Growth

Over the weekend, I rode my road bike for the first time in at least a year.  It was both fun and awful.

To get the worst out of the way, it was awful for all the reasons I stopped riding it.  By the second mile, my forearms hurt.  They still hurt hours later.

It was fun because riding bikes in general makes me feel like I’m about nine years old, no cares, grin plastered to face.  I like the wind and the landscape and the feeling of propelling myself into the future.

The fun part means that I am even more determined to find a solution to the awful part.  If there were no fun part, the answer would be easy:  stop riding the road bike.  (I also have a mountain bike, but it is not as light and fancy and speedy as my Best Road Bike Ever.)  I have been approximating my way to the solution for some time now, so what I learned over the weekend was that I’m not there yet.

So far, I have tried expensive bike fitting, supportive wrist and tennis elbow wraps, vitamins, chiropractic, ice, prayer, yoga, rest, more rest, and a bunch more things.  I have more things to try, like new handlebars, physical therapy, and whatever else I might discover that could work.

The point of this story?  Growth mindset.  We don’t get to choose what we have to deal with.  We do get to choose how.  I could give up.  Instead, I choose to keep working.  I am not going to say that there isn’t a solution.  There just isn’t a solution YET.

We all have recalcitrant problems.  We can all decide that those problems aren’t going to win.  It might take a while, but we can do it.

Eat to live...

Working out requires energy.  I realize that this is hardly a news flash, but I want to point it out because sometimes we try to work out without any.

We have reasons.  If one of the motivations behind our workouts is weight loss, we may also be reducing how much we eat.  However, reducing our calories too much or timing our eating in such a way that we show up at our workouts too tired and hungry to lift or run or dance does not help.

This is why I always have emergency snacks around for clients, just in case.  (They may not be the best snacks in the world; this is what makes them emergency snacks.)

We have to tune in to the messages of our bodies.  If we find that we are getting light-headed or particularly spacey, if directions stop making sense, maybe we need to think about having a snack an hour or so before we workout.  (Any closer and we risk upset stomach or worse…)  We also have to consider getting in some protein after we are done and hydrating throughout the process.

To lose weight, we want to use about 500 more calories per day than we eat.  Restricting our intake more just stresses out our metabolisms and leaves us unable to get out of bed.

Put It On My Account...

One thing that can help us get our workouts done is accountability.  We often feel like flaking on our own goals doesn’t matter, but finding a way to be accountable can give us much more success.

There are lots of ways to get accountability.  Heck, a whole bunch of my job is to be my clients’ accountability.  They show up because I’m there, waiting.  They keep working because I’m there to watch, encourage, cajole, direct, and plan.

Other accountability mechanisms can be cheaper.  Workout buddies, if everyone is equally committed, can do the trick.  Some people find that keeping a log makes them more likely to get in the reps.  Nudges from our Fitbits and other trackers serve the same purpose.

Lately, I’ve been making a point of taking a photo at some point when I am exercising.  (You may have noticed the uptick in dog photos, since, even if I do nothing else, Cricket demands a walk every morning.)  Posting those photos has made me more diligent about getting in the workout.  Point is:  do what works!

We can do it!