I’ve heard it said that the best diet is the one you actually stick to. It’s true.
The same is also true for exercise: the best exercise is the one that you actually do.
Don’t waste time weighing your options, trying to figure out if this program is better than that one. Pick one that looks challenging and doable, and do it. Stop talking about it.
You’re not getting healthier by thinking about working out. You’re not burning any fat simply by having a gym membership. You’re not building muscle by having free weights in your living room.
In the end, Shaun T, Jillian Michaels, the gym, or any way or anywhere else you can exercise will all deliver results if you put in the time and get something done. The only thing the couch and a bag of chips will deliver is a reminder that you don’t have the metabolism you had back in high school.
You might be interested in this episode of Freakonomics podcast that talks about “temptation bundling” as a mechanism to help people make (and sustain) positive lifestyle change.
http://freakonomics.com/2015/03/13/when-willpower-isnt-enough-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
Thanks for sharing, James! The premise seems mainly to bundle a good thing with another good thing, killing two birds with one stone. Possible if I went jogging, but not if I’m flat on the floor after an Insanity workout in my living room – I need all my faculties present for those workouts!
I did actually started doing something along these lines before I listened to this. My temptation is not really a good thing – Facebook sucks my productivity down the drain. As I’ve been working on writing every day, I don’t allow myself to go on Facebook until I’ve written. It didn’t take long to realize I’m actually not missing out on anything if I wait until 4pm to login, so I wonder how long it will be until I need a new motivator to get the writing done.