Balance and Health
Flex Wheeler • July 26, 2021
What are you sacrificing to look a certain way? Should you?
More clarification for people checking out my online training and nutrition program. First of all, THANK YOU for checking out my program and blog! Second, and more importantly, the focus of my program is obviously to look good, but more importantly to be healthy and vital. And that means every aspect of health and vitality. Energy levels, emotional stability, balance in life...all important and part of our program.
What does that equate to? Although it is important to get yourself to the gym, your life should not revolve around the gym. Eating healthy is absolutely important, BUT...spending your time counting macronutrients and weighing out every meal...that’s likely overkill. In an attempt to look a certain way, far too many people are patterning their daily routines after high-level, competitive athletes, many of whom are professionals making their living that way. How I lived my life during my competitive days, or how Kamaru Usman lives his life now, or how Dwayne Johnson lives his life while getting ready for a movie roll is not necessarily the way the general public should live theirs.
Please put it into perspective, what elite-level athletes do what they do for performance, for wins. When decisions are made, health takes a back seat to performance. I’m not saying that elite athletes want to whither and die, but most, if not all, will answer that winning is the most important thing. That winning now is something they would trade off for a few years later in life. People have stated they want to look like I did at the 2000 Arnold, or look like Yoel Romero in the Octagon, or like Hugh Jackman when he played Wolverine. Forget about how I felt physically all the way through prep, or how Yoel had to be helped back to his room after weigh-ins, or that Jackman literally admitted to feeling like crap during filming to look the way he did for the films. Thanks to social media, you can now get a front-row seat to see what athletes go through.
Forget those little tidbits...but take into account that yes, I made great money winning my 4th Arnold, Yoel made six-figures for every fight, and Jackman made millions playing Wolverine. These instances are the exceptions. LIving a life that way, with little to no return on investment of time and money, is it really worth it? Very, very few people fall into the category where the return for your investment is high enough.
“Moderation” and thoughtful planning is the answer. In general life (off-season, between movies or fights) the three of us looked quite different. Very, VERY few people can stay ripped 12 months out of the year...and I wasn’t one of them, either. Patterning your days in an attempt to look like 2000 Arnold Classic Flex Wheeler is just too much. I guarantee that it will cost your life balance.
What’s the answer…”balance.” Take things seriously, but not too seriously. Yes, you should get regular activity in, but missing a couple of workouts won’t cause Ragnarok. Yes, you should watch what you eat, but the occasional burger and fries isn’t the end of the world. Finally, if you do EVERYTHING that elite athletes or movie stars do to look and perform a certain way, say good-bye to any free/family/friend time...especially if you have a job. That would not be “balanced” to me. If you have balance, you’ll be healthy in multiple ways. If you are healthy in multiple ways, you’ll look great!
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