strength

Nope. Nope. Nope. I refuse to hear it. I’m done listening to people not using their brains with regards to their eating or working out. Stop it. Just stop. You are going to work yourself to death trying all these new diet plans and quick fixes to get fitter. It’s time we take a look at what we’re doing and realize we have the tools for success engrained in us, we’re just constantly ignoring them.

Area 1: Food.

Spoiler alert coming at you right now: You know what foods are good for you and you know what foods aren’t. I put an apple and a plate of fried chicken in front of you and tell you to pick the one that is better for you. I’ll be damned if you say the plate of fried chicken. And if you’re going to give me some excuse about the protein, look at your life and look at your choices. A plate of fried chicken is still a plate of fried chicken.

Sure, those foods that are better for us aren’t necessarily more delicious, but you know the right decision to make. When people talk about “balance” in regards to eating, they are talking about keeping the apple on your plate the majority of the time with an occasional piece of chicken or two thrown in for variety. Not equal amounts apples and fried chicken. Do you see the difference? It’s amazing how just thinking these things through and using the knowledge that we already have at our disposal can save us.

Area 2: Working Out

If you miss a workout you will not turn into a ball of flubber. You will not. It will not happen. You will be okay. If you miss two workouts, you will not suddenly become Violet Beauregarde and balloon. Use your brain. If you can’t hit the gym one day, maybe try and aim to walk a little more or stay on your feet. I was astonished the other day when someone posted on a Facebook group that I’m a part of about hemorrhaging while being pregnant and wondering if she could still workout even if it was just 10 minutes on the elliptical or lifting 5 pound weights.

Hold up. Wait. What.

You’re willing to put your life and your child’s life in danger for a workout?! A workout. Sometimes we can’t go to the gym or, you know what, some times we don’t feel like working out. It’s okay. The world won’t stop, we’ll wake up the next day and we’ll be back at it. Even if we have to take a couple months off, there’s still time to get back at it when you fully recover and are ready. Unless you are a professional athlete and your livelihood depends on your fitness, you are working out for fun. THIS IS FOR FUN. I can’t stress that enough. Working out and eating right are only as important as you CHOOSE to make them. You can let these things consume your every thought in a negative way or you can CHOOSE to make these areas a positive part of your life that bring you joy.

Main take away: Live your life and learn how to make choices. You inherently know what is right and wrong. You can tell the good decisions from the bad. You know which meal is better for you and you know when to sit back and say, “eh, maybe a workout isn’t the best idea for me right now”.

Use your brain to your advantage. I’m not teaching you anything new here. I’m just asking you to open your eyes and pay attention to what has always been right in front of you. It’s that easy if you let it be.

also, obligatory picture of Boo doing her new favorite activity which is have me place this turtle on her head.
-sj

While fitness makes up a good portion of my interests today, that hasn’t always been the case. I’ve touched on me being a music major before only briefly, but it’s a big part of my past. I went on a pretty cathartic walk this weekend in my favorite forest preserve and it got me thinking: music and fitness aren’t all that different. If I want to reach my goals, I just have to use similar tactics.

There were many parallels I found between singing and exercise. There were physical limitations to both. I could only sing so many hours in a day before my voice gave out and I could only workout for so long until the work became more detrimental. Both rely on rhythm for success whether it be the cadence of your run, the tempo at which you’re lifting weights or beats in the music that allow the singer to convey a specific emotion. The most important similarity between them to me is that you get out what you put in.

I’m here to drop a truth bomb: if you workout regularly and you eat right, you’re going to see results. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule and you may think you are one, but before you go telling me I’m wrong tell me you have actually adhered to every single guideline placed in front of you and never strayed. The unfortunate fact of it all is that we’re human and this isn’t the easiest thing to do, but fitness, like studying music, thrives on consistency. If you practice your scales everyday, you will eventually nail them. It just takes time and patience. The more you practice and work towards your goals, the better you’ll get.

It’s just that time and patience thing that gets us when we’re talking about fitness. We want it now. We want to be better, be stronger, be faster, be fitter, but we’re not willing to put our time in to do it. A great pianist does not get to be great by sitting down at the keyboard three times a week and only playing the easy pieces. Just as the professional bodybuilder does not get in shape by working out occasionally while eating the cheapest, fastest food available to them.

This isn’t something new. It’s just fact. In college, they used to harp on us “practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect”. And you know what? They weren’t wrong. Focus on your form when you’re working out to make sure you’re doing things the right way that are going to benefit you the most. Do your research.

But they “perfect practice” people weren’t entirely right. You have to play those wrong notes and have those kind of sucky workouts to know what to change to get better. We learn from our failures and the quickest way to find out how to do something right, is *spoiler alert* to do it wrong first. Don’t be afraid to fail or to try new things. If every musician who ever missed a note quit after, we’d live in a pretty silent world. And if no one tried new things with composition, there’d be a lot more organ music around and a little less Britney Spears.

So, my main take aways from what my walk taught me. Whether it be singing, fitness, or something else entirely: you get out what you put in. Work for what you want. You can never really get it unless you try.

-sj

Love & Lunge

guys, we need to talk.

you get out what you put in. why practice makes perfect in fitness.