By steve
Staying fit and healthy is a commitment. For you, and your pet. Fitness and health is achieved not by going to the gym for the 2 weeks after New Years, nor by an occasional bout of exercise every few weeks or months. Attaining fitness, and all of the wonderful benefits that come with it, require a change in the way we think about exercise and the way we incorporate it into our daily routines.
Having exercised and been involved in the fitness community for the better part of 3 decades, I have drawn some inferences from observing people who have been fit for many years. There are some common themes that present across my ‘sample set’ of people and I have come up with a concept, named the 6 C’s Pyramid, which encapsulates my observations. The 6 C’s Pyramid can help you and your pet get and remain fit and lead to positive change.
Introducing the 6 C’s Pyramid Approach to Fitness and Change
The 6 C’s Pyramid depicts the relationship between behavior fundamentals that lead to regular exercise which in turn lead to the ultimate goal of any fitness program: positive change. The picture below shows the hierarchy of each of the 6 C’s.
The 6 C’s In Brief
Bottom Level
The first level of the pyramid is the key to building a fitness lifestyle. These factors are the foundation that leads to lifestyle changes.
- Convenience: Make your workouts convenient so that it is ‘easy’ to get them done each day. Convenience helps to eliminate a common excuse: “I don’t have time to workout”. Driving 30 minutes to the gym is not convenient. Putting on sneakers and doing hill repeats in your neighborhood is.
- Cross Train: Mixing up your workouts makes them more interesting, reduces injury risk, and keeps your body challenged. In the context of the pyramid, cross training means adding different activities (e.g. running, weight training, yoga) as well as adding different workout protocols (e.g. speed work, timed weight training complexes ala Cross Fit). Mix it up for a better balanced and an ever improving body.
- Common Sense: Use common sense when planning workouts for you and your dog. If a specific exercise doesn’t feel right, don’t do it! Even if everyone else does it or tells you how great it is. If your dog has a specific orthopedic issue, adjust their program accordingly. Do you (or your dog) “like” certain exercises? If so, common sense dictates that you utilize these as the foundations for your exercise program because if you enjoy your workouts you are more likely to persist with them.
Middle Level
Adhering to the ideas in Level 1 of the pyramid leads to the success factors in Level 2, consistency and capability, both of which lead to improved fitness and health.
- Consistency: As mentioned in the introduction, consistent exercise is the key to becoming fit. Those who make exercise a regular part of their daily routine are those that become …read moreFrom: The 6 C’s: A Pyramid Approach to Fitness and Change
