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Summary
On episode 330 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan lays out a framework he calls “modes of transportation” for figuring out the right pace for your wellness journey: a sports car, a pickup truck, or a bus, depending on how much baggage and how many passengers your life is actually carrying.
He opens with the story of ordering the Insanity workout program, pushing all the way through the fitness test on day one, and ending up so sore he called in sick the next day, a reminder that trying to move at a pace your body isn’t ready for backfires. From there he builds the core metaphor: a sports car pace only works if you have no baggage (obligations) and no passengers (people depending on you); most people are really driving a truck or a bus, and that’s normal, not failure.
He closes by reminding listeners that they’re still the driver, that some hard trade-offs (a spouse eating differently, no junk food in the house, skipping time with friends) are part of setting the pace, and that reaching your goals is a matter of “when,” not “if,” even if that means resetting the timeline.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Pushing too hard too fast can set you back. Allan’s own story of maxing out the Insanity fitness test on day one and being too sore to work the next day illustrates what happens when effort outpaces readiness.
- The vehicle you choose sets your pace. A sports car, pickup truck, or bus each move at a different speed, and which one fits you depends on what else your life is carrying.
- A sports car pace only works with no baggage and no passengers. If you have no other obligations pulling at your time, you can push your body to its limit and move quickly toward a goal.
- “Baggage” (work, obligations, life circumstances) forces a slower, truck-like pace. An 18 hour work day or other real-life demands mean less time and energy for training, and that’s a fact to plan around, not a personal failure.
- “Passengers” (spouse, kids, people who depend on you) slow the pace even further. Like a bus with more stops, having people in your life to care for changes how fast you can move toward your own goals, and that’s worth accepting rather than fighting.
- Wellness includes happiness, and happiness includes the baggage and passengers. Allan defines wellness as being the happiest, healthiest, most fit person you can be, and stripping your life down just to move faster would work against the happiness part of that equation.
- Accepting your realistic pace removes unnecessary discouragement. Once you understand why you’re moving at your pace rather than someone else’s, you stop feeling like you’re failing just because you’re not sprinting.
- You’re still the driver, and that means making trade-offs. Asking a spouse to eat differently, keeping certain foods out of the house, or skipping time with friends to train are the kinds of hard calls that come with taking control of your pace.
- Reaching your goals is a matter of “when,” not “if.” If a target, like training for a 10K in six weeks, doesn’t fit your current baggage and passengers, the answer is to reset the timeline for a later race, not abandon the goal.
“You are the driver on your wellness journey, period.”
Coach Allan
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 405 – Get fit in minutes a day with Dr. Denis Wilson and Allison Roberts
