Ch 7 A Company of Rockys
We all pursue our own internal version of Rocky. Or, if we don't, we should. Doing so is the only thing that frees us from doing the things which hold us back. Here, that means getting out of the standard American lifestyle and into a fitness one. A corporate fitness director is all about enabling that to happen.
But pursuing our Rocky isn't an easy matter. We may be embarrassed that someone like him is even part of us. Yet, when saw the movie we thought yes that's me; but not long after said no, its not. I am a normal everyday person who tried fitness once, maybe twice, and failed; I never went the distance ; I am in no way close to being Rocky.
All due respect for your honesty, but deep down there's a Rocky waiting to emerge. That's who got excited when you first watched the movie. This is a willful individual, who does what it takes to go the distance with Apollo Creed. And there is a lot more to it than that. It is not merely the championship match, but the endless hours of training (capsulized in the movie), which it took to get there.
For all practical purposes, Rocky is or should be our fitness self-- the person who runs through the streets of our home town, downs our version of the raw eggs, pounds something like his side of beef. Rocky is, or should be, who we are within--us in our own way, regardless of how we are at work or home. It is a figurative way of talking about our-self and how we relate to fitness.
A growing number of people know that fitness is about far more than looking good for the beach this coming summer. But how much more? When we think about daily workouts, strict diets and supplements, its about a life of discipline and will. It is about us being our own Rockys 24/7, which is way different than for only few minutes right after seeing the movie.
Getting us all to that point is why there is a new fitness center in your building, and a new corporate fitness director on the company payroll. It is expected that the combination will enhance the company's bottom line. But it won't unless you are wholly involved.
Where is the company's return on it's investment? (What are "they" up to?)
If everybody got more fit, the company would make more money, pure and simple. Fitness makes people more productive, more aware, more energetic. That translates into making all of us better at what we do, charismatic in some instances. Even if our individual job concerns itself only with some mundane aspect of corporate life (the mail room), we, being more vital versions of ourselves, will create a better environment which in turn will attract more business. Of course, it also cuts down on time off for illness and the other extensive health problems, which come from the standard America lifestyle--things which we have all come to view as inevitable. That is a big part of the whole as well.
It may come as a shock, but they were not even nearly as prevalent around the turn of last century. In other words, the way we are today, is not something that has always been with us. It's the demands of the workplace, coupled with the long commutes and poor diet, which do it. Too, there are other concerns as well--preservatives, pesticides, and the like. These make for food less foods at best, carcinogens at worst. What's troubling is that they are FDA approved and right in front of us at the grocery store. Altogether, they are a health risk which make us one as well.
At this point, some may object, But the doctor says I'm OK, so where's the problem? The answer is that even if we are healthy, we are getting less trim with years, less with it mentally, less healthy, less enthusiastic, less energetic (less like Rocky.) In sum, we are aging-- going toward retirement, a time when we don't have to put out as much or in most cases at all. Being mature, so the thinking goes, is simply accepting that-something which can't be changed. Can anything be more natural and right, to say nothing of appropriate?
The answer is Yes; making better what's already in place is more humane and reasonable. That's why the company is investing all of this money.
What corporate fitness is, or ought to be, all about is turning back the clock, and keeping it there forever. That's what makes you like Rocky--a seasoned youthfulness able to go the distance with your version of Rocky's Apollo Creed. That's what turning back the clock does for adults. It causes a return to that time when our Rocky-within was till pounding slabs of beef and keeping up the courage to make the whole fifteen rounds with the world champ.
Granted, that may sound like dreaming, but some serious dreaming along with a lot of hard work will make things get better and stay better for longer. It can make lives really pay off. It will make more of us more trim, more with it mentally,more healthy, more enthusiastic, more energetic for much more longer ( more like Rocky.) In short, it will make us way younger than what our driver's licenses say we are. That is the chief reason there's a fitness program here in the first place. That makes the standard retiring off the aging while hiring new blood scenario significantly less of a necessity.
To look at it from their perspective, the company wants to stay around forever and to keep on looking better and better to it's investors. In a large part, that requires maintaining an effective, productive workforce. But they really would rather not do so by retiring you off and bringing on new people. The company does not want to keep training new individuals. It would rather have thirty year young enthusiasm (not forty year old passivity--the big four oh) in an employee who's been around a whole lot longer.
Yes, of course, the company would like to have lower health care costs, and less time off for illness. But that will come about with more fit workforce. Fitness (living like Rocky) really does make people healthier, less in need of operations, less in need of time off. All of that results in a better looking bottom line.
So... now we all know what the company is up to. Now, who doesn't want to be this kind of healthier just for themselves?
The important question then is not What are "they" up to but should be What am I up to? Am I up to just losing twenty pounds, or am I into changing some things in my life which are keeping me from being a bio-logically aged thirty year old? From a corporate fitness director's perspective, it should be the latter--both for each group member as a person and for the company. This is where the greatest long term pay off lies. Too put it crudely, that is where they get the biggest bang for their buck, and where you get the greatest incentive to live in the best possible way.
How does all of this relate to group interaction and pursuing my own Rocky within?
1.) We are currently locked into having to do certain things for our health. We were all raised pretty much the same. For those over forty that means coming from Ozzie and Harriet land. This where mother fixes a "normal" dinner for father and the kids who relax with the evening newspaper.For those under forty, it means two people working, relaxing at home after a long day, eating micro waved pizza and Mountain Dew. Both of these scenarios are sedentary, and problematic from a dietary perspective. They need to be changed if the clock is to be turned back and kept there forever.
2.) There are newer ways of thinking doing and feeling that we need to make part of us. the internet is loaded with fitness advice, great diets, and do's and don'ts about the environment ; there more health clubs than ever; there are more health food stores; grocery stores are promoting gluten-free products Integrating as much of this as possible makes sense for each of us individually, because, if followed, it will in fact take off the weight, give us more energy, etc. It will make us biologically younger, which will make us think,feel and act more like Rocky.
3.) Some of us have tried to make a new start, but have found that quitting just seems to be the only appropriate course of action. That is because changing from the standard American lifestyle to a fitness lifestyle makes us feel strange--something none of us can tolerate. At the very least, it makes us feel like health nuts, not real people--rather, persons in a second childhood hung up on fad diets, concerned with mere appearance. Dealing with feelings like these, and with the cause of them, will enable us to get into new and better habits to say nothing of actually keeping at them for the long haul.
4.) Being part of a group with others going through the same things,with different particular difficulties but all having the same aspirations can, and will, make a difference. Interfacing with others does that. That's how we are as humans. We are powerfully affected by others. We need people around us. Try going it alone and everything is much harder if not impossible. Granted, there will always be the Rocky- type who some may think of as a loner. But, he came out of a loan shark environment that he wanted to rise above; he had an Adrian who had a helpful brother; and he eventually had coach who cared about him. While it is true that Rocky ran through the streets of Philadelphia all alone, he was hardly all alone or without the support of others.
How great if he were in a group of others who wanted go the distance with their Apollo Creeds. We could have made his struggle easier. And some of his determination could have rubbed off onto all of us.
What is being in a fitness group all about?
1.)Being in a fitness group is all about going from old living habits to new ones. Most people fail at this at least the first time around--sometimes the second, third and fourth. We start at the health club on January Second only to be gone in time for tax season. The rigor of workouts in addition to a brand new diet just do not seem to pay off. Consequently, we quit, generally for some grown-up sounding reason such as the reward does not justify the effort. Being part of a group cuts down on the fallout rate.
As a member of a group, we see others going through the same things as us. We hear other people's same frustrations, pains and uncertainties. That in itself causes a new resilience--something that makes us stick at it, while others on the outside are prone to giving up.
Group work is never about who is better or best, but rather it is about how we are all different, aspiring to the same ends. Really being in touch with that, while going through the effort of establishing a new life style, makes our individual efforts pay off.
Some may think that this will only result in debilitating commiseration, something which reinforces feelings of futility. It might seem that hearing about everyone's problems keeps us from solving our own. To be sure this can happen, but with a corporate fitness director asking "What makes sense to do in light of this difficulty (never having the energy to make the whole three mile run, for instance), better things occur. Everyone walks away with their own solution to a common problem.
2.)Being in a fitness group is all about honesty. Many times this is painful. We would all like to see ourselves as invincible, like Rocky himself. Consequently, we don't want to admit that we overslept, couldn't get out of bed because it was too cold, refused to swallow our version of his raw eggs. We want to be there already, just like Rocky was in the movie--a perfect embodiment of the American hero.
The temptation in a situation like this is to lie. Of course, we got out of bed without a problem. Of course, we got our run done in record time. We can say of course again, but no one else will ever believe it. Everyone will know that we're lying, and everyone will know why. After a while, this type of lying becomes less prevalent. That is because it is seen that others have greater respect for honesty and continual effort than for immediate success. But for many that may be a completely new experience. Nevertheless, when it hits home, energy abounds; and the next attempt to do what we have to turns out to be successful.
Its the director's responsibility to enable things like this happen. Its not one of calling anyone a liar or even propping another up because of the embarrassment experienced. It's only to allow the interface of the group members to do it's powerful work. That is what causes the desired effect, namely getting us out of our old ruts and inadequacies, into a new way of being--one that has the most likely chance of keeping us on course for the long haul.
3.)Being part of a group is about humility. It means being able to hear anther's pain at having overslept, knowing that that's something we could have done our self. Perhaps its saying That sounds like me, not only in not hearing the alarm but also in knowing that I didn't get to bed early enough to make that possible. In other words, that's a fault, not something to be proud of, but not strange either. Talking about this in the presence of others who have experienced the same makes tomorrow's timely rising far more likely.
It may seem that sharing failures like this makes bad things inevitable, and thus sure to be repeated. But when it does, it is only because of the influence of a mean spirited person (most probably unaware of his or her intentions), who really wants to pull the group down one member at a time. It is the director's responsibility to confront people like this. A simple question such as "I thought we all wanted to get good at fitness, didn't we" should be enough. It will either shape this person up or cause them to not come back a second time.
By in large, people in groups of this nature want desperately to get good at whats important to them, namely fitness. They know that it takes work, and many have failed in the past. As a result, any type of real help is greatly appreciated. That is what comes from talking about personal struggle and hearing a similar one from other people's dilemmas.
4.)Being in a fitness group is seldom about encouragement. This may sound unusual because a chief end of group work is getting people past the quitting points. These are prevalent for at least the first six months of a lifestyle change. Results do not always come quickly at first, so quitting seems only reasonable. But a simple "Hang in there", while it may not be harmful is probably a waste of breath. Better is a question such as Has anyone else been through something similar or Is there anyone with a way they have dealt with this recently? Either have a far greater likelihood of causing real change.
5.)Being in a fitness group is much less about the leader than the participants. While it can at times be helpful to hear of a similar problem which a leader experienced years ago, or to hear about some brand new idea from off the internet, it is almost always better to have the group members interact with each other. Granted, the voice of experience can often be helpful, for instance how long it took to develop a particular routine, or the ins and outs of it as modified over time; but this is almost never the case. The here and now with someone just like me experiencing the same pain, while having the same aspirations, is by far the most powerful motivator. It has the greatest likelihood of getting immediate results and creating lasting change. It has the greatest chance of allowing the Rocky within to emerge.
6.)Being in a fitness group is about enabling everyone to develop their own fitness style. It is not about a leader having a set of routine for everyone to live up to. This is far different than imposing goals on a group in a form such as everyone running a daily three mile by the end of the month while cutting calorie consumption below two thousand. While something like that may have a chance of working wonders for a considerable number of people, it is not the same as enabling distinct and individuals Rockys to emerge.
To sum things up
The company would rather have a workforce of Rockys than one of just OK employees. The truth is that most of us would love to be our own version of Rocky, if only there were a way. The contention of this chapter is that there is way, and that is through group work. Done in the right way, for a long enough period of time, it enables the Rocky-within to emerge and then go about his or her business both in the corporate world and at the brand new work out facility. Moreover, this Rocky will also do the right things diet-wise, nutrition-wise-- just like anyone in training to go the distance with Apollo Creed.
The payoff, or the return on the investment, is the development of a company of champions who will be healthier, sharper--more with it, more enthusiastic, more fun to be around. That's the way we all were before we started to laugh about being thirty something, being over the hill, being Old Christine, being the big four-oh, or expecting a yard full of flamingos on our fiftieth. Having people "too young" to talk like this (Rocky never would have), will make the company a better place to work. That is something which will attract more accounts and sustain for better follow through on daily tasks.
For further thought about the effect of others on individual fitness lifestyles order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."
But pursuing our Rocky isn't an easy matter. We may be embarrassed that someone like him is even part of us. Yet, when saw the movie we thought yes that's me; but not long after said no, its not. I am a normal everyday person who tried fitness once, maybe twice, and failed; I never went the distance ; I am in no way close to being Rocky.
All due respect for your honesty, but deep down there's a Rocky waiting to emerge. That's who got excited when you first watched the movie. This is a willful individual, who does what it takes to go the distance with Apollo Creed. And there is a lot more to it than that. It is not merely the championship match, but the endless hours of training (capsulized in the movie), which it took to get there.
For all practical purposes, Rocky is or should be our fitness self-- the person who runs through the streets of our home town, downs our version of the raw eggs, pounds something like his side of beef. Rocky is, or should be, who we are within--us in our own way, regardless of how we are at work or home. It is a figurative way of talking about our-self and how we relate to fitness.
A growing number of people know that fitness is about far more than looking good for the beach this coming summer. But how much more? When we think about daily workouts, strict diets and supplements, its about a life of discipline and will. It is about us being our own Rockys 24/7, which is way different than for only few minutes right after seeing the movie.
Getting us all to that point is why there is a new fitness center in your building, and a new corporate fitness director on the company payroll. It is expected that the combination will enhance the company's bottom line. But it won't unless you are wholly involved.
Where is the company's return on it's investment? (What are "they" up to?)
If everybody got more fit, the company would make more money, pure and simple. Fitness makes people more productive, more aware, more energetic. That translates into making all of us better at what we do, charismatic in some instances. Even if our individual job concerns itself only with some mundane aspect of corporate life (the mail room), we, being more vital versions of ourselves, will create a better environment which in turn will attract more business. Of course, it also cuts down on time off for illness and the other extensive health problems, which come from the standard America lifestyle--things which we have all come to view as inevitable. That is a big part of the whole as well.
It may come as a shock, but they were not even nearly as prevalent around the turn of last century. In other words, the way we are today, is not something that has always been with us. It's the demands of the workplace, coupled with the long commutes and poor diet, which do it. Too, there are other concerns as well--preservatives, pesticides, and the like. These make for food less foods at best, carcinogens at worst. What's troubling is that they are FDA approved and right in front of us at the grocery store. Altogether, they are a health risk which make us one as well.
At this point, some may object, But the doctor says I'm OK, so where's the problem? The answer is that even if we are healthy, we are getting less trim with years, less with it mentally, less healthy, less enthusiastic, less energetic (less like Rocky.) In sum, we are aging-- going toward retirement, a time when we don't have to put out as much or in most cases at all. Being mature, so the thinking goes, is simply accepting that-something which can't be changed. Can anything be more natural and right, to say nothing of appropriate?
The answer is Yes; making better what's already in place is more humane and reasonable. That's why the company is investing all of this money.
What corporate fitness is, or ought to be, all about is turning back the clock, and keeping it there forever. That's what makes you like Rocky--a seasoned youthfulness able to go the distance with your version of Rocky's Apollo Creed. That's what turning back the clock does for adults. It causes a return to that time when our Rocky-within was till pounding slabs of beef and keeping up the courage to make the whole fifteen rounds with the world champ.
Granted, that may sound like dreaming, but some serious dreaming along with a lot of hard work will make things get better and stay better for longer. It can make lives really pay off. It will make more of us more trim, more with it mentally,more healthy, more enthusiastic, more energetic for much more longer ( more like Rocky.) In short, it will make us way younger than what our driver's licenses say we are. That is the chief reason there's a fitness program here in the first place. That makes the standard retiring off the aging while hiring new blood scenario significantly less of a necessity.
To look at it from their perspective, the company wants to stay around forever and to keep on looking better and better to it's investors. In a large part, that requires maintaining an effective, productive workforce. But they really would rather not do so by retiring you off and bringing on new people. The company does not want to keep training new individuals. It would rather have thirty year young enthusiasm (not forty year old passivity--the big four oh) in an employee who's been around a whole lot longer.
Yes, of course, the company would like to have lower health care costs, and less time off for illness. But that will come about with more fit workforce. Fitness (living like Rocky) really does make people healthier, less in need of operations, less in need of time off. All of that results in a better looking bottom line.
So... now we all know what the company is up to. Now, who doesn't want to be this kind of healthier just for themselves?
The important question then is not What are "they" up to but should be What am I up to? Am I up to just losing twenty pounds, or am I into changing some things in my life which are keeping me from being a bio-logically aged thirty year old? From a corporate fitness director's perspective, it should be the latter--both for each group member as a person and for the company. This is where the greatest long term pay off lies. Too put it crudely, that is where they get the biggest bang for their buck, and where you get the greatest incentive to live in the best possible way.
How does all of this relate to group interaction and pursuing my own Rocky within?
1.) We are currently locked into having to do certain things for our health. We were all raised pretty much the same. For those over forty that means coming from Ozzie and Harriet land. This where mother fixes a "normal" dinner for father and the kids who relax with the evening newspaper.For those under forty, it means two people working, relaxing at home after a long day, eating micro waved pizza and Mountain Dew. Both of these scenarios are sedentary, and problematic from a dietary perspective. They need to be changed if the clock is to be turned back and kept there forever.
2.) There are newer ways of thinking doing and feeling that we need to make part of us. the internet is loaded with fitness advice, great diets, and do's and don'ts about the environment ; there more health clubs than ever; there are more health food stores; grocery stores are promoting gluten-free products Integrating as much of this as possible makes sense for each of us individually, because, if followed, it will in fact take off the weight, give us more energy, etc. It will make us biologically younger, which will make us think,feel and act more like Rocky.
3.) Some of us have tried to make a new start, but have found that quitting just seems to be the only appropriate course of action. That is because changing from the standard American lifestyle to a fitness lifestyle makes us feel strange--something none of us can tolerate. At the very least, it makes us feel like health nuts, not real people--rather, persons in a second childhood hung up on fad diets, concerned with mere appearance. Dealing with feelings like these, and with the cause of them, will enable us to get into new and better habits to say nothing of actually keeping at them for the long haul.
4.) Being part of a group with others going through the same things,with different particular difficulties but all having the same aspirations can, and will, make a difference. Interfacing with others does that. That's how we are as humans. We are powerfully affected by others. We need people around us. Try going it alone and everything is much harder if not impossible. Granted, there will always be the Rocky- type who some may think of as a loner. But, he came out of a loan shark environment that he wanted to rise above; he had an Adrian who had a helpful brother; and he eventually had coach who cared about him. While it is true that Rocky ran through the streets of Philadelphia all alone, he was hardly all alone or without the support of others.
How great if he were in a group of others who wanted go the distance with their Apollo Creeds. We could have made his struggle easier. And some of his determination could have rubbed off onto all of us.
What is being in a fitness group all about?
1.)Being in a fitness group is all about going from old living habits to new ones. Most people fail at this at least the first time around--sometimes the second, third and fourth. We start at the health club on January Second only to be gone in time for tax season. The rigor of workouts in addition to a brand new diet just do not seem to pay off. Consequently, we quit, generally for some grown-up sounding reason such as the reward does not justify the effort. Being part of a group cuts down on the fallout rate.
As a member of a group, we see others going through the same things as us. We hear other people's same frustrations, pains and uncertainties. That in itself causes a new resilience--something that makes us stick at it, while others on the outside are prone to giving up.
Group work is never about who is better or best, but rather it is about how we are all different, aspiring to the same ends. Really being in touch with that, while going through the effort of establishing a new life style, makes our individual efforts pay off.
Some may think that this will only result in debilitating commiseration, something which reinforces feelings of futility. It might seem that hearing about everyone's problems keeps us from solving our own. To be sure this can happen, but with a corporate fitness director asking "What makes sense to do in light of this difficulty (never having the energy to make the whole three mile run, for instance), better things occur. Everyone walks away with their own solution to a common problem.
2.)Being in a fitness group is all about honesty. Many times this is painful. We would all like to see ourselves as invincible, like Rocky himself. Consequently, we don't want to admit that we overslept, couldn't get out of bed because it was too cold, refused to swallow our version of his raw eggs. We want to be there already, just like Rocky was in the movie--a perfect embodiment of the American hero.
The temptation in a situation like this is to lie. Of course, we got out of bed without a problem. Of course, we got our run done in record time. We can say of course again, but no one else will ever believe it. Everyone will know that we're lying, and everyone will know why. After a while, this type of lying becomes less prevalent. That is because it is seen that others have greater respect for honesty and continual effort than for immediate success. But for many that may be a completely new experience. Nevertheless, when it hits home, energy abounds; and the next attempt to do what we have to turns out to be successful.
Its the director's responsibility to enable things like this happen. Its not one of calling anyone a liar or even propping another up because of the embarrassment experienced. It's only to allow the interface of the group members to do it's powerful work. That is what causes the desired effect, namely getting us out of our old ruts and inadequacies, into a new way of being--one that has the most likely chance of keeping us on course for the long haul.
3.)Being part of a group is about humility. It means being able to hear anther's pain at having overslept, knowing that that's something we could have done our self. Perhaps its saying That sounds like me, not only in not hearing the alarm but also in knowing that I didn't get to bed early enough to make that possible. In other words, that's a fault, not something to be proud of, but not strange either. Talking about this in the presence of others who have experienced the same makes tomorrow's timely rising far more likely.
It may seem that sharing failures like this makes bad things inevitable, and thus sure to be repeated. But when it does, it is only because of the influence of a mean spirited person (most probably unaware of his or her intentions), who really wants to pull the group down one member at a time. It is the director's responsibility to confront people like this. A simple question such as "I thought we all wanted to get good at fitness, didn't we" should be enough. It will either shape this person up or cause them to not come back a second time.
By in large, people in groups of this nature want desperately to get good at whats important to them, namely fitness. They know that it takes work, and many have failed in the past. As a result, any type of real help is greatly appreciated. That is what comes from talking about personal struggle and hearing a similar one from other people's dilemmas.
4.)Being in a fitness group is seldom about encouragement. This may sound unusual because a chief end of group work is getting people past the quitting points. These are prevalent for at least the first six months of a lifestyle change. Results do not always come quickly at first, so quitting seems only reasonable. But a simple "Hang in there", while it may not be harmful is probably a waste of breath. Better is a question such as Has anyone else been through something similar or Is there anyone with a way they have dealt with this recently? Either have a far greater likelihood of causing real change.
5.)Being in a fitness group is much less about the leader than the participants. While it can at times be helpful to hear of a similar problem which a leader experienced years ago, or to hear about some brand new idea from off the internet, it is almost always better to have the group members interact with each other. Granted, the voice of experience can often be helpful, for instance how long it took to develop a particular routine, or the ins and outs of it as modified over time; but this is almost never the case. The here and now with someone just like me experiencing the same pain, while having the same aspirations, is by far the most powerful motivator. It has the greatest likelihood of getting immediate results and creating lasting change. It has the greatest chance of allowing the Rocky within to emerge.
6.)Being in a fitness group is about enabling everyone to develop their own fitness style. It is not about a leader having a set of routine for everyone to live up to. This is far different than imposing goals on a group in a form such as everyone running a daily three mile by the end of the month while cutting calorie consumption below two thousand. While something like that may have a chance of working wonders for a considerable number of people, it is not the same as enabling distinct and individuals Rockys to emerge.
To sum things up
The company would rather have a workforce of Rockys than one of just OK employees. The truth is that most of us would love to be our own version of Rocky, if only there were a way. The contention of this chapter is that there is way, and that is through group work. Done in the right way, for a long enough period of time, it enables the Rocky-within to emerge and then go about his or her business both in the corporate world and at the brand new work out facility. Moreover, this Rocky will also do the right things diet-wise, nutrition-wise-- just like anyone in training to go the distance with Apollo Creed.
The payoff, or the return on the investment, is the development of a company of champions who will be healthier, sharper--more with it, more enthusiastic, more fun to be around. That's the way we all were before we started to laugh about being thirty something, being over the hill, being Old Christine, being the big four-oh, or expecting a yard full of flamingos on our fiftieth. Having people "too young" to talk like this (Rocky never would have), will make the company a better place to work. That is something which will attract more accounts and sustain for better follow through on daily tasks.
For further thought about the effect of others on individual fitness lifestyles order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."



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