Just Enough – My Take On Fitness Maintenance

Hi Everybody,

I hope this post finds you well, and still deeply invested in your healthy lifestyle. It’s been a VERY long time since I published a post about what’s going on with me personally. Over the past year I’ve felt pressure (from mainly myself) to angle my posts at informing and promoting. That’s all well and good, and helps build awareness for me and my brand, but to tell you the truth, there’s not much heart in it.

www.quickmeme.com
www.quickmeme.com

Every blogger will eventually express the feeling that they’ve told you everything. At one time or another we all feel bereft of meaningful content, and I’ve been in that place for some time simply because my schedule and goals have changed. I’m no longer documenting my personal journey as a transformee, and with the avalanche of daily information being pumped into the fitness universe, I don’t feel like shouldering my way through the ever-growing crowd just to parrot the same info with my spin on it. I’ve already reached my personal mountain top, and I got that t-shirt a loooong time ago.

So my current story isn’t so sexy anymore. In fact, I’m a little bit ashamed to admit how SELDOM I am training. The fact of the matter is that I’m a busy personal trainer and mom who works out very little. The combination of goals realized and, paired with some significant joint issues that arrived this past summer has left me a little out of sorts personally. The big thing I’m trying to figure out is how to inspire others by maintaining a reduced level of what I’ve got in terms of physique, while doing all I can to avoid pain and injury. If I’m not always striving and reaching in the gym, then honestly what is there to talk about?

I could talk about how getting older sucks, and that you have to really stay disciplined because burnout WILL, at some point, come knocking on your door. I could talk about how you should watch any medications you take because some of the side effects may seem crazy, but they’re real. I’ll leave that little tidbit for the next post because frankly it’s really demotivating to talk about.

But in the spirit of positivity, which I always try to present in this privileged space, I feel like there is a story to fitness maintenance. Keeping a decent amount of body fat off you for over 3 years is indeed an accomplishment. I want to be clear that it’s not the kind of maintenance from my final round of progress pics back in 2013. THAT was the pinnacle, and I’ll likely never reach that level again for a couple of reasons. 1) lack of desire 2) lack of ability 3) lack of time.

 

Don't write this one off - 14g protein
Don’t write this one off – 14g protein

What I’m doing now is frankly just enough. Just enough clean eating, just enough strength training, and just enough positive reinforcement to keep me in a good mindset.

It’s true. I don’t eat as cleanly as I used to. It’s actually kind of cool because with some trial and error I’ve realized that I have a little more leeway than I was giving myself in the food dept. For me it’s more like 70% instead of 80%.

In terms of workouts, I go in stages. Some weeks I’m feeling good and have the motivation to get in the gym for a full-body workout about twice a week. Some days I am sore and weak and it’s exhausting, so I just skip it. My current goals for training are to maintain good strength with push ups, pull ups and hip thrusts. I can still pull off 1-2 few unassisted pull ups on my good days, and that makes me feel terrific, even though at the height of my training I was busting out 3 sets of 8. I am hip thrusting about 100lb vs. about 245lb in my heyday.

With mindset, it’s all about my clients, and how my life has come 360 now because it is THEM motivating ME. And THAT is a very cool thing.Screenshot_2015-11-11-08-34-18-1

So on this lovely Monday, in the middle of autumn, I am a changed woman. I’m not who I was at 43 when this whole thing started, but an ever-evolving version of who my life makes me. It’s a little uncomfortable to admit that on the cusp of my 47th year, my fitness is not entirely within my control. It’s exactly opposite of what I’ve always preached, because most people actually DO have more control than they realize.

However, this bit of chaos has allowed me the unexpected gift of empathy and understanding for those who are in a similar situation. If I’ve learned nothing else in my journey as a fitness professional, it’s relatability that is the true measure of inspiration. And I’ve got the market cornered on that one now.

So enough about me. What’s new with you? How have you been? Tell me your stories!

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