Feature Article
Do the Right Thing
I don't recall the date or circumstance, but a long time ago, my (very) small business adopted a simple
motto: "Do the right thing." It hung on the bulletin board of our office for as long as we had an
office. It didn't turn out to be the secret to business success, but what motto is?
But it turns out this pithy little saying is applicable to far more than our little enterprise. And
since this is a fitness newsletter, you can bet it's applicable here.
First, a bit of terminology. "Diet and exercise" are familiar to most everyone. They often go
together like "salt and pepper," "cats and dogs," or "Starsky and Hutch." But I
prefer "nutrition and fitness."
"Diet" has become a four-letter word. (OK, it's always been a four-letter word, but you know what I mean.)
People are said to be "on a diet" much more often than to "have a diet" even though the latter is always true
(diet is
defined as "the usual food and
drink of a person or animal"), the former is not. Here at StrongFast, we're not interested in
being "on a diet" but in changing the "usual" food and drink we consume to be healthier. So instead
of "diet" we use "nutrition." (I hope I never have to present this as part of a speaking engagement;
my fingers would cramp from doing air quotes.)
"Exercise" has probably always been a four-letter word (though in this case, of course, not literally)
but we still use it sometimes to refer to specific activities; for example, the potato sack squat
is an exercise. But as a more general term we'll use "fitness" to refer to our training (various
activities performed with a plan to achieve one or more specific goals).
So, now we have "nutrition" and "fitness." "Do the right thing" applies equally well to both.
When making food choices, do the right thing. That includes:
shopping, dining out, and eating at home.
Meals, snacks, and beverages;
timing and quantities
So what is the "right" thing? Probably 80% of it is intuitive, or at least ingrained. Some things that are not right include:
- donuts
- pop
- pastries
- eating until you're stuffed
- anything that makes you feel sick and/or tired
Some things that are right include:
- leafy greens
- lean cuts of meat* (especially locally and organically raised)
- eggs*
- water
- fish*
*
Vegans will take exception to these. But that's OK. They already know what's "right" for them.
There are plenty of gray areas: what about bacon? Butter? Bread? Beans? Beef? There's no one right way to nutritional happiness.
I of course have my own thoughts on all of these, but they won't fit here. Maybe I'll write a book.
But for now, on to fitness. Here, doing the right thing almost always comes down to doing something rather than nothing. Stand
up. Walk. Run. Dance. Lift barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags. Push up. Pull up. Throw. Climb. Jump. Stretch. Play!
What's not right (besides doing nothing)? Lifting weights that are too heavy for you. Using poor movement patterns. Overtraining.
There are others, but they pale in comparison to the pervasive problem of doing nothing. So if your choice is between sitting
down to watch TV and doing some activity (especially if it's part of a Blitz), do the right thing.
It's a simple concept, and really can be applied to almost any choice your life. Sometimes the choice is not so clear,
but most of the time it is. You had a choice whether or not to read this newsletter. Congratulations! You did the right
thing. Now keep it going!
Be seeing you.
-gary
