I had a major epiphany, and that epiphany was that I was not doing what I sought out to do for my own health and wellness. Shocking, I know, especially coming from a fitness professional like myself. You’d think the hardcore kettlebellig and calisthenic aficionado would OWN everything single one her healthy habits. For the most part, I do. . .expect for that ONE missing item.
Rest. . .or the lack there of.
Allow me to elaborate.
Over the course of the past year I had worked my Burgher butt off to see some serious amounts of awesome at the studio. Pittsburgh has become a stronger place because of all that hard work, but I negated that “Me” time that I really needed to keep my own training results up to speed. My 8-9 hours of sleep looked more like 5-6 which lead to that not-so-fabulous feeling of grogginess. Fill up your empty tank with too much caffeine and there you are, restless at night and the cycle continues and continues and continues. Further down the road after months of pushing yourself to no end, and you end up reaching for the sweeter side of life and presto! Now you’re not at your ideal self. It happened. It happened. My coach at Precision Nutrition would point it out to me quite bluntly.
“Sleep. It’s powerful. And really, that’s your missing link. Rest more, and make no excuse for not resting more.”
Boom! It hit me then that my own recovery was off because I had worked a bit too hard for too long. It’s a common problem amongst business types, and its a common problem I see now with the newer clients at the studio. We want to do all the things all the time until we realize that we hit a plateau, are a bit too tired too often, or find ourselves reaching for foodie thingies to wake us the heck back up. It happens. It does. But if there is one thing I refuse to accept once you identify this sort of issue is an excuse. I hire my own coaches to get into the nitty gritty of my fitness goals, and believe you me. Those coaches of mine have made one thing VERY clear to me: “Excuses are detrimental to your success. Period.”
I had to make a plan, and make a plan to be held accountable for my actions. I logged my food, did weekly check in’s with my coach, and decided to rearrange my very own work schedule to sleep a solid 8-9 hours a night. Funny things happened too once I began to OWN this resting habit. I recovered better. I lost weight from SLEEPING MORE. And as for my strength? For the first time I could do a serious double kettlebell complex with two 16kgs kettlebells, a feat for the average 5’3” female that is extremely challenging.
Boom! My missing link was identified and a plan of action to commit to getting leaner, stronger, and healthier is now in full throttle. I bring up my own personal plight here for a reason. If you’re struggling with achieving a certain goal or result, you may very well have to talk to those closest to you to find out what that particular thing it is that is holding you back. Coaches, they are of particular important to help you identity those nitty gritty items in your daily life that can make or break your long term success. If there is one thing we pride ourselves here at the studio, it’s our coaching and commitment to get you out of the excuse based mindset. It’s one thing to struggle, I hear you there. But it’s another thing to CONTINUE to allow yourself to be stuck in a struggle. No matter what you’re facing in life, there is always a way out of a terrible circumstance. You just have to be willing to keep moving forward. At Primal Fitness Pittsburgh, we do just that. We make a plan to help you continue the journey and achieve the impossible. Excuses? We crush them, and that leads to a leaner, stronger you! 😀
I’m reminded of the wisdom of Yoda in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back. I believe Yoda was one of the greatest coaches ever depicted in a film. Speaking to Luke Sky-Walker, he states that training to be a Jedi Master is no different than moving large stones around a murky bog. His point is that we often times over complicate our lives and make excuses based on our perceived level of difficulty in our circumstances. Truly, when we hit our sticking points we must unlearn what we have learned and choose to achieve our goal no matter what. It takes practice, patience, and time. But by simply focusing and being willing to reach out for help, we master our instincts and do what was once thought of as impossible.
“Do, or do not. There is no try. ”
Master your instincts!
