Rise and Resist Episode 2: How we make time for the fitness life

April 2, 2015

How We Live That Fitness Life- Super Strength Health

Good Morning!

Episode number two of Rise and Resist is HERE and and I are stoked!

This week we talk about how we live a fit life with a host of other shit to do on a daily basis. We also talk about fitness plateaus- both physical and mental- and working through them with a little bit of grace and style.

Because we zip through a lot of subjects really quickly, and because I know that some of you will want little reminders after listening to the podcast, I thought it wise to type up a sort of cliff notes version of what we said to keep you both informed and linked up. I hope you enjoy!

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First and foremost, neither Holly nor I are immune to stalls in our progress. In the past couple of weeks I have been dealing with some mental battles around my fitness, and it’s definitely shown up in my attitude from time to time. My training has been fun, yet aimless (The Barbell WOD is really a training program for the Crossfit Games, which I’m going to be honest, I don’t give a shit about competing in) and physically I have had moments of working my ass off but not being able to feel or see what I consider to be “enough” change. HUGE BUMMER.

BUT! Somewhere in the past week or so I had this thought: My eyes are fucking broken sometimes. When I feel down on my body that probably has more to do with my stress levels than my physicality. I both lift and look pretty fucking great, even without cheese grater abs. I can like myself no matter my fitness, and I can also redouble my efforts around finding a program that meets my needs in terms of goals if I want to. OR I can accept that I enjoy 90 minutes of cleans, jerks, and snatches three times a week and that my form has DRASTICALLY improved since starting the program that I’m on. MY HEART WILL GO ON. Done and done.

Holly has been dealing with her own stalls in training, and it was awesome to volley some ideas back and forth around how one might soothe the beast that is the little asshole inside your brain that says you suck. A few things we came up with were:

– Vocal affirmation of what is awesome right in the moment
– Gratitude around the gainz you have already made
– Writing a concrete and tangible gratitude list
and

– Joining a gratitude list google group for community around the process (feel free to ask to join mine or start your own!)

After verbally high fiving one another Holly and I moved on to the question we get asked more than any other thing: “How do you manage to live that fitness life?”

Both of us agree that there is no greater tool than a calendar in the game of time prioritization. I use a giant paper calendar and map out my day by the hour, and Holly uses a google calendar doc. We both log our food, our exercise, our social time, our work, and our rest and meditation pretty much religiously. There isn’t a lot of room for spontaneity when one is running a business, prioritizing a training schedule, and cooking most of their own meals, which is both unfortunate and honest- but never fear! Both Holly and I write in our calendar one essentially blank day to hang with our loved ones and relax around our food and training. That one day a week is a sanity-saver and a game changer and reminds both of us that we are humans that exist in the real live open cool world.

In terms of food specifically, we both agree that a food prep day is basically vital for keeping to a healthy eating plan. Holly cooks all of her meals on one day of the week, divides them into tupperwares, and color codes those bad-boys with post-its. (!!!) I tend to either comb through my  bulletin board and make 3-4 recipes on a Sunday to enjoy throughout the week, or compartment cook (chop veggies, marinade tempeh, make a crockpot of beans, roast sweet potatoes etc.) and mix and match my meals day to day. Both of us tend to plan out our entire food week and eat similarly day-to-day with weekly changes to mix things up.

Making space for the actual lifting is not always the easiest thing to do, but for me it is one of the most positive aspects of my life, so I clear space for it like my happiness depends on it. I set alarms to make it happen, I recruit friends to lift with me, I work with a coach, I pop on a podcast that I have been dying to clear space to listen to and I get to it. There is no easy way to climb over a mountain of fear, fatigue, and general business and behind a barbell but I do it for my peace of mind. Maintaining peace of mind is a primary job of mine, and I believe that it should be for you, too. (Also P-fucking-S, lifting weights totally might not be the way YOU maintain peace of mind, and that’s completely 100% okay. I’m just saying, if you have an interest in fitness, getting involved in it can change your entire perception of self. It’s worth an early wake up!)

Holly said something really powerful to me about this subject that I keep replaying in my head: “We make reasons why we can’t and it is time to start making reasons why we can.” Fitness to me starts entirely with the attitude that I am worthwhile, and every time I feel stuck or sad PRing a lift reminds me that I am one that perserveres. I am a person that overcomes obstacles. Wellness is a gift I absolutely deserve.

I think you deserve it, too.
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Last but not least, this week debuted a new section of the podcast, called One Rep Snax.

One Rep Snax are foods that fuel our body to build muscle, achieve ultimate bad-ass status, and revel in a little bit of flavor. Holly’s choice was Beyond Meat Grilled Chicken Strips, which she likes to dip in hummus and wrap in spinach leaves for a cook bit of fuel. Mine was Nuzest’s Clean Lean Protein in Creamy Strawberry flavor, which I like to mix with ice and peanut butter in my Vitamix to make a PB&J flavored protein ice cream.
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What’s fueling your body and mind lately? How are you getting through your plateaus?

This entry was posted by Lacy Davis in Podcast and tagged crossfit, fitness, powerlifting, rise and resist, scheduling, snacks, .