Fitness oil change???
A fitness oil change is simple; it is changing your fitness, regularly. Some people get stuck in a routine, and over time they start to hate that routine, but they don’t change it because that is all they know how to do…they are stuck.
Maybe you started running because it was easy, but you want to pick up weightlifting. Maybe you lifted weights because that is what your friends were doing, but maybe you want to start doing triathlons. Whatever it is…you have to change things up frequently. Changing your fitness oil frequently will ensure you don’t get bored and you are always excited about your fitness.
Regularly changing your fitness oil is one of the most important things you can do to keep your heart running for a long time, and it will keep you from dying of boredom and monotony.
Over time your fitness oil breaks down and your filter (brain) becomes clogged with contaminants (routine). Depending upon your fitness habits and body type, this may take as few as 3 months, or be as long as 10 years. Fortunately, changing your oil is both easy and inexpensive. This will help you to learn how.
1.) Do the Research and Gather Equipment
In the middle of a workout, sweating, and in pain is not the time you want to realize you don’t fully understand what you are doing, or that you are missing items you need. Before changing your fitness oil make sure you have done your research. Select a type of oil (fitness) that will keep you interested for a long time, and make sure you have all the equipment necessary to participate.
What kind of oil are you looking at for you next fitness oil change?
- Extended Performance (Endurance Athlete)
- High Performance (CrossFit)
- Full Synthetic (Bodybuilding)
2.) Drain Old Oil
You have done your research and selected a new type of fitness (oil); you know this is something you will be able to do for a long time. Maybe it is something you have always been interested in, but you have been scared to actually just go out and do it.
Now that you have your new oil, it is time to drain the old oil, but how do you do that?
You are making your fitness transition… Maybe you are going from bodybuilding to being an endurance athlete (this would be the craziest oil change on the planet), so you need to get rid of all the old oil. This means you have to drop the muscle tees, the excessive amounts of supplements, the weightlifting gloves, etc.
You are ridding yourself of all your old habits and equipment. You don’t need it anymore.Â
3.) Replace Filter (Brain)Â
To properly change your oil, you not only need to replace the oil, but you have to replace the filter.
The filter in this borderline-crazy metaphor is your brain – no I do not actually suggest a brain transplant. This is the hardest part of a fitness oil change. You have to change how you think of fitness; you will have to develop new logic.
Personally, for me (going from bodybuilding to CrossFit), this was incredibly hard to do. Years of training for hypertrophy and learning about what grows muscles, was not conducive to being a good CrossFitter.
I had to drop all preconceived notions of training and fitness. I had to rid myself of the feeling of “getting smallâ€. It has taken me years, with a lot of studying, research and sweat to finally obtain new fitness logic. I am here to let you know; it’s hard, but it’s possible.
4.) Add New Oil, Replace Drain Plug
You have done your research, you have gotten rid of all the old fitness items you no longer need, you have changed your fitness logic…
Now, you start to apply that new fitness you have learned and researched. Whatever it may be, you start to add the new oil. You have to add it slowly, too much too fast and it will spill over. Make sure you take what you have learned and apply it in a safe and logical manner.
Now for the most important part (and often the most forgotten), MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE DRAIN PLUG BACK IN. If you forget the drain plug, all of the new oil you have added will run right out onto the ground.
You drain plug is your support system; your friends, family, co-workers or whoever it may be. You have to have the support. If you try to drastically change up your fitness without any support, it will be very short lived and messy. You will have gotten the new oil for no reason and you will fail.
Do not overlook the importance of a good support system! Your Fitness Army!
5.) Start your engine and check things out!
You may want to look over how to…
Let your new oil run through and give it a thorough test! See if you like this new realm of fitness you have entered. Drink the Kool-Aid a little bit and dive in headfirst.
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After all that, all I am really trying to say…
Don’t be afraid to try new things!! Get out there and try something new!