist which will also help you with your aesthetic goals. If you can run faster, you’re probably getting rid of some body fat. If you can squat heavier, you’re probably building some muscle.
Building muscle and dropping body fat is what will help you improve your body composition and make you look better! By focusing on what your body can do, you will also improve how it looks. It would be really hard to increase body fat and lose muscle while lifting heavier, running faster and doing more pull ups.
Playing the aesthetic game never really leaves people truly satisfied in my experience. We always want more or see ourselves in a negative way. But chasing performance and focusing on what our body can do is extremely rewarding. We get stronger and fitter and can do things we never thought possible.
Let’s be honest – most people who I’ve ever met with who want to starting training have a very similar goal that can be summed up as “looking better naked”
Switch up that mindset – focus on what your body can do and not just what it looks like!