Yeah, drink the water, too...

Recently, my health plan sent me a link to an article about five ways to improve my state of mind.  It passed my personal test for useful information on this topic:  it did not include a recommendation to hydrate, which in my opinion is a secret code for “We have no idea what actually helps, but we know drinking more water won’t hurt.”  Please note:  hydration is definitely important for keeping us healthy and cheerful.  I have nothing against hydration and in fact, I encourage us all to drink more water.

What struck me about the list was that two of the five things were directly related to fitness:  getting moving and getting enough sleep.  I realize that many of us think that these two things are diametrically opposed.  We feel that we either have time to exercise or time to sleep.  Sometimes this is true, but more often than not exercise improves the quality of our sleep enough and frees up enough energy that once we get going, we manage just fine.

Two more items were about screens and friends.  Unplugging from our tech and plugging into our real live networks both help us feel better.  The efficiency expert in me suggests grabbing a friend and heading out for a hike where there is no cell reception:  three items (four, if you count the improved sleep patterns from unplugging and moving) in one go!

(The last item was “Find your words.”  We all need help sometimes, but asking can be hard.  Please know I’m here to help…)

Minds and bodies work best together.  We can do it!

Weight a Minute!

For a bunch of reasons, weight lifting was off-limits to me for a while.  It feels so good to be back at it!  And, of course, there are frustrations.

Time off from weights means that I am not where I was when I stopped.  There is no special magic dispensation for trainers, so I have to work my way back up just like everyone else.  I get to be sore and tired and sometimes discouraged.  I have to talk myself into finishing (and sometimes even starting) workouts.

What motivates me is how I feel when I accomplish things.  I like to be strong.  I like to think of myself as a person who lifts weights and does hard things.

Finding the things that get us through the frustrations makes all the difference.

Power Shift

I am in a funny field.  As much as I love my job, I sometimes deeply dislike my industry.  There are times when I feel that the fitness industry caters to the worst in human nature:  vanity, pride, pretense, discrimination and the like.  That is not what I want to do.

I want to empower people.

For some people, empowerment works out to a newfound ability to do fun things without pain.  Maybe that’s as simple as being able to kneel down to garden or as complicated as finishing a first or fifth or eighth marathon.  For others, learning to lift heavy objects in the literal sense teaches them to lift the heavy metaphorical objects off their own psyches; I believe in self-rescuing princesses.  Sometimes empowerment does involve losing weight, but I prefer to focus on how we feel (stronger, lighter, more energetic) than how we look.

In practice, what this means is that my studio is a place where it is okay to sweat and look messy and to wear whatever is comfortable.  We celebrate victories of all kinds.  When things are tough, we breathe through them.  We take the time we need to stretch and recover.

Our material culture will constantly point out our flaws.  Many of us firmly believe that we will never be enough.  Let’s fight the power and be our most awesome selves instead.