The "Power" of the Scale

Its taken over 30 years to realize that I don't care what the number on the scale says. My day won't be ruined if I weigh in one pound up. I won't entertain any thoughts that my worth has been compromised should my weight increase and likewise, I will not feel like I am a better person should my weight decrease.

To clarify, with this post I don't intend to imply that my weight doesn't concern me. Nor do I mean to say that I've given up and that I wouldn't care if I weighed 300#! I mean to say that I don't have a particular number in my head that I believe is my "best" weight. I do not believe that there is a single magic weight for me at which all my performance and health goals will come true. So whether it's 135# or 155#, I do not care so long as my health and performance is getting better daily! I will not sacrifice either in order to achieve a "magic number".

Use the number on the scale as a single data point in an ongoing "study". Too often is a sudden weight change due to the gain or loss of water, so it's not worth getting all worried about being up four pounds the day after a wicked food and booze bender. [Actually, wtf are you doing weighing yourself the day after that? I mean come on, if you haven't pooed yet all that food is still in you. The scale doesn't lie but it can't un-weigh your dinner, it sure isn't magic!] What does concern me are trends like a steady and significant increase in weight or a change in weight along with a simultaneous increase in exhaustion or malaise. Using the number on the scale in conjunction with other information such as how I feel, how my clothes fit, how my digestion is doing and how I'm recovering from workouts, is more appropriate and can better assist in learning more about how your own body responds to its environment. 

Do not imbue your scale with supernatural powers! It isn't a deity, just a battery-operated tool!

Trust me though, it hasn't always been this way for me. I used to weigh in each day or two with the sole purpose of seeing if my current diet plan was working. I'd also weigh in after a cheat to see how much damage I had done. Using the scale was either rewarding or punishing; never just retrieving data, free from emotion.

So what changed my mind? It was my body that changed my mind for me. All I had to do was LISTEN to my body, eat, allow my body to tell me what it needed, eat clean and train right. And eat.

This is me four years ago at 130#. LOOK at those spaghetti arms!

This second picture is just four years later (2012) when I weigh 150#.























OMG I'm huge right? In those four years I should have beaten my self up emotionally every time my weight went up right? I mean, this is obvious proof that all weight gain is bad...right? [For all of you that miss out on sarcasm, the answers to the above questions are all 'no'.]

All joking aside, I sometimes think about all the things I would have missed out on if I had allowed the scale to decide for me how skimpy my dinner would be that night. It's staggering. I can say that I am pretty dag-gone happy (and SO thankful) to have gained those 20#! I wouldn't be the person I am today because I wouldn't have enjoyed the experiences I have had.

More important than the black and white number on the scale is your health and happiness, now AND in the long run. Let your GOALS be your guide!

With fittest intentions,

Michelle

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FREE Fitness Meet Up Group!

I've started The Somers Primal Health Fitness Group on MeetUp! Click here to sign up (free) so you can get info and updates. This group is open for everyone that wants to take part!

Here's why I chose to start this group: I've noticed throughout my years of personal training is that there is a dearth of knowledge out there regarding foundational movements. Misconceptions abound about essential movements such as squats and pushups. MOST of my clients need to be re-trained, that is if anyone ever bothered to teach them in the first place at all! That's where I come in!

I believe that EVERYONE can and SHOULD learn these functional exercises in order to increase their quality of life. If you are thinking "but I can't do that because..." then email me before you decide for CERTAIN you can't do this! When I say everyone I mean it. Let me put it this way, learning to squat properly is ESSENTIAL in order to be able to use the toilet. If you can do that, then you can do this! Knee trouble, back trouble, shoulder trouble...everyone can do something. You just need to know HOW!

Okay, so instead you're thinking "but I'm healthy & fit and this group is too basic for me." Nope! I'll address your needs also! Let's make sure your basic forms are good and solid, strengthen your posterior chain, increase flexibility, tweak your diet: everyone can use some guidance. Heck, I rely on my own coach to make sure I'm constantly improving too! If you can do bodyweight exercises, let's change up the weight or speed.

Method:
Each MeetUp we will go over a different movement or topic. Come to each one, or pick and choose. These MeetUps are FREE to attend, so please bring a friend! You are always free to take part as much or as little as you feel comfortable.

• I will always do warmup/cool down stretches and drills.

At "Clinics" we will specifically address:

• the basics of a movement/ topic from a how-to
• how to increase the difficulty of a movement (ie proper back squat techniques..there's more than one!)
• how to incorporate it into your workout.
• how to scale a movement based on your particular needs/concerns/injuries etc

Once you have the basics down, crazy things happen...don't worry, I'll title those "crazy workouts" as such so you know what to expect!

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to teach you how to increase the quality of your lives through increased quality of movement! I look forward to meeting you soon Thanks again!
~Michelle

Goals Gone Wrong!

Have you ever heard of Vision Boards? The idea is to create a poster using a variety of media; magazine clippings, photos, bold phrases all reflecting the things and feelings we want in our lives. To quote Tristan Loo from SelfGrowth.com:

We attract into our lives anything that we give attention to, regardless whether it be positive or negative. From a psychological view, the law of attraction can be best explained by the information filtering system of the brain known as the reticular activating system (RAS). Vision boards serve the role of programming the RAS to tune into external stimuli that can help us move closer towards our intentions.

Click here to read the whole post.

Here's a quick exercise to show you how your thoughts can, and are, guiding your whole life. Ready?

Picture an "old person" whatever that means to you, of your own gender.

Now, what does "old" look like to you? White hair? Frail? Dowager's hump? Wearing a muu muu & big white velcro-lace sneakers? Unfortunately if this is the case, this is where you are headed. If you believe that image is what old is, that is what your brain is trying daily to achieve! So how can you become a better athlete if every day your brain is thinking, "Uh oh. I'm older today, I can't do this workout well because that will steer me off course! I need to be one step closer to being frail." Scary right?

Go to your local CrossFit and watch the Masters group. Google CrossFit Games Masters and spend time watching what these phenomenal athletes can do. Not "for their age" but period! Scrap your antiquated image of elderly. Create a new future and you will create a new today.

Dig Deep & Reach For the Sky!

 
A few weeks ago, after weeks of stalking studios online, I finally decided to join a local yoga studio. I've done videos at home, the occasional class at a globo-gym and also played with some poses on my own just to see if I could do them. I also have the pleasure of being able to do yoga with my boyfriend in his yard, surrounded by grass and open sky. A couple years ago I took a course in Holistic Fitness that emphasized the emotion-yoga pose connection (fascinating stuff). Just this year I completed a yoga course designed for Personal Trainers. So I had dabbled with this 'yoga stuff' long enough and I finally decided to get serious about my yoga practice.What I wanted to share with you was that this week I stepped out of my comfort zone and took a more advanced class (NOT to be confused with an Advanced class). Oh boy...

First of all, this new studio I have started going to is wonderful so far; no elitist instructors, no huge yogi-egos, no b.s. Each class starts with the instructor giving us a short lesson (usually regarding a branch of yoga or a sutra) which is not something I've gotten from videos or globo classes. Afterwards I can go home and read more about it from my own copy of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. So yes, the geek in me rejoices at this informational portion of class!

Yoga is not inherently scary. What I do find a little unnerving though is not knowing what the instructor has in store for you. Especially if you choose to take a more advanced class than you are accustomed to. Now with CrossFit I don't like to know what the WOD is going to be for me on any given day. I'll panic about it if I know ahead of time, but if I just arrive and read it on the whiteboard I'll get excited. And I love my WODs! Now with yoga, you never know what you'll be doing. Thirty-minutes into class and you still don't know! You can't even be sure how long you'll be asked to hold each pose let alone what's going to come next! It's a little torturous in that way.

So I walk into class to find a man relaxing in a perfect head stand. "Oh wow, what did I get myself into?" It was a great test for myself (and the instructor)! Would he take care to get me through? Could I dig deep and get myself through?

Obviously I did. I made it through alive. It was more the pace of the class that made it difficult. There was some Sanskrit thrown in for giggles ("Now forward in Bhujangasana!") and a few tough poses to keep me straining. At one point my leg seized up as I tried to hold a revolved extended side angle (hands in prayer). It was excruciating...and I'm a CrossFitter. I don't use that word lightly at all. In the end I made it through better than alive. Actually I came out all glow-y (<- new word!). When the instructor singled me out to say that my "alignment was wonderful" that was all I needed. Sold!

I know it's all the drills for the Olympic and other lifts we do for workouts that has helped develop my alignment. 100% sure of it. So now I'm excited to see how the yoga will give back to my lifts! New personal records here I come baby!