Don't Be A Lemming: You Don't Have To Follow The Crowd

Lemming suicide is a frequently used metaphor in reference to people who go along unquestioningly with popular opinion, with potentially dangerous or fatal consequences. Lemmings don't really engage in mass suicide as legend / myth has it. They suffer inevitable casualties during mass migration moves of extreme distance because it stretches the limits of their capabilities. Only the strong and lucky make it unharmed usually. Survival of the fittest and all that jazz.

Train smarter not harder! Are you doing stuff that is effective and rapidly taking you to your goals or are you just doing stuff cause you THINK it will take you to your goals. If you have been spinning your wheels for months or even years, it's time to make a change. The program that I have you do is proven by years of YOUR peers (people just like you) doing the same thing that I have you do -real people, real results. Not fantasy crap you see on an infomercial or the cover of a DVD box. And you don't have to be a gymnast or an Olympic lifter to get in real shape. Are you another face in the endless sea of followers of the marketing machine or someone who is motivated to attain, achieve and accomplish your goals?

Any exercise program, gimmick or diet will work for awhile. But then your body will rapidly adapt to the stressor and plateau will be present - if you let it. Your body is programmed to rapidly strive to attain homeostasis. This is the concept of an optimal operating environment for your body regardless of whether it is good or bad, based upon the conditions present. So knowing that plateau is a normal part of your body's response to change, you can stay a step ahead of it.

If you find yourself doing the same nutrition plan or exercise program for too long- say longer than 1-2 months, you know your body will try to halt any further change in the quest for command and control to keep you safe. Progress grinds to a halt and then the frustration begins. Breaking through a plateau can be difficult. What you don't want to do, is simply more of the same type of thing, that you have been doing.

At this point it is ok to deviate from your program to mix things up. Try a new program or routine and change the variables such as pace, intensity, distance, reps, weight, volume. Don't continue on aimlessly thinking that you have to stay with whatever routine that you have been doing. Once it stops working, it's time for a change even if all of the cool kids are still doing the routine that you have stalled with.

Don't simply continue to follow the crowd because it is popular. Do what works for you and do what you need to do in order to reach your goals - even if that means trying something new or different than what the cool kids are doing. If you have been running, try swimming. If you have been doing lots of bodyweight drills, try barbell drills, lots of barbells-try dumbbells and kettlebells. Light weight-go heavy. Strength try endurance and so on. Also shake up your nutrition plan.

Bottom line is don't be a lemming and follow the crowd into the surf if you need a change. Break free from the masses and do what will take you towards your goals. You may have to switch things often. Be free of limitations. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. Be different, be unique. Do what works for you instead of what is popular - they aren't always the same thing.

Focus on your needs and wants and get where you are going in the most effective, direct way possible.  Success is almost guaranteed if you do.

If you need assistance with breaking free from the pack and the associated plateaus, contact me and I can help you restart the flames of progress quickly.

Eric
Dempsey's Resolution Fitness