Monthly Archives: July 2014

22 Jul

Annoying Exercise Myths

If you’re still subscribing to any of these fitness/exercise myths, JUST STOP IT, as the old Bob Newhart psychiatrist character used to say (see here).

bob-newhart

I’m keeping this list of pernicious myths short (just four), though like George Bush bloopers, there are so many to choose from.  Like “spot-losing”….Please at least join the 20th century if you still believe you can “target” lose your belly fat.   Or “lifting weights will make you bulky”.  Every women’s health magazine has a diatribe against that one.  So why are my four myths so annoying???

  1. Because they persist.  Despite solid data which contradicts them, they might not even be “mostly dead”.
  2. They’re blocking you from optimal wellness.  If they’re not injuring you, they’re at least slowing you down or making your exercise efforts less efficient.
  3. They’re indulged and even promoted by folks who should know better.  No health professional is off the hook for at least trying to stay current.

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10 Jul

Get Out of Your Head???

I’ve heard different people use the phrase “Get out of your head”, from personal trainers to drama coaches to fellow musicians to college friends who would rather see you dominate on the beer pong team than pass your biochemistry finals.  Usually this irritating cliche evokes fleeting thoughts which are not consistent with Gandhian non-violence or my wellness coaching reputation.

gandhi-angry-duke

In any case, the basic ideas (two) behind the dictum have merit.  Nike (“just do it”) and other popularizers don’t necessarily legitimize it, but they’re onto something which is fundamentally attractive and maybe elusive for us.  Here are the two ideas:

  • Stop thinking and procrastinating and get on with it.  Stop dipping your toe in the water and just jump in; the water’s fine.
  • Less discursive thinking and more feeling.  Let go of the mental replaying and the forecasting and pay attention to what’s right in front of you, without over-thinking it.

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04 Jul

Mindfulness, Negativity Bias and Wellness Change — Part Two

Part one of this blog looked at negativity bias, our built-in tendency to accentuate the negative and de-emphasize the positive.superman-kryptonite-flipped

This evolutionary relic is kryptonite to wellness change (badly needed, given the  national obesity rate of 35% in 2014 among other things), creating built-in resistance of which you might not be aware.  This post summarizes how mindfulness can mitigate negativity bias impacts. But first, some key points on it from the first post:

  • Fear helped keep our ancestors alive.  Perceived threats make a bigger mental imprint than do positive opportunities.
  • Negativity bias creates inertia for wellness change by crippling healthy decision-making with a fear-based foundation.
  • It’s a “low-level” cognitive activity that can happen quickly and powerfully influence choices and behavior.
  • It’s built into our animal brain.  No escaping it, but mindfulness can tame it (see below).

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