Erik Ledin is an experienced trainer and consultant from Ontario, Canada. Erik has dedicated his life to helping his clients reach their fitness- and nutrition-based goals, guiding them to change not only their physical lifestyle, but their mental perspective on health and happiness. By redefining success and tailoring his approach to each client’s unique needs and circumstances, Erik has consistently provided personalized guidance to individuals from Canada to Australia.
Erik Ledin forged his fitness and nutrition experience by first earning his degree in kinesiology from McMaster University. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Windsor. From here, Erik had gained the expertise to serve as head nutritionist and strength and conditioning specialist for MuscleTech Research and Development/Iovate Health Sciences.
Today, Erik continues to put his experience to good use for his clients — all while consistently refining his approach to meet changes in modern science and physiology.
Visit Erik’s Medium blog for more of his professional insights.
Erik Ledin Offers His Expertise on Embracing the Finish Line in Fitness and Nutrition (But Not Too Much)
As many of my readers and viewers may know, I recently conceded to losing momentum with a previously established 30 day accountability card routine. I started strong with this plan, but I did not finish strong, and now I am working to get myself back on track with a new mindset for the whole process. Personal accountability is huge in these scenarios; there is no shame in taking a loss now and again, but it is no secret that doing so can hurt, and it can spur your inner perfectionist to spew negative and overly critical self-talk along the way.
This inner voice commonly shows itself as an adverse byproduct of a loss or setback, but it can also appear as the initial reason we lost momentum to begin with. In my case, I believe I became too connected to a “high intention, high attachment” mentality right out of the gate. It is imperative to get yourself motivated when kicking off any new regimen or extended challenge, but this must be done in moderation — or at least with proper pacing — to ensure that you do not burn yourself out too quickly. Otherwise, you may run the risk of exhausting yourself of the process in its early stages, leading to disillusionment with why you even started in the first place.
What this boils down is revisiting the ways we embrace the “finish line,” or the ultimate goal serving as the pinnacle of our hard work. We have already established that it is not how you start a new endeavor, it is how you finish it, and while I have previously stressed that a finish-line-first mentality can be detrimental, it is important to keep a consistent and dedicated routine based on your long term goals. Both the starting line and the finish line should be approached with emphatic passion, but it is everything in between that will justify the former and make the latter possible.
The key is to find balance between finish line-inspired motivation and finish line-first tunnel vision. In these cases, winging it rarely works, and if you have already done so, it can be objectively tough to get back into the swing of things — but it is far from impossible. Reevaluate your goals, pinpoint what went wrong, and take meticulous notes on how you will avoid these setbacks in the future.
