I recently finished a 6 week program that was straight-up fucking awesome. (Note that this has absolutely nothing to do with "Full House.") For those of you wondering, I have essentially become an Olympian. I squat and deadlift like Kendrick Farris, no big deal. Not really. But since 99% of people reading this won't know who Kendrick Farris is (I don't know much about him myself, other than he's fucking strong - Google him), I can maybe get away with saying shit like that...
In all seriousness, though, I did just finish a program that incorporated some sweet weightlifting, predator conditioning (no, I'm not a rapist, go look it up), whilst tossing barbells around, and throughout the 6 weeks, I had a really good time. More than anything else, it was really, really hard. I don't know how else to describe it. I'd finish a workout and then say out loud, "That was so fucking hard." And that happened pretty much every single time. Sorry about the f-bombs today, but they're merited. Completing the program is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Every day was a genuine challenge. I feel like I can say that I legitimately worked my ass off (at least part of my ass...it looks a bit smaller). Having pointed all of this out & being a shameless braggart, this would normally be the part where I discuss my tangible gains.
Side note, every time I reference "gains," I feel like a massive tool. So if you're judging me a bit for saying it, don't worry, I'm judging myself...
About those gains. I found that my weights for certain movements increased, which is dope. I've been excited about getting stronger with my bench press, both barbell and dumb bell, and I was particularly looking forward to measuring inches at the end of the program. Everyone has different achievements that resonate with them. For some, it's weight loss, for others it's improvement when it comes to a specific movement, maybe finding that you can run 10km without stopping, when 5km used to be your max. That being said, I don't know why you'd focus on running, since it's the worst, but whatever. For me, it's improvement with strength, and inches lost. Inches are a big one for me. I've never been super fixated on weight loss, although it's an inevitable and necessary byproduct of getting healthier, but inches click with me. Throughout this program, I've noticed my body changing, and I've been looking forward to updating my measurements to see how many inches I've lost. Upon completing the program, it was time to measure!
Zero. I'm down zero inches. In the words of every fitness douche out there, myself included, "NO GAINS."
Except that's not entirely true. And this is where the moral of the story comes in. Like, if this was an episode of "Full House," (BOOM!) Uncle Jesse would be explaining why it's mean to exclude the gawky girl next door, and what lesson DJ should have learned. And then DJ would invite the neighbour girl to come hang out, and Joey would probably do something awkward, and everyone would laugh. I'm not sure if I'm DJ, Uncle Jesse, or Joey - I'm probably the gawky girl. Anyway. I should probably get back on point...I just wanted to make good on my promise to awkwardly incorporate "Full House" into this post. Moral of the story. Right.
This really has nothing to do with anything, but how awesome are those hairstyles?! And I think Uncle Jesse is the only one who lifted...I'm just guessing, but it is John Stamos we're talking about here...
Moral of the story, fuck losing inches. At least for this round. Granted, that was not my initial reaction. My initial reaction was to feel like shit and get super depressed, and eat some cookies. Because obviously eating shitty food will help with my goals. That being said, after chatting with a couple of members of my #fitfam (gains and #fitfam in this post - brutal), I realized what a moron I was being. Maybe I haven't lost inches (if you want to be exact, I was the same overall, apart from my legs, which were apparently a half inch bigger), but I know the look of my body has changed, that I look tighter and stronger. And I am stronger. I know I am. The weights I'm lifting are heavier, and the reps have increased throughout the program. Heavier weights + more reps = stronger = GAINS. Moving forward, I'm going to dial my diet in, and I have a new 6 week program that I'm super stoked about.
I guess I just wanted to share this because it reminded me of how easy it is to feel discouraged, when in reality there's a productive way to look at every outcome, even if it's not what you would stereotypically be opting for. I've been working really hard and I will continue to do so, and because my body is a human body, there will be some variety in terms of results. And that's okay. It's also important to evaluate why you're getting the results you're getting. For me, my diet has been pretty good quality, overall, but it could use some structure and purpose, so that's what will happen. And in 6 weeks, we'll see how these changes impact my body. And if I lose some inches. Maybe some weight.
No matter what the outcome is, the next time around I'll refrain from eating cookies like a pussy, and I'll celebrate before I critique. And then I'll watch some "Full House," and learn some life lessons. Because clearly "Full House" and fitness go hand-in-hand.
Not really...
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