Saturday, July 5, 2014

Go Get It

I hope every had a fun and safe Fourth spend with friends and family. After a beautiful hike in the morning, Husband and I had a wonderful barbecue with friends. Lots of smiles, laughs, congratulations, great food and wine. It was an awesome way to celebrate our day off together.

I'll be spending the weekend away from the gym, and perhaps from a "workout" all together, instead spending some time outdoors and getting ready for a vacation. I often feel like a broken record, telling my clients to be sure to take time to rest and recuperate, with sleep being perhaps the most important component of recovery. Sleep is an essential time for our bodies to repair and build muscle, manufacture necessary hormones, build immunity, and keep our mental faculties at their best. You can't be the best version of yourself without sleep. Try and get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night - your body and your health will thank you for it. (And maybe the people around you too.)

While getting in a workout this week, a client told me that she was inspired by me. She went on to say that she wanted to be like me when she is through our program, referring to fitness level as well as physical appearance. I take this as a great compliment, and while I don't feel like my fitness journey is anywhere near complete, it does feel good to have someone else recognize the hard work that I have put in. But there is another part of me that feels my heart break a little when I hear women say things like "I want to look like ___________." I understand the concept of inspiration, aspirations, and goals but I feel that too often we are so outwardly focused on how we appear to others that we forget the whole idea (in my opinion) behind fitness is to be the very best version of yourself.

I am not the first one to come up with this, and I can't take credit for it. But I think it is something very important to think about. We work so hard, shedding sweat, tears, and pounds in the gym. We set personal records, break through barriers and plateaus. But sometimes the motivations are somewhere different than where they should be.We strive to impress someone, look like someone, maybe even be better than someone. The only person we should be striving to be better than is ourselves. We should want to feel better than we used to, be healthier than we used to, look better, be stronger, and be more confident than we used to. Your fitness journey isn't about getting the body of someone you saw in a magazine, or even someone you saw walking down the street or in the gym. Your fitness journey is about improving yourself, being the best version of yourself, and providing the best version of yourself to those around you. Practice some self love here, people. You deserve it.

So don't beat up on yourselves when you don't reach the "perfect weight," or you can't fit into the "perfect size." Forgive yourself when you get off track,  put on your big girl panties and move on. There is always a new day waiting for you around the corner, where you can leave your mistakes and negative self-talk behind. Get your butt into the gym, outside for a workout, or in your garage and get after it. You have a better version of yourself waiting for you. Go get it.