They say that breakin’ up is hard to do

Man O’ man, what affects our daily life and our overall well being as much as romantic relationships?

Whether you’re married, dating somebody or single, the love bug can wreak havoc on your body as well as your mind.

Ask yourself this. Do you tend to be more comfortable when you’re in a relationship and subsequently let your body go a bit? Just a bit? Or when you’re single, do you find yourself out on the town more often, consuming empty calories at the bars and clubs sipping on alcohol?

Either way, it’s important to have consistency in your workout routine regardless of your relationship status. And more important is the role exercise can play in keeping you jubilantly happy (not to mention sane) throughout the ups and downs of this crazy little thing called love.

Case in point. A visitor to the site recently wrote me saying:

“Funny thing happened to me today, I had to attend a Divorce/Parenting Class. They asked us what we do to deal with our emotions related to divorce. I spoke up and said boxing. The teacher laughed and asked me to show him my muscles. I held up one arm and flexed my bicep and the girl next to me was like ‘damn girl’. I have never been so proud of myself. Not only am I being a good example for my children, on how to deal with stress, I am being good to myself at the same time.”

That’s what I’m talking about! And I can totally relate. The times in my life when I’ve been the most motivated happened when I was kind of hurt, coming off a bad relationship. I searched inward, looked myself in the mirror and said, “David, some things in life are beyond your control, but the one thing you have absolute power over is your body.”

Rule No. 1 —> LOVE YOURSELF!!

There is no better cure for a broken heart than self improvement. You’re investing in YOU and at the same time reassuring yourself that you are beautiful and worthy of love. Yea, taking the outside-in approach.

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world” - Lucille Ball

And again, as I have said so many times in the past, a little bit of vanity never hurt anyone. It’s OK to look yourself in the mirror and say, “hey, I look pretty dam good and you know what, somebody is going to be lucky to unwrap this package”.

Now, I’m not sure about us men, but in my experience, when it comes to women, following a breakup they go one of two ways, either they eat to suppress their sorrow after a split or they starve themselves because they’ve simply lost their appetite. Do not let this happen. Neither one of these is healthy.

Breakups are extremely tough. Your life can feel like a downward spiral, like you’ve lost control of everything and now you’ve got a big mess.

SO, what’s the key?

A plan. A regimen.

Mentally, it will help you refocus your energy and time. Plan your meals. Plan your workouts. Set a goal for yourself. I call it the “NEW YOU PROGRAM”.

Read the quote again from the woman who was boxing following her divorce. She was empowered by this feeling of accomplishment and recognition. After all, what better resource to invest in than your own body?

As I’ve often said, the best thing about the sport of weightlifting is that you take it with you everywhere you go. You could be the best tennis player in the world, the best golfer, baseball player, swimmer or football player and walk into a room of strangers and not be noticed. But if you make lifting your passion, you’re going to turn heads walking down the street or…..flexing your bicep in a parenting classJ

Of course I’m not encouraging you to be consumed with your body, let’s not go to extremes. It’s just as important to work on your mind, your soul and your heart. It’s just that those other three can sometimes be more challenging to perfect :)

So, get your lift on whether you’ve been married for 20 years or just split up with the one you thought was “The One”.

Good luck