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When we stop moving our bodies in intentional, mindful, organized ways things get soft and smushy. And then if we try recruiting and coordinating those muscles to do work like they used to, we see that it is a slower and more difficult process, right?
We know this to be true. We understand this. We’ve trained for an event like a marathon, an audition, a show, a wedding, whatever and then when it’s over we take a break, we go on vacation, we just…stop training and it all goes away.
I always say I wish I could just get in shape one time and stay there. But our bodies don’t work that way. We need consistent reinforcement and challenge in order to maintain strength, agility, wellbeing, and fitness.
OK, disclaimer, I have never done crossfit, I will never do crossfit, it’s not my jam. Yes, I have trained lots of current who become former crossfitters and I have friends who’ve been coaches and I have some insight yet not the insight of someone who has done it. Ok, now that we are clear on that!
If you are about to start a Crossfit program you know you can absolutely count on two things.
You’re committing to a regular, disciplined practice. You are jumping in and it’s go time. You need to show the fuck up to make it all happen.
You’re going to be sore AF.
Really effing sore. Like falling the last few inches to the toilet and not sure how you’ll get back up after soreness. Like so sore you feel it in your bones and your hair is sore. So sore that the sheets on top of you feel like the deepest, most aggressive massage you’ve ever gotten.
We expect this and we plan accordingly. We adjust our nutrition accordingly. We make sure we are hydrating well and that we are eating enough protein. Maybe we are even supplementing protein and complex carbs to help our muscles recover, repair, and grow. That part is called hypertrophy. It’s the opposite of atrophy. It’s the process in which we increase muscle mass and strength. And it requires tearing muscle tissue and then REPAIRING!
Ok, strength is built during the process of REPAIR! I’m really emphasizing this now because we are going to come back to this. And you KNOW I’m going to make it about feelings and relationships and boundaries, right? Good. I’m glad we are on the same page.
Ok, so if we started a crossfit program we would make all sorts of boundaries, right? We’d skip the late nights out drinking and eating “bad foods.” Side note: I don't believe in bad foods. We may become Paleo. We would prioritize sleep because we know we are getting our asses kicked every single day.
We will also experience something really cool called DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It’s awesome. Because you workout really hard and then you feel it later that day and a little more the next day when you wake up. But then! THEN! The second day you wake up like you’ve been hit by a truck. That’s DOMS!
And you can incorporate DOMS into your programming to maybe not hit it so hard on that second day after a BIG workout. Instead, you can plan for active recovery and more gentle movement in order to maintain the gains you made in your workout but not cause further, unnecessary, damaging tears that will inhibit your muscles’ ability to repair and actually build strength.
In other words, if we act like that BIG workout didn’t happen and just keep going like nothing happened, we never give ourselves a chance to repair. And say it with me now, strength is built in the repair.
So here’s my question, here is what keeps me up at night, what would happen if we took what we know about making gains at the gym and applied them to our feelings.
What if I knew that when I needed to create clear boundaries I also knew that I would need to give myself space to rest and recover??? What if I knew that I needed to NOT disappear and act like nothing happened and just keep plowing forward creating more damage?
What if after setting boundaries I worried less about managing the other person’s reactions and instead took care of my own feelings?
And listen, Crossfit is super intense. And so I chose it as an example because of its extreme nature. We can all agree we’d feel pretty…trashed after a crossfit workout, right?
And that’s because of how our bodies work physiologically to build muscle mass and strength. And this is how it works in crossfit, running, yoga, pilates, dance. This is how our bodies work in platonic relationships, work relationships, romantic relationships, familial relationships.
When we make moves in a new way, it is uncomfortable. And in order to learn the new thing, the old thing has to be broken and torn. THEN STRENGTH IS BUILT IN THE REPAIR.
We are multidimensional as humans. Yet we operate like we aren’t. We need different tools for different skills.
Biking, running, dancing, walking, cleaning, wrestling a toddler into pants require different combinations of movement, engagement, and release.
Conflict with my partner, a friend, a parent, a colleague each require different combinations of movement, engagement, and release. Different strengths and different challenges.
What I’m here to tell you is that if we train our insides, our emotional body, like we train our outsides, our physical body, we will be sculpted AF.
If this sounds good to you, you can get started next week in our FIVE week online mat class starting Tuesday, November 21st! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP! Plus, you’ll be the first to know about a BIG exciting opportunity to get sculpted AF this holiday season.
Xo, Alissa