Pritam Potts
On a recent Sunday morning, as my husband left for golf, I thanked him for the many house tasks he had done the day before.
We had agreed that on this cold January weekend, we would spend both Saturday and Sunday crossing off some of our very long, but very much needed, house-related to-do list. That is, until he suddenly jumped on a golf opportunity that presented itself.
Since golf is by far my beloved’s primary stress-relief decompressive activity, I was of course extremely supportive that he go, but only if he completed at least some of our planned tasks beforehand. He did everything that I asked for and more, despite dedicating half the day to a project that he deemed critical (including two trips to Home Depot!).
After I thanked him, he said:
“Thanks for keeping me honest.”
What he meant was, “Thanks for holding me accountable to get the things done that we had agreed to complete.”
He also knows I love this term — “keep me honest” — because I use it a lot. Which is why he used it. Because he and I both knew he would’ve let those other tasks go in favor of his project! (In his defense, the project had to do with our grill, which we use quite often, but we certainly weren’t using it that weekend.)
You may be wondering how this relates to health and fitness.
Ask yourself, what keeps you honest? How do you keep moving, as the years pass and various struggles multiply? What are you doing well? What could you add to help you in areas in which you feel challenged? What worked for you before that no longer does? What’s now available to you that previously wasn’t? What negative influences and distractions can you remove?
As a fitness professional, I know firsthand that one of the most effective ways to get serious about reaching health and fitness goals is to make yourself accountable to an external influence. Personal trainer, nutritionist, health coach, fitness or yoga instructor whose classes you attend regularly — a real, live expert in the area(s) in which you want to find success. There is nothing that can replace that kind of support and motivation for you as an individual, or the empowerment and confidence (not to mention the results) that come from working with someone you trust.
Who amongst us doesn’t respond best to external motivation in general, whether it’s a coach, client, supervisor or paycheck? It’s even better when someone believes in you and has corresponding expectations. But working with a professional is not always possible or practical. In fact, I have yet to seek out my own coach, although I’m constantly considering it and I know the right person would be tremendous. My last coach, the late great Dan Potts, is irreplaceable.
For now, I’m self-coaching, which I find in and of itself empowering. It has taken me years to integrate this combination of tools and methods into my daily routine, which are now keeping me as honest and accountable to my own fitness goals as I’ve ever been.
Planning
I plan as much as possible in advance. I plan out my workouts, with sets and repetitions and warm-up/cool-down exercises. I plan music (currently I am creating my own playlists). I plan my food in advance, hardly a perfect science, but it helps me make better choices. I even plan stretching and mindfulness, which is new for me. I know it sounds rigid and not at all spontaneous, but it helps me stay disciplined. When it’s time to move, I don’t think or hesitate or fall into indecision. I just whip out my plan and get started!
Scheduling
I put everything on my calendar, scheduled out by day/week/month. This has helped me tremendously. If it’s on my calendar, I’m accountable to it. I do move tasks and to-dos around a lot, and sometimes it takes more time than I want to get it done. But if it is on my calendar, it will eventually get done.
Technology
I like to see my efforts recorded and the stats help me pinpoint where and how to improve. Is it necessary? Absolutely not — movement is movement, recorded or not, but wearables do provide objective external feedback. I use apps such as Cronometer (nutrition) and Apple Health (with my Apple Watch) and I got an OURA ring for Christmas, which I love! A special shoutout to the Hevy app, which I discovered last year. It is by far the best app I’ve found for creating, planning and executing my own personalized strength workouts. (I’ve tried many.) Of course, I own and utilize my first-generation Peloton bike, which is still going strong.
Technology can also connect us to like-minded communities, which can be hugely motivating and supportive. The possibilities are plentiful, even without tapping into the “promise” of artificial intelligence. AI can certainly be a useful resource, and if you find it helps to motivate you to get moving, that’s great. I have been investigating it with the intention of writing about how to use it for fitness-related purposes safely and conscientiously, but I currently don’t use it for myself. I might try. More on that in a future column.
This could all be as simple as returning to the days of writing my programs in a notebook, creating my own streaks by crossing off days on a paper calendar, reading books and articles for motivation, and putting on loud music to get the energy flowing (well, I’ll never stop doing that!). But taking advantage of gamifying elements such as streaks, tracking and analyzing is too beneficial (and enticing) for me to pass up.
Everything counts when it comes to keeping myself honest in my health and fitness endeavors.
So, what keeps you honest? What tools are available to you, right now?
You don’t have to use them perfectly. You just need to use them.
Coach Pritam Potts is a writer and strength coach. After many years of training athletes and clients of all ages as co-owner of Edmonds-based Advanced Athlete LLC, she now lives in Dallas, Texas. She writes about health & wellbeing, grief & loss, love & life at infinitecapability.substack.com and www.advancedathlete.com.
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