Tiffany flashes a bright smile as
she enters the gym with an energy that defies the lateness of the hour and the
demands of her 14-hour day. It’s hard to
believe that she is the same twenty-something whose inner voice had the words
“this will never work;” “you can’t change;” “it’s not worth it” on relentless
repeat just eight months ago.
Research psychologists say that the
inner voice starts in early childhood and establishes an endless commentary on
ourselves and the world around us.
Whether that internal monologue boosts us up or breaks us down initially
stems from how our earliest skills were taught to us. When it comes to health and wellness, a lot
of us start like Tiffany: completely self-defeating, even downright mean to
ourselves. We constantly hear how
“pathetic” “ugly” “lazy” we are in our self-talk.
But we can change that. We
must. In fact, we are empowered to
change what we’ve said so viciously for so long with a concept that health and
fitness professionals refer to as the SAID principle:
The principle of Specificity, often referred to as the SAID -Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands principle- states that the body will adapt to the specific
demand placed on it. However, the body
can only adapt if it has a reason to adapt.
Why is the SAID principle the antidote to your inner hater? Because SAID stipulates two crucial points:
1) that the body is infinitely adaptable and 2) given a physical demand the
body has no choice but to comply. The
SAID principle changes the conversation from one based on physically irrelevant
factors like doubts, grudges, and preferences to compelling parameters like heart
rate, muscle recruitment, and consistency.
What this means is the body responds whether you like to exercise
or not. Indeed, one of the best examples
of this concept might not even strike you as exercise. When my teenagers were babies, it wasn’t
considered safe to let them sleep on their stomachs although my siblings and I
all slept that way. Because of this, my
pediatrician insisted that we dedicate some of their waking time to laying on
their bellies. They screamed. They didn’t have the strength to hold their
heads up. But, those unwelcome faceplant-
in- an- activity- blanket moments; those deliberate demands imposed on too-weak
muscles and the dissatisfaction that came with them; is what told those bodies-
“I have to put more muscle here.” Liking
the experience, feeling inept, wishing things were different-all irrelevant.
So, the next time you hear your inner voice saying you’ll “never
be good enough” or “are disgusting, weak, or too far gone” remember that your
body is not, in fact cannot be the enemy.
Be specific. Impose a demand that
aligns to your goals. If you’re uncertain like Tiffany was, enlist a friend, class, or professional
who defines the details and changes the critique from appearance and comparison
with others to effort and performance. In time, you’ll hear this person’s voice
in your head. Then eventually you’ll find yourself saying positive and
productive words in first person. Transforming the inside transforms the
outside. Fitness becomes a second language that evolves from what’s been
SAID.