Enjoy the Journey
The road to a new you is a journey. Now that I am a full time personal training and strength coach, the correlation between training and our emotional health is becoming clearer every day. Many clients I work with are not held back by physical or biomechanical limitations but rather by mental, emotional and spiritual limitations.
Many times they are looking to me to propel them over these obstacles or simply drive them around these roadblocks in order to magically appear on the other side, being improved fitness, health and wellbeing. It is not that easy. Sometimes, I wish it were for my client’s sake and mine. If it were easy, everyone would look and feel their best and accomplish everything with ease. I can certainly guide them on their journey but only they can get through the most challenging part of that journey – the emotional barriers.
Many of us search for the magic pill, potion or lotion. My job would be so simple if I could make wishes come true and goals realized at the snap of a finger or the stroke of a wand. I desperately hope that magic pill is never discovered. Then we would miss out on the entire journey. The journey to goal achievement is really where it all takes place. The work within the transformation is really what it is all about, not achieving the goal itself.
Many of us are striving to be better – get thinner, lose inches, gain inches, do more reps, lift more weight, fun faster, look better, see less wrinkles, hold a position longer, take a stretch deeper, weight less or weight more… we are so focused on the numbers that we lose sight of the more important, life-altering issues surrounding those goals.
The problem with focusing almost entirely on the number, is we take the risk of never patting ourselves on the back, never being satisfied with the results. We are always looking into the future at what we still have to achieve or attain and do not take the time to stop and reflect on what we have already accomplished.
Toss the Scales!
This is why I tell my client’s to get rid of their scales. I hear far too many times "I gained 2 pounds this weekend." Or "I have been working out for 2 weeks now and there’s not change in the numbers yet.” My response "Two pounds?!", "Two weeks?!".
It is so frustrating! It is frustrating for me as the trainer and I’m sure it has to frustrating for you as the client. Why put yourself through that? Two pounds can be the difference between eating pasta for dinner the night before or a grilled chicken salad, or drinking two liters of water rather than 500 ml. It could depend on your cycle, the temperature outside, what activity you have been participating in, the time of day… I could go on and on.
I know a bodybuilder who put on 18 lbs after competing… do you think that was bodyfat? Heck no. It was almost entirely water weight. If he freaked out over every 2 lbs, he would have likely committed suicide after seeing an 18 lb increase. But he understands how your body weight fluctuates as a result of a variety of different factors. On that note, please don’t come to me with a picture of a fitness model or bodybuilder from a magazine or a supplement company "before and after" picture and say "I want to look like this" or "look what she did in 4 weeks.. I want to do that." I would rather you take 4 months or even 4 years to make healthy lifestyle changes than go to extremes for a quick fix in order to squeeze into a bridesmaid dress or to look good for a high school reunions.
We need to get over this obsession, unhealthy fixation, regarding how much we weigh or how much we think we should weigh. Keep in mind that you can lose body fat, inches and sizes and perhaps gain weight or lose very little. I want you rather to think about how you feel about yourself day to day, how your clothes feel on your body, how you see yourself now and how you would like to see yourself in the future. If you are still a numbers person, consider having your body fat percentage analyzed and have it retested every 6 weeks to three months once you start making lifestyle changes.
Body Fat Testing
Many gyms have scales that measure your body composition. Healthy for women is anywhere between 20 and 30% depending on your history and body type. For example, if you were obese much of your life, 30% may be a healthy body fat percentage to shoot for. If you were once athletic and lean, you may want to strive to get back to a 20-25%. Keep in mind that body fat scales are not 100% accurate. There is a 4% margin of error, but what will be correct if you use the same method and follow the guidelines, will be whether than number has increased or decreased.
For example, I know my body fat is anywhere from 15-20% depending on my diet and my training season but the scales tell me I am 21%. So if it goes down to 19%, all I care about is that I lost 2% even thought I know my actual percentage is probably lower.
Calipers are more accurate but you need to have the same person do them and take the measurement from the same spot. Some athletes actually have permanent marker spots for their measurements. I’m not that particular about it yet. I have only had my body fat tested with calipers once but it was good for me to learn where I store my body fat and what that means. I had a high tricep reading which was indicative of an estrogen imbalance. Not surprising as at the time, I had just had a baby a year earlier. I made changes to my diet (added fish oil capsules and some other things) and months later, my tricep reading had decreased.
The Numbers Game
There is nothing wrong with having numeric goals. In fact, always striving for a new goal and setting your sites higher is one of my training success secrets. I am always telling my clients that the thresholds we have in our mind about what we should be able to do is what often holds us back from getting stronger. Many women have a hard time believing that hey are capable of bench pressing their body weight or doing 50 pushups, for example. What I DO have a problem with is pushing ourselves to be better to the extreme and not taking the time to relish in what we have accomplished.
So, yes it is important … essential to set your sites high and truly believe that you are capable of achieving that seemingly daunting task but reward yourself along the way. And if you are unable to reach your goal, don’t kick yourself for it. So maybe you thought this was the week you were going to get 25 pushups. Last week you did 22 and you have it circled in red that it’s 25 today do or die. But, you only muster out 18. LOSER! WEAKLING! I FAILED! Wrong. There are many possibilities here… maybe you have been doing pushups for too long and you are in a strength reversal situation now. Perhaps you were rushed this morning and didn’t eat breakfast. Three days before your period? That will do it. The twins kept you up until midnight and had you up at 5:30 am . Work has been a nightmare this week…stress central. This list could continue. Don’t sweat it. Expect that some weeks will be better than others and look forward to your strong weeks that you will be coming into soon. Or, go back into your log book and see that a few months ago you could only squeeze out eight and they almost killed you!
Write It Down
I mentioned a log book. Keeping track of your progress helps a great deal. It is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, if you record your workouts or your diet plan and food intake you have a plan of action. Putting things in writing gives us a road map and represents a commitment and makes you more accountable to yourself. With exercise, it helps us know what we did the previous workout and what we should expect form ourselves with this one. It is a great way to see our progress. When you ar edonw on yourself because family obligations or work commitments have gotten us off track or we are in that "weak week", it is great to look back to months or years ago and see how much strength or endurance we have gained.
It is wise to make notes and comments along the way too like "easy", "left side weaker", "hate these", "sloppy form", "getting stronger!", "tired today"… all these things help. So you may be squatting today and want to do 95 lbs. You look back to last week and see that your last set of 85 lbs you wrote down “Form sloppy on last set”. So you will really be thinking about keeping your form tight and strict or you may try and eat something like a banana half way through your workout for more energy to help you avoid sloppy form this time.
Download free exercise journals and diet journals here
Not An Easy Road
Exercise, diet, lifestyle changes… they all make us dig deep inside ourselves and get the REAL issues regarding our weight gain, screwed up eating, why we go to ice cream for comfort, skip meals when we are stressed, need to step on a scale every morning, don’t look at ourselves in a mirror, hate doing pushups, are embarrassed to go to a gym… again I could go on and on.
Encountering these issues head on and overcoming them is exactly why I wouldn’t want a magic pill available to just makes all thinner, leaner, stronger, faster. As a competitive athlete, I know best that what I like best about competing and what keeps me coming back to it is how it makes me a better person. With each competition, every training cycle, each new training diet and every injury, I learn something new about myself. Each event teaches me that I can do things I never thought possible, that every "issue" is surpassable and that the journey to being the best is what makes us the best.
Along the way - this journey to a better, stronger, fitter, more balanced, healthier you – you will encounter many setbacks, emotional turmoil, face to face encounters with yourself, moments of insanity, helplessness, hopefulness, anger, excitement, pure joy, jealousy… you will go through a kaleidoscope of human emotions but in the end you will emerge better for it. I promise you it will NOT be easy and you will NOT enjoy all of it, but it is so worth it.
Enjoy the journey!
Krista Schaus SPI C.P.T.
CPU National Powerlifting Champion 56 kg
DE Coaching Team
Krista Schaus PICP CPT
Ontario CANADA
krista@definingedge.ca
Kate Kline PICP CFT
Arizona USA
kate@definingedge.ca
DE Client Services
Upcoming Events:
Where you can find the Defining Edge team or athletes
- Janary 2010 - Strength & Beauty "Next Level" (Milton, ON)
- January 2010 - Ontario Powerlifting Provincials (St. Catharines, ON)
- March 2010 - Arnold Amateur Bodybuilding Championship (Columbus, OH)
- April 2010 - Canadian Powerlifting Nationals (Quebec City, QU)
- April 2010 - CFBB Canadian Natural Physique Championships (Laval, QU)