Why aren’t we all working smarter?
As odd as it may sound, this does not necessarily mean you have enlisted the help of the finest minds in the world to create a goal and plan to get better. To me, this is intended purely to represent thoughtfulness and understanding. You can apply working smarter to any pursuit but let's keep it Physical Therapy focused for now. If you wanted to work as smartly as possible, we can probably agree some form of the following checklist would have to be hit:
There is a purpose to each recommended exercise
The recommendations are centered around your goals, experiences and limitations
The plan takes into account your available time, finances, and access to equipment
Nothing here should be a shock to see on paper. But if you can’t say your workout program takes into account each of these variables you aren’t working smarter. You may be working exceptionally hard. But smarter…no. Experience, knowledge, and thoughtful consideration go into preparing programs that take all these variables into account; especially if an injury is present or a concern about technique during the performance of any of the exercises.
By far the most common reason someone wouldn’t think to hire a physical therapist or personal trainer is the expense. I consider the question rhetorical but ask yourself, how much money would you pay right this moment to magically attain your fitness goals? Would you pay $1000? $2000? $5000? $50? Maybe think of that amount as a percent of your annual income. Would you be willing to spend 10% of your yearly income getting healthier? Getting stronger? Getting out of pain? Improving your quality of life? If you’re like me that number sounds laughably small when you say it. You’re only willing to spend 10% of the money you’ve earned on improving the only vessel you get in this life? How much of your earned money do you spend on nice clothes, a car, a trip, taxes? Not to diminish those things, they are important (and required in some cases), but would you enjoy them if you had unrelenting back pain (physical therapy)? Would you enjoy them more if you dropped 5% body fat (personal trainer)? Would you be able to do them at all in your 60’s if you avoided building up plaque in your arteries right now (eating better/dietitian)? Yet every time I'm faced with an option to spend money on myself I hesitate. And I'm a professional therapist and trainer!! 10% of 50,000$ is 5,000. Your income may be notably more or less. But use that as a reference. Almost nobody will spend 5k on their bodies who isn’t a professional athlete. You are spending money, I guarantee it. Ask yourself where your health ranks on the list of things you are spending money on.
Circling back; working smarter is simply looking broadly at your goals and making sure what you’re doing is in line with achieving those goals. A massive number of variables go into achieving your health goals without taking into account the very likely scenario of not being able to accurately assess yourself. To me, working smarter is making sure the right plan is in place. If you can do that yourself, huge credit to you. For the vast majority of us who need some help, consider hiring someone to help get you on the right track so when you put in the effort to start the train, it goes to the station you want.
