“Sometimes you don’t know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”
I remember posting these words on my Facebook page after another one of my many break-ups. I don’t remember which one exactly, as I had a long history of dating some terrrrrible guys. Not that it was always them, but us together, for sure.
Part of the consequences ofbelieving the liethat my body and beauty were responsible for determining my self-worth and the subsequent feeling like I was never thin/fit/strong/beautiful enough to actually grow any self-worth, came with a side effect ofchoosing the wrong dudesto date.
So naturally, one of the best wake-up calls God had for me was any time I got my heart busted by some guy I was depending on to fulfill my value. Eventually, I learned the lesson that no man can fulfill the God sized whole in your heart—only God can do that.
SO, I digress in this story only to say that I found outhow strong I was emotionally, really, one heart-break at a time. It waspainfulbut I don’t regret any part of it. It’s how I learned to be resilient.
You might feel the same way about your tragedies and heartbreaks in life.The things we often think will break us wind up building us into who we are today.
But this quote above popped into my head the other day when I was reading, for probably the thousandth time in my life, THE MOST IMPORTANT VERSE IN ALL OF THE BIBLE. Jesus said,
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Luke 10:27 (c/r Deuteronomy 6:5)
The hardest part of this passage is not the word LOVE. We all looooove love, don’t we?
The hard part is the word ALL.
And the part of the command that says “ALL YOUR STRENGTH” is especially tricky because the only way to get to know your “all”
is to TEST IT.
One of the COOLEST things I get to do for a living is to help women find how STRONG she is physically and watch how it transforms her internally.
Not only does it help build her body, but it builds her confidence, her self-efficacy, and yes, if you take this scripture above to heart, even her love for God
But the part that is TRICKY as a health coach and trainer is convincing my clients to do a self-test to find her MAXIMUM STRENGTH.
There is a name for finding ALL your physical strength through weight training and it’s called your 1 REP MAX TEST.
For my clients in my (*brand new*) STRONG’herFitness & Mobility plan, I actually have her do just a 10 REP MAX test (which I’m going to give you below if you want to try it out too) so she knows how much weight she should be using for the various goals of the program. But even this one has been a hard sell.
It’s really important: knowing how STRONG SHE IS helps her reach her goals.
That MAX TEST number is actually VITAL information to be able guide her in how much weight she should be lifting during the progressive “Periodized” training.
For example, for Period 1 of my STRONG’her Program the goal is to grow “Muscular Endurance” which is a fancy, fitness word for the ability to complete many repetitions (i.e. 15-20) at a moderate weight for the purpose of building up greater endurance and stamina.
For this goal, I recommend that she use a weight that is roughly about 65% of her 1 Rep Max.
Therefore, knowing what her MAX is allows an accurate weight use for those workouts and she doesn’t go too light(which is unproductive) or too heavy (which is unsafe).
Muscle building has a different goal; strength building has a different goal; power has yet another goal. My programming takes each client through all these types of trainings to achieve the optimal body health while avoiding overtraining, boredom, and plateaus! <—Avoiding this stuff is really important to help you stick with your health goals, right?!
So, it’s something I give to all my clients to go and perform as a SELF-TEST.
But naturally, not many of my clients really want to do it (and of course, I don’t make it mandatory).
Willfully putting herself in that rather painful experience of MAXING out her muscles, to what’s literally called muscle “FAILURE," is a hard sell as a trainer.
It got me thinking that this must be why God has to get our attention through the shocking events in life. If He relied on us being willing to getmax tested in our emotions, our relationships and our faith, we would neverdo it.
We as humans avoid pain. Period.
It’s why I ended-up dating so many guys that were not right for me…I was avoiding the pain of feeling lonely.
It’s why we can hold on to grudges and resentment… we avoid the pain required for true forgiveness.
Your health might be less than stellar right now simply because you’re avoiding the pain that comes with cleaning up your eating and exercising.
But avoiding pain is one of the worst things you can do for yourself if you actually want to achieve your PURPOSE in life and achieve your dreams.
“You don’t know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”
Your ability to tolerate PAIN is directly proportional to knowing how STRONG you really are.
Knowing how STRONG YOU ARE is vitally important to being able to LOVE GOD with "ALL YOUR STRENGTH."
Being able to LOVE God with ALL THAT YOU ARE is the #1 way to find purpose, fulfillment and achievement in this life.
It comes at a cost and will require some pain in life. But that pain will teach you true resiliency and true Love.
So, with that in mind I decided I wanted to share this 10 REP MAX protocol with you today too because I believe that if you practice being willing to endure some pain PHYSICALLY, it can translate to what you can also handle INTERNALLY.
Because I know that when you have to courage to stop avoiding pain and actually TEST YOUR STRENGTH, you are gifted with the ability to actually USE IT.
So check it out below and send me an email back of what you thought of the experience. Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?
There is no other area in our life where we choose PAIN as much as we do in the form of intense exercise. Think about it, for those of us that have the real love for exercise, we seem to have some sort of masochistic connection to it. “It hurts so good” we say! “No pain, no gain” we shout!
We actually PAY MONEY for classes and trainers that practically torture usand we love it.(Ok, maybe not ALL of us love it, but I do sincerely believe that every body out there can find one (or two!) forms of exercise that fits just (w)right with your body that you too will love to hate.)
It’s true, to build muscle we must first break muscle.It is a physiological fact.A design from God Himself.
What we get from this truth is a strong life lesson that we must apply to all areas of our True Health.
In order to “grow” in our MINDSET and in our SPIRITUAL life we must endure some pain and accept change.We must dig deep and get uncomfortable and persevere through some pretty tough times in order to get the ultimate reward of greater health and a greater life.
How can we do this intentionally?It IS slightly different than the PAIN you get from exercise, because often the emotional pain we may seek won’t have that wonderful “endorphin” high that exercise has nor will be it be over in the 45-min time frame that every good solid workout should fit.
Here are 4 ways I think we can intentionally endure some PAIN to get the life GAIN in life of living God’s Greater Purpose for our life:
P:Plan—Set. some. goals. To step out of your comfort zone and grow by taking some risks in life, make some goals that feel BIG and write them down! Then, set out a general plan on how you’re going to get there and #justdoit.You’ll be surprised in how effectively motivating writing down your goals are, especially with a deadline!
A goal for your MINDSET might be something like reading a certain # of books in a month or year about _______ thing you are struggling with or just want to learn more.It might also be to take the risk a seek that guidance counselor or therapist to deal with that thing from your past your been subconsciously avoiding and “numbing” yourself from your whole life.
A SPIRITUAL goal might be to find a church home where you connect with the way the Pastor teaches or the community of the congregation (this usually takes a few “interviews” to find!).It might also be to seek the answers to the HARD QUESTIONS you have about your Faith or beliefs by committing to reading God’s word or asking someone that knows more.
“I know I am not yet what God wants me to be.I haven’t reached that goal, but I keep moving forward to make it mine because Christ made me and saved me for this.” (Philippians 3:12-15 Living Bible)
A:Adapt— As you write out some goals that allow you to take some risks and branch out of your comfort zone, you will find you might hit some bumps, delays and road blocks in your dream or answers you seek.You might FAIL a couple (read: hundreds) of times too.Here is your grand opportunity to really grow by adapting to these changes in your plans.We have to constantly adapt our plan to God’s plan in order to find the path He has set out before us.We cannot discount ANY experience we have because there are no accidents in God’s will for our life.If you take every opportunity to assess and adapt to the trial you are facing, you will learn and grow in Faith!
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
I:Invest:To truly experience the life-changing and life-saving things that will transform your MIND and grow your SOUL, you will need to invest in your CHARACTER above all else.When God guides you through life, He intentionally takes you through some challenging circumstances that make you wait, endure, and persevere. All of these things are designed to build your CHARACTER.
As Rick Warren always says, “God is not interested in your comfort, He’s interested in your character!”God is trying to give you the opportunity to grow and be more like His son Jesus. Our character is ultimately what we take with us to heaven, not our bodies or our circumstances!When you are being tested, you are given the choice to choose your human, fearful response, or to invest in character and choose the loving and Kingdom response.Invest in your character by seeking God’s will more and more.
“For our present troubles are small and won’t last long.Yet they produce in us a glory that vastly outweighs them all and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
N:Nurture:Just as with our bodies, we are not designed to be in PAIN all the time!Oh no, we are designed to need some rest, some recovery and some nurturing.This is God’s role when we are branching out in our MINDSET and our SPIRITUAL health.God is our refuge and is the only thing that we can find real comfort from in times of discomfort and pain.He does not just abandon us and leave us to figure it out on our own!No, he is there to give us His fruits of the Spirit and connect us to our God-given courage, strength and power to persevere.
The purpose of our Greater Purpose pathway is to grow in our relationship with God.You will find that the beauty of our Pain is that these are the times we feel God the most.You grow in your Faith and Love with God at these times which allow you to keep going and even love this pain too!
Just like Paul said, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)
When you see how much you can GROW from intentionally enduring some pain in life, you will become just a “hardcore” for your MINDSET and SPIRITUAL growth as you are for your CrossFit, Paleo or Vegan diets! #imaginethat
Monday on the blog as the inaugural #STRONGherAUGUST series I went over the #1 way I get into my health rhythm and flowwwwwww…..
RITUALS!
Today, I want to share exactly how I am currently #Ritualizing my WORKOUTS!
As much as I love the burn from lifting and the endorphin high I feel after I get in a good session, I don’t often “feel” like getting over to the gym. But by #RitualizingIt!, I add in little “me” components that make me feel better, look better, and therefore incentivize me to show up for ME.
Here are my current TOP 5 WORKOUT #RITUALS:
1. Look Good, Train Hard:
I kinda stole this from my girl Serena Williams motto, but honestly, I train MUCH HARDER when I put on clothes that make me feel hotter than my normal disheveled look (which I may or may not be currently representing while writing, glad there are no cameras right now!), which is why I recommend you to definitely look into buying some good quality gym clothes, similar to the ones available from companies like Anax Fitness! So yes, I’m the girl that puts on some tinted moisturizer, mascara, lip gloss or WHATEVER makes me feel better when I walk past the mirror at the gym.
I know it doesn’t matter to God or to anyone else what I LOOK LIKE on the outside, I do this because it matters to me what I FEEL like. I am a person that unapologetically feels better when I put in more effort. That’s just me.
I mean it seems to work for Serena right? She always looks great when she takes to the court, and she looks even better when she has reigned triumphant. What are the chances? I would love to have the chance to play a bit of tennis, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ve heard one of my friends say that I should probably try and find my NTRP level to help me determine where I rank and then go from there. It’s not a bad idea, but I’m not sure if it is something that I want to look into just yet. I think I’m more interested in what I look like when exercising.
This also means that I do care about my workout clothes too! I love a cute hat which I will wear with some hoop earrings (don’t judge), a breathable but slimming workout top and any pair of pants that makes my booty look dyn-o-mite!
Yeah, when I first put on Lululemon pants and look at my arse in the mirror, I was like……
Here’s All My Money Lulu!!
This ritual works! The second I have a new top or accessory, I’m that that GYM!
2. I Started A Training Notebook:
I’m organized in certain areas of my life more than others, but I wouldn’t say I’m exactly “Type A.” I’m a solid “Type B” which I don’t think is a thing, but I just made it one.
One area I have upped my “Type-B”ness is in this kinda “old school” idea of starting a workout journal,. I started only recently to write down and recording how much I’m doing, burning, and lifting for my workouts and it has been making a HUGE difference in my motivation and progression!
Also, I find that the act of writing down my workouts IN ADVANCE helps to make sure I push myself hard and record how well I did.
Then, the next time I do that same lift, like Back Squats for example, I know exactly where I need to start from and make more concerted efforts to increase my weight, reps or intensity.
This is the policy that I actually love to see for my Health Coaching clients for their personalized workouts I give them each week. It helps to be held accountable for the training and to really see the marked improvements!
#Ritualize it even more by making it some cute notebook the represents you!
3. I Ritualize My Warm-Up:
To make sure I do it, I came up with a routine that kinda gets me going, warms up my joints, and ensures I remain as injury free as possible these days. I prescribe the same warm-up to all of my health coaching clients too.
WARM UP RITUAL:
In includes:
5 Mins Foam Rolling (legs, glutes, lats)
Dynamic Stretching (moving through Yoga Sun Salutations etc.)
Diaphragmatic Breathing (deep breaths in, slowwwww exhale as if breathing through small straw).
I also have been STARTING my workouts these days with some HIIT Sprints for 10 mins. I used to do them as a “finisher” of my workout, but more often than not I would cut out on them early if I was short on time. I read on one of my favorite writers and mentors, JillFit.com that if you start your workout with your HIIT sprints, it helps to slim down legs for those of us that carry our weight mainly in our legs. The jury is still out on whether this strategy WORKS or not for me (these things take time and consistency), but overall I like doing the sprints early to just get them done.
Pre-Lift HIIT:
To do these, I use my Heart Rate monitor on my Fitbit Charge 2. Its the best I’ve found, plus it looks amazing with my replacement pink band from Mobile Mob. I will run at an exerted speed until my heart rate reaches 85% of my max HR or higher (the orange zone), then walk slowly until my heart rate gets back down to 60% of my max HR (the blue zone). I repeat this effort for as many rounds as I can fit into to 10 mins. Done!
An example of an effective HIIT workout! You want your HR to get high and recover too to get the most fat burning, metabolic pushing heart rates possible!
While I don’t think its “good” for our bodies to do the same workouts too many times in a row, to #Ritualizesome parts makes it a “no brainer” to just get it done!
4. My Mind:Body 1,2 PUNCH:
While I love a great play list to get me into a workout zone, lately I have been really into using the time to soak up some KNOWLEDGE. I will listen to a Podcast or book on tape via the Audible app a good 90% of my workouts these days!
With a full-time business start up, I feel like there is always more I want to be learning right now. I call myself very “spongy” for the amount of knowledge I’m trying to soak out of every minute of every day. But I find it really helpful in processing the information through movement and offers a very nice, NEW distraction away from the workout. Having a new business is difficult. Things move very slowly at the start, meaning that it can be worrying for business owners to know when their company is going to start making money. It’s also difficult for small businesses to grow internationally without a merchant account provider, however, some of them class smaller businesses as high-risk if they’re not making enough money. Additionally, high risk merchant accounts may have more chargebacks than other businesses, meaning that merchant account providers are more likely to go for the safer option. That’s always in the back of my mind. If we don’t make enough money with the business, we might never be able to grow it internationally. Workouts often take my mind off this.
My current favorite Podcasts are: The Fitcast with Kevin Lararabee Amy Porterfiled (online business guru) The Nutrition Diva with Monica Reinagel
Spiritual Podcasts I love (all have a very different “style”): The Rock Church (San Diego based Christian Church) Daily Hope with Rick Warren (Orange Country, CA) Christ Community Church (Greeley, CO where I’m from)
T.D. Jakes The Potters Touch (Dallas, TX Southern Church!)
Audible Recent Favorite Audiobooks: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Daring Greatly by Brene Brown The Power of Full Engagement by Jim or and Tony Schwartz Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
5. My Post Workout “Health” Treat:
So “treat” is kinda a lame term for my psyche and I DON’T want to indicate that I actually think some foods are “treats” in the way that makes them “bad” in the way that makes them “guilty pleasures.” Overall, I’m talking about carbohydrates which I associate as my “treat” foods because I don’t necessarily eat starchy carbs at every meal. For my body type, lower starchy carbohydrates work best for me and I will try to eat them mainly around my most active times of day.
Right after my workout is the BEST time to eat starchy carbs so I will use this incentive ritual to treat myself to something that I otherwise don’t eat on my rest days due to my lower activity. (The more active I am, the more carbohydrates I eat to help sustain high energy and a high functioning metabolism.)
The perfect example is a Protein Bar…a.k.a glorified candy bar. I have been loving the Nugo STRONGER Bars in the low sugar flavors (I have bought from Whole Foods, Sprouts Market and on Amazon). I also love the RxBar brand (sold online) because these are made of only “whole food” sources like egg whites, almonds, dates etc.
(I get no endorsements or free products from either company, just wanted to pass along my current favorites!)
Another great post workout treat I love is a PROTEIN PANCAKE. I’ll make them “whole food” based as follows:
1/3 Cup Pure Pumpkin
1/4 cup Gluten Free Oats or Qia Seed
3-4 egg whites
2 Tbs Coconut Flour
1 Tbs Arrowroot Starch
Vanilla, Salt, Stevia (if desired)
Cook stove top approx 2-3 mins each side on medium heat.
Top with fresh berries or banana, coconut butter or almond butter.
Having a solid 5 rituals to help me get to the gym, enjoy it as much as I can that day, and get it DONE are really all I need.
I’m curious, do you have some gym or workout rituals that make things more enjoyable for you? Please leave a comment below on what rituals you have been into lately and why you think they are working to motivate you! Help others learn new tricks!
