Hey again League!
A couple of weeks ago I talked about 3 things that had made a positive impact on my fitness journey. You can read that here if you missed it. This week I figured I would cover 3 things that I’ve let go of that either haven’t been helpful or have been detrimental to my goals.
A couple of weeks ago I talked about 3 things that had made a positive impact on my fitness journey. You can read that here if you missed it. This week I figured I would cover 3 things that I’ve let go of that either haven’t been helpful or have been detrimental to my goals.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy
I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said this, but the internet seems a little unclear on the origin. It’s a great quote.
I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said this, but the internet seems a little unclear on the origin. It’s a great quote.
It can be so easy to see someone that inspires us and want them to share their map of how they got there. Whether it’s a certain aesthetic, a certain action like running a marathon or doing 10 pullups, or a particular career, we so often look negatively at our own lives when we compare them to someone else’s.
Social media makes this very difficult, because everyone is only sharing their best moments, and even editing photos to make everything just-so when life is rarely like that. But we also compare ourselves to our pasts, wondering why we can’t get back when we had when we were 25 or 40.
We can only be where we are in any given moment. We can’t go back and we can’t fast-forward. Don’t forget to appreciate the journey you’ve been on. The obstacles you’ve overcome, the life you’ve built when you didn’t always have time to focus on fitness. Everything you’ve done to this moment has brought you here. And now you have that vast experience to lean on to decide where you want to take the next moment. But don’t do it because you want the life someone else has. Do it for the life that you want that is uniquely yours.
Scale Obsession
The scale is such a simple tool, and in seconds we have a number by which we judge all of the work we’ve done, the desserts we’ve enjoyed, and even our self worth.
That number is just one small data point. It is influenced so heavily by factors we can’t easily account for. Don’t give it more value than it’s worth
I had this happen just yesterday. I only weigh myself twice a month and things have been pretty consistent all summer with my goals. Until they weren’t, and the scale moved just .4 pounds. It immediately put me in a bad mood, on a day that I planned to spend enjoying a short road trip with my husband.
I sat down and wrote out all of my victories over the last month. I added 40 pounds to my leg press. I overcame bicep tendon irritation. I felt stronger hiking last weekend than I’ve felt since my hip surgery 15 months ago. I feel strong, and I feel good in my body. Better than I have in years. I wore a pair of shorts I couldn’t wear 2 months ago. I had to remind myself that my weight won’t change much when I am losing fat and gaining muscle, so I need to focus on other wins.
So-called “non-scale victories” really are important. Don’t let the scale discourage you. Don’t let it take away all of the wins you’ve experienced. Write them down so you remember them when the scale is trying to ruin your day!
Time Off is for the Weak
Remember those videos in elementary science about putting water drops on a sizzling pan, and how the atoms speed up and dance around? That is how my body feels as a baseline, as a neurodivergent person. It is always amped up. That doesn’t always mean I feel productive, in fact, quite the opposite. A lot of energy with nowhere to go is a recipe for sluggishness.
Remember those videos in elementary science about putting water drops on a sizzling pan, and how the atoms speed up and dance around? That is how my body feels as a baseline, as a neurodivergent person. It is always amped up. That doesn’t always mean I feel productive, in fact, quite the opposite. A lot of energy with nowhere to go is a recipe for sluggishness.
Exercise is what balances that energy out for me. I don’t come down to Earth to tackle life without it. That makes it really hard for me to take days off, even though I know that the rewards of exercise come during rest. I like to do challenging workouts, but the truth is, especially as I near 50, my body needs more rest than it used to.
In August, I took a week off from workouts and went camping with my husband. We did a lot of hiking but no strength training at all, no rucking. The hiking helped regulate my energy but I still felt guilty for missing “real workouts.” I worried I wouldn’t be able to get back on track. But when we got back from our trip, that week of full rest resulted in me feeling stronger than I had for weeks. I was able to progress in areas I had stalled. I breezed through movements that had felt hard the week before.
I now schedule a full week off every few months. I can tell when I need it. My workout soreness lasts longer, I start to feel rundown, my heart rate is elevated, I sometimes feel like I am coming down with a cold that never arrives. Those are the biggest signs that I am doing too much and need to back off. I don’t like doing it. I don’t feel like myself when I’m not working out regularly. But I don’t feel like myself when I get injured or sick, either, and I’d rather be in control of when I take those breaks than to be forced into them!
Don’t be afraid of rest. It’s necessary. Not just overnight, but sometimes for a longer stretch. If you plateaued in your workouts, if you’re always tired, not sleeping, just feeling “off” – consider taking several days off or a whole week and enjoy that time as active recovery. You’ll likely come back stronger.
Make it a wild weekend!
-Kim
-Kim
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