Excess or Success? Do we have to exceed to succeed?

Excess or Success?

So what do we consider excess? What do you consider success? In the world of ever changing fitness gimmicks, gadgets, and guru’s, the primary goal of folks like me in our industry (fitness) is to help folks of all walks of life understand and identify success while negotiating the boundaries of excess. Often the lines are blurred.

For example, let’s say that our model client Jane in exercising seven times a week with moderate intensity and duration; she is well above her "ideal weight" but she is happy with her fitness results and seems to balance her home, work, and social life with ease. She eats desserts or candies daily but also eats several servings of fruits and vegetables daily. WOW, is that possible? OK…lest I digress – back to the point. Is Jane considered a success? From the perspective of a "couch potato" Jane may seem a bit excessive in her workout behavior on the other hand Jane may be considered less than ambitious by the local spandex wearing bodybuilding crowd at the local fitness king.

To draw a parallel in success vs. excess let’s take a look at what most might consider excessive…is driving a Hummer excessive? If I drove a mini-tricycle powered by three - organic cheese fed - lab mice courtesy of Union Local 654 would I be considered less excessive? I know it’s a stretch to compare driving fuel guzzling vehicles to working out to excessive limits but, does the question remain valid? In a country of over-consumption do we really have an honest perspective of excess vs. success?

I consider living beyond the boundaries of balance and proportion excess. Sure if you love to drive a dump-truck, for your own reasons, but you donate some of your time and money to environmental charities you could be considered balanced – even successful. On the other hand if you are in the best shape of your life – I mean you are really super Fabio-luscious – but you’ve forgotten your wife’s name and you vaguely remember your last term of employment, you might be considered excessive or unbalanced. Can you live a life considered by some as excessive but really be balanced and successful? Can you realize your fitness goals without letting the gym take over your life?

If you workout several times a week, scrutinize your every calorie consumed, and eat diet pills like Tic-Tac’s, can you truthfully say you have made considerations commensurate with your responsibilities, sensibilities, and total health? I guess that’s the idea…I mean to say that if you balance your lifestyle, health, family, and responsibilities with logical proportion it won’t really matter if you drive a Hummer or Tri-Cycle, it won’t matter if you exercise seven times or twice per week, and it won’t even matter if you still wear spandex (sorry to all the ‘80’s crowd)!

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