Next Level University

#1477 - "Fitness" Doesn't Have To Be Punishment...

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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For many, fitness is often perceived as a burden, a chore, or worse, a punishment. This mindset has created an obstacle that prevents us from appreciating our bodies' remarkable capabilities. In this episode, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros talk about their personal fitness journeys, revealing the power of turning punishment into nourishment and the profound gratitude that emerges when we appreciate our bodies and health.

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Show notes: 
[1:40] Nourishment vs. punishment
[4:51] Be more grateful
[9:58] Invest in your fitness
[13:01] Alex highlights how Next Level Business Solutions helped him optimize his time for maximum productivity
[15:09] How to reframe punishment as nourishment
[18:18] Feel good about yourself
[24:16] Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

Speaker 1:

Next level nation. Welcome back to another episode of next level university, where we help you level up your life, your love, your Health and your wealth. We hope you enjoyed our latest episode, episode number 1476, another reason your goals are so important today. 1477 fitness doesn't have to be punishment. And I have fitness and quotations in the Title because fitness might mean something different to you than it does to me, than it does to Alan, than it does to your mother, your sister, your uncle, your cousin, whatever.

Speaker 1:

I don't necessarily want fitness to mean Weight training or fitness to mean running or whatever it is. I want you to imagine two different people. One person their alarm clock goes off let's just say for the sake of the story at five o'clock in the morning, and they're talking to themselves. They're in that I just woke up days, but I don't want to get out of bed. And they say you know, I Don't like the way I look and I'm sick of feeling the way I feel and I just I have to go. I know I have to go to the gym and I have to do this and I got to beat myself up and I got to go and I got to get through this and whatever I, I really want to see Improvement. I'm gonna go do this and maybe eventually I'll get to the point where I'm proud of the body I've created. Okay, that's person one, person two. Alarm clock goes off five am. They have that same moment where they're in that days when they have just woken up and they're thinking I don't want to get out of bed. But then they say I'm very, very grateful to have a strong, capable body and I'm very grateful to have a body that is able to do challenging things. And I want to prove that to myself. I'm not going to the gym so I can beat myself up. I'm going to the gym to prove that I have gratitude for this strong, capable body.

Speaker 1:

So I told Alan, I said I want this to be punishment versus nourishment. Punishment is I hate myself and I need to keep changing myself until I love myself. That's punishment. Nourishment is I Am I truly am grateful for the gift of the body I've been given. I want to make sure that I'm taking care of it. I would think of it from a couple other, different ways. If you value your home and you get your house cleaned and your house washed and you wash the deck and you're taking care of the landscaping. That's not punishment. You're not doing that because you hate your house when it's messy. You're doing that because you want to nourish the environment you've created. You want to, you want to pour into the thing that you're proud of. So that really is my intention with this episode, because I understand many, many, many people. The relationship they have with fitness, exercise, whatever it is, is Negative because it is a punishment. It's.

Speaker 1:

I haven't done this for a long period of time and now I have to punish myself back into being grateful for what I look at in the mirror. Now I'm not saying it's that simple where you can just switch your mindset and say I Am grateful for the strong, capable body and I'm gonna show proof by going and taking care of it. But I think that pivot is a great place to start, because when I go to the gym and I understand this is completely different for me, but when I go to the gym it's never about punishment. I it's about fulfillment, it's about nourishment. It is Now. My workouts are hard and they're brutal and they suck, but I'm not punishing myself. It's more an activity that I know is really really good for me. It's really really nourishing. Even though it's challenging, it's really, really fulfilling. It shows a lot of self-trust, self-proof. So my desire is that we can all get closer to that for ourselves, because I think we'd be more successful when it comes to exercise, fitness, health overall, so it wasn't that long ago.

Speaker 2:

I tweaked my back. This was probably two months ago, something like that and whenever I get sick or I tweak my back or I get injured, I always have this moment with myself of damn. Why wasn't I more grateful? Why wasn't I more grateful when I used to be able to? I remember I was playing basketball with Emilia this summer and this was maybe a week before I tweaked my back. I was playful and we were doing full court, we were running back and forth, we were doing drills it was just awesome and I was jumping nearly I wasn't dunking, but I could touch the rim.

Speaker 2:

And I remember, after I tweaked my back, I was going for a walk with Emilia. Sometimes we'll do walks in the morning before we start our calls and I was having trouble even walking around the block. And I remember thinking to myself it wasn't a week ago that I was running up and down the basketball court like I was in the NBA. Obviously I wasn't. But how did this happen? And I just remember thinking to myself I wish I was more grateful. I wish I was more grateful. I took that for granted. We play soccer over the summer. We go to the track, we hike, we play basketball and recently Emilia and I went and we so we've climbed a bunch of mountains Sounds it's the wrong phrasing. I think there's been like seven different peaks or mountains that we've climbed together.

Speaker 1:

You've been up to Everest? I've heard that's a pretty pretty notable one. You made it there yet. I haven't yet. No, haven't made it there yet.

Speaker 2:

We have discussed the future of that and probably not. It's probably not. I would be grateful if you didn't. Yeah, it's going to be hard now, but we have done. I think we have seven done Appalachian Trail, bradbury, wachuset, slide Mountains in New York. It's been actually pretty awesome. Emilia loves nature. I love fitness, so we we do the hiking thing, actually for the first time in my entire life. Considering myself a hiker, that was weird.

Speaker 2:

So we're on Chauncey's Peak. This is in Connecticut and it is by far the best hike I've ever been on. It was unbelievable. It was a rainy day, so there was no one there. We only saw, I think, two people the entire time and it was downpouring and it's got rocks on rocks on rocks. It was absolutely beautiful. It was up in this forest. There's this huge lake down below and it's one of those hikes where you think you get to the top and realize there's another top, and then you think you get to that top and then you realize there's another top. Eventually you get to the Tippity Top and you look down and it's just this unbelievable view. It's misty, but you can see your car, I don't know a mile down the way and it's like holy crap, look how far we came.

Speaker 2:

So, anyways, we, we continue down and there's rocks along the side of this lake and it's beautiful. Took a bunch of photos. And then we're, there's this path along the side of the river slash lake. On the other side it's like this big roundabout and it starts to get a little bit dark and Emilia and I have that moment of okay, it's, you know. We ask SIRI if I say it, right now my phone and my watch are going to go off. But SIRI, we ask her when does the sun set? And we go, okay, we've got like 45 minutes, all right. So we take our time, take our time, take our time. It starts to get a little bit darker than we thought because it was rainy, and we're like, all right, let's, let's run this thing.

Speaker 2:

So we get to the other side of this lake and her and I just decide to jog the rest. Like what do we got left? Probably a mile and a half. It's like, okay, let's just jog it. Most beautiful jog I've ever done in my life, hands down, huge. It's like straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies. There's like a river on the left. For the listeners who have seen the Lord of the Rings, the scene with the river that they're on at the end of the first, the fellowship of the ring it reminded me just of that. It was unbelievable.

Speaker 2:

So we're running, we're running, we're running, and Emilia is crushing it and I'm impressed because I have these long giraffe legs and I'm an ectomorph and so I'm pretty good at cardio and she's crushing it and I just have this moment with myself of this is the most beautiful run I've ever been on. We just hiked to the top of this Chauncey's Peak. We've been hiking all day all day is an exaggeration probably three or four hours and we got to spend extra time up there because we knew with high certainty that we'd be able to run back. And I had this really cool moment with myself of gratitude of there are a lot of people out there that are injured or not physically fit enough to actually do what we're doing right now. And that was a really cool moment for me because it wasn't two months prior to that where I was having trouble just walking around the block and I rehabbed my back.

Speaker 2:

I've gotten rid of my posture pads. I have, you know, I'm more conscious with how I sit. Where I sit, I've been doing more mobility, so I, in a way, I earned Emilia and I earned the ability to go and do that. Not everyone could get to the top of Chauncey's Peak, and it makes you appreciate it more. And so the lesson in that is that cliche quote of the toughest climbs lead to the best views, and you do. You have to invest in your fitness if you want to be physically fit. But, more importantly, not just be physically fit and not just look good, that's great too, but to actually be able to do these things Because we were the only ones there during this downpour, probably partially because we're a little reckless, and then the other part of it is probably some people can't make it up while it's raining, because it's a challenging hike.

Speaker 1:

I was a while ago. I was having a conversation with one of my friends. This was years ago. When I say a while ago and him and I got sucked into moving four or five people's heavy things and I've said this to you before too he said ah, man, this sucks. Why do we always get called when stuff has to get moved? And I said because we're very strong man. That's why. That's the reason. I know it sucks, but it's a result, it's an unfortunate reward of the results that we've been putting in. Really is what it is. People say like yeah, we need to get this 600 pound bed moved. Who do you know? I know like three guys that could move it. Or I know three people that could move it. Yeah, I'll call them up Because I know they're strong.

Speaker 1:

That I just wanted to connect that, because even to your the ability to do something, sometimes we don't utilize it as much as we should. Sometimes we take that for granted. When it's like, if you can carry a ton of groceries in the house, I always say I will only take one trip. I do not care what it takes. I load my arms all the way up to the top and I carry the groceries in, but that's a result of me nourishing my body for so long.

Speaker 1:

I think when we think of punishment, we usually connect it to resistance. So what is punishment? It means getting in trouble or it means getting put down for doing something wrong. It means Getting the rules held against you when you're going and investing in your body. Okay, let's do this.

Speaker 1:

Is reading punishment? If you consider reading punishment, which I did for a long, long, long, long, long time I will argue that you're probably not going to read as many books. As you won't read as many books that will serve you, you won't do the things necessary for growth. Do you think tracking finances is punishment? If so, you're probably not going to do it. You're not going to have a really good relationship with it. If you think being on a budget is punishment, that's going to be a real challenge.

Speaker 1:

One of the issues Fudge was under the bed and he just popped his head out and came out of the. Came out from underneath the bed. He heard me talking what's happening, fudge? What's happening, fudge? One of the challenging things about dieting is in my mind. It feels like punishment at times because I can't have the things I want. I'm deciding I can't have the things I want. That does feel like punishment. There's a reason. It's harder to do, but after the next six to eight weeks and I go into a mass gaining cycle and I can eat way more food, that's not going to feel like punishment, but it might eventually when you get to the end of it and you're eating a ton of food.

Speaker 2:

I can't have one of my clients eat 6,500 a day.

Speaker 1:

My goodness gracious yeah he's 260 pounds.

Speaker 2:

Six foot four.

Speaker 1:

See there's part of me that would say, oh my goodness, I wish I could, but I've also been no, no, no, for a weekend maybe, yeah, yeah, but dude.

Speaker 2:

I said that to him. I said whenever you tell people that, they probably like oh my god, that's the best thing ever. You can eat like a whole pizza. You can eat two whole pizzas and that's amazing, trust me. I used to. When I was doing fitness bodybuilding shows. I used to have to eat a half dozen donuts first thing every morning in order to just hit my calories for the day, and it was. That actually was kind of awesome, but every day it just gets old and it's expensive.

Speaker 1:

But anyways, side tangent, no, no, I just I would like to bring awareness to this thought. That really is my intention. My next level nugget would be how do we replace things that you feel are punishment for a frame of nourishment? Because I think a lot of that is perspective. I love going to the gym, but I think one of the reasons I love going to the gym is because every time I go to the gym, I visualize it as another building block. It's like all right, that was a great workout. That's really good for me. That's really good for me Having challenging conversations with Taryn.

Speaker 1:

That's not a punishment, that's nourishing our relationship for the future. Is it the most comfortable thing in the world? No, no, no, but none of the things that facilitate growth are really so yeah, that would be. My question is how can you, if you're struggling with this pivot punishment into nourishment, and say I'm not going to the gym because I hate my body. I'm not going for a walk because I hate my body. I'm not going to Pilates because I hate my body. I'm not going to watch what I eat because I hate my body. I am going to do all those things in the service of my body, for the gratitude of my body, and I would argue that many, many, many people that are running fitness streaks right now have pivoted, that they're not doing it because they have to, they're doing it because they want to and they know that's what's best for them and their body. So that would be my long roundabout, next level nugget for this episode.

Speaker 2:

My next level nugget is something I've been teaching constantly in my coaching lately, which is this cycle of when you invest in yourself, you grow, and when you grow, you believe in yourself more, which makes you want to invest in yourself more. If you go to the gym, that's an investment in yourself, then you're going to believe in yourself more. Or you're going to grow more and then you're going to believe in yourself more. It's an upward cycle. It's you gain momentum, the real reason that I work out. I don't have high self-esteem when I don't. Therefore, if I want to have high self-esteem, if I want to have high self-belief, if I want to be proud of the man that I am working out is something that is a necessity for me to feel good about myself, because I remember the days when I wasn't working out, I wasn't taking care of my body, I wasn't hydrating well, I was drinking too much alcohol, I was not doing weights and I didn't feel good about myself. I think all of us know deep down that we are capable of more, and when you invest in yourself, you're going to build belief, you're going to build self-esteem, you're going to build self-respect, and that's why you should do it. You shouldn't necessarily do it. I think there's other things that can motivate you A wedding coming up, or a fitness show, or having a coach that keeps you accountable, or a fitness challenge on Facebook all of those things, I think, can help. I really do and I actually encourage them. But I do believe that, underneath it all, you can either invest in your own physical fitness, which will build your self-esteem and self-belief, or not. And my next level nugget is, if for nothing else, do it so that you feel good about who you are and so that you can hike and so that you can run and so that you can play sports if you want, and so that when you're at the barbecue and someone says, hey, you want to play volleyball, you don't have to say ah, no. Or so that when you're at the beach, you can take off your shirt and not feel bad about it.

Speaker 2:

I think that to me maybe I'm biased I think being physically fit I was so unfit for so long tall, lanky, skinny, fat so unfit for so long I just I don't think there's anything more important. There's nothing that I value more in the world than my own physical health. I think physical fitness is the most important thing Health, wealth and love. Kev asked me one time he said if you could be the healthiest person in the room, the wealthiest person in the room or the most in love in the room, which one would you choose? And I said how dare you, how dare you? I won all three, just joking, but I do won all three. And I said, honestly, it would be health. For me it would. It would be physical health.

Speaker 2:

I don't feel fulfilled when I am letting myself down in fitness and I know that I'm not alone in that. So if you resonated with that, I just I hope that doing it because you get to doing it, because you remember what it was like when you tore your ligament or hurt your back or whatever. But I need that stuff. I need to remember what it was like to struggle to walk around the block. I need to remember that because it keeps me grateful and I know if I get injured again or anything can happen.

Speaker 2:

I wanna look back and not say why wasn't I more grateful. I wanna say I was so grateful for my physical body when I have it. Very last thing I promised I just watched the Friends reunion and 한테 pajama plenty For those of you who are huge fans of that show. There are certain actors and actresses that were on that show that clearly didn't take their physical health as seriously as some of the other ones, and my recommendation, my next level nugget, is 20 years from now, 25 years from now, 15 years from now, 10 years from now. Are you gonna look back and be grateful for how well you invested in your body, or are you gonna look back and wish that you were still young because you took it for granted?

Speaker 1:

Powerful. And last thing I would add, because I want to make sure this is a balanced episode just whatever end you're on, just try to work towards driving to five, because I know there's a lot of people out there that exercise to feel good and that's great, but oftentimes you don't get the results of actually feeling good. Until you do something long enough to work through, I don't really feel good. This kind of sucks, this kind of sucks, this kind of sucks, and then eventually you get to the point where you start to see some results and benefits. So, wherever you are on the drive to five maybe you're someone who it's always punishment, maybe you're someone who is unreasonably grateful all the time figure out how we can utilize the drive to five in order to improve the results. And for those many, we have many, many, many new listeners over the last month or so. The drive to five is an episode we've done many times and it's a framework we've used in everything. The thought is, some of us are way too scarce when it comes to money. Some of us are way too abundant. Some of us are way too scarce when it comes to our time and planning. Some of us are way too abundant. Some of us are unreasonably confident and some of us are very, very, very insecure. The goal is to drive to five and have the best of both of those the strengths of being good at planning your day, but also the flexibility to stay longer if you have to. Whatever. Somebody who is very confident but also very humble, somebody who is very proactive but also can be reactive, right, just, the goal is to get to the drive to five. The middle is what we're always aiming for.

Speaker 1:

Next, elimination if you are listening to this episode and something broke loose for you and you say you know what, I think I'm ready for a deeper dive into my own next levelness, my own self-improvement. Our 12th round of group coaching is starting on October 10th. With the discount code we will have in the show notes. It ends up being $96 per month and I can't imagine a more valuable group coaching program for that price. We've put a lot of work into this. We've done it with 11 other amazing groups, so it's very polished at this point. But our goal is to add as much value to you as humanly possible, and there's a lot of things that come with group coaching. The discount code is NLUListener all one word NLUListener. Any questions you have, you can always message Alan and I email us whatever.

Speaker 2:

I got invited on another podcast recently and, in order to do my research to decide whether or not I wanted to go on the show, whether or not it was aligned, I looked at some of the reviews and read some of the reviews and it reminded me that we do not ask enough of our amazing listeners to please leave us a review. If you are a listener of this show and you've gotten value and this show has improved your life, please just speak from the heart. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. Please leave us a review. We really appreciate it.

Speaker 1:

Tomorrow for episode number 1,478,. Another way lack of belief shows up in our lives. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I hope you have a great Monday, because if you're listening to this, it's very early Monday If you're listening when it just came out. As always, we love you, we appreciate you, we are grateful for each and every one of you, and at NLU we do not have fans, we have family. We will talk to you all tomorrow.

Speaker 2:

Keep investing in your fitness. Next definition Nice.

People on this episode

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Alan Lazaros

Host
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Kevin Palmieri

Host