If you've ever seen The Biggest Loser TV show, you're familiar with Jillian Michaels - the personal trainer who, at first glance, seems like the cruelest, craziest person on earth, but wow does she get results in terms of helping people change their lives (relating to exercise, weight loss, eating habits and personal growth). She's the person that you'd most dread to see show up at your front door, but if you were serious about making changes and want help, she's the best person to get you there.
On Saturday something came over me and I started channeling Jillian Michaels in the gym. Good thing I was alone in there. :) So, how did that come about, you ask?
Saturday morning I was over at my office doing a Health Kinesiology session on myself. That's one of the things I love about HK: that I can do my own sessions. One of the top things that my body said (using muscle testing) needed to be worked on was an exercise routine. I love to exercise and highly recommend Snap Fitness here in West Seattle. But I am admittedly inconsistent with my attendance when life gets in the way, and when I am there I tend to protect myself and not push as hard as I might be able to. A large theme of my personal HK session was protecting myself (and why it doesn't serve me), and the exercise work-up was no exception.
One thing about Health Kinesiology is that things don't usually come up as a body priority until you're ready to deal with it (and have dealt with other issues previously that might be holding you back from it). Working up exercise in HK consists of finding out what a person's body considers ideal types of exercise, how much to do, and how often. The type of exercise I chose didn't surprise me since it's what I usually do anyway and enjoy - weight machines and the Arc Trainer and recumbent bike for cardio. The amount of exercise did surprise me though, and I had to trust that if my body came up with it, it was possible.
I headed to the gym right after my session to try out my new workout. I was charged with doubling my weight workout - not the actual weight, but doing two sets of 12 where I previously did one. And I was supposed to nearly triple my cardio. It was feeling a bit impossible, I'll admit.
After a cardio warm-up I did my weights. Right from the start, it was challenging. I tried my second set of bicep curls and came up short. I was ready to give up and go to the next one. But something came over me -- the realization that I was protecting myself by not pushing as hard as I could and not having enough faith in myself, and living in fear of hurting myself, when my real fear is probably of my success.
As I mentioned, I was alone in the gym. So I started channeling Jillian Michaels and was yelling at myself out loud! Not berating myself, but being encouraging. Reminding myself that people on the Biggest Loser have weighed 200 pounds more than me, and have done 10 times the exercise! So stop playing games and DO it!!
If anybody walked in, they'd think I'd lost my mind. Hey, maybe I did. :) But you know what, I did it! I did every single thing I set out to do and I felt great about it. The accomplishment was absolutely amazing in that 90 minute session. I was back at the gym the next 2 nights (just for a 15 min. bike ride each night), and tonight I did the entire 90 minute workout again.
I'm finally having faith in myself that I can do this . . . that I can get fit and have fun doing it while trusting what my body tells me I'm capable of.
What are YOU capable of, but just can't hear your body telling you? We can work together to let you hear your body's own voice and the power that lies within.
(90 min. sessions are still buy one/get one free through July 15!)
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