Hello there!
Hope you are having a great weekend. I certainly am.
On to the 3 things for today
on a different way to think about cravings
on how strong we need to be (or) when to stop chasing numbers
on where I fell in love with fitness
I’d love it if you can share one of these posts with a friend. Please note that you will be sharing the original post from my blog and not the gist you see below.
on a different way to think about cravings
If we think of eating a salad as "I need to eat healthily so I can eat ice-cream later" or we think of going to the gym as "this sucks but I have to do it because I am ...", then the mindset is flawed. And sooner or later, your endeavour is going to fail. This is why a shiny object is better, as it will at least get you doing something fun and enjoyable.
The burn that we get when we workout, we like that feeling. We enjoy that feeling. We look forward to that feeling. So, we chase that burn. Even though that burn is not really a pleasant feeling.
When we “eat clean”, we get cravings rather immediately. And instead of fighting that craving and either giving in or being annoyed and fighting through - how about we reframe our thinking? That craving is a signal that you are doing something right. It means you were “addicted” to something and you are slowly winning over it. In a week, the intensity of the craving will be different and you will be the boss of whatever you are craving.
This is not the only way to think of cravings. There are times to indulge. There are times when a square of dark chocolate to satiate the sweet tooth is a great idea. And there are times when we don’t give in.
They are all tools in our toolbox.
on when to stop chasing strength numbers
This is an incredibly complex topic and this is one of my first attempts at solving it.
Strength is the foundation on which we should build all things.
It is possible to get strong, at whatever age.
Always focus on form and technique, and when possible, be coached. You can do this via freely available material online, or via books, or by hiring someone. Whatever works for you.
Chasing numbers becomes an irrelevant game after a few years of training experience.
We are our own competition. What someone else lifts is unimportant. What you lift (as numbers) is unimportant.
What is important is that you are strong.
If you think you are only strong if you can lift a certain number, whatever that number is, you will feel pretty weak most of the time. Strength is not a data point; it’s not a number. It’s an attitude.
– Pavel Tsatsouline
But we also need to set goals and move in a generally forward direction. For this, it is useful to have some standards.
To do this, start with getting the baseline standard where it needs to be.
And once you get here, you can aim for the next step.
This is a great place for most of us to be and we don’t need to chase more. Unless we make this our game. Two paths are available - go out and do more things. Play a sport, spend more time with your family knowing that you are strong and healthy to take care of most things, find a new hobby.
Or if the lifting bug has bitten you, get even stronger.
And this is a great place to stop and look around for something else to do. You’ll still go to the gym and lift coz you enjoy it. But you can absolutely stop chasing numbers at least by now.
For men, the numbers are different. You can check them out here, as well as the longer version of this post with a lot more clarifications.
Please note that these are for regular folks like me and the people I coach - everyday people with busy lives, families and all that.
These are not calibrated for age or for height-weight yet. As I said, this is a work-in-progress.
The point is to know where to stop chasing numbers. You can stop anywhere - at the baselines, at the second slide or the third. You figure that bit out.
on where I fell in love with fitness
San Francisco CrossFit is closing its doors permanently, in large part due to the pandemic.
It is where I fell in love with fitness. It is where my identity evolved. It is where the germ of The Quad took place in my head.
It is where I felt the power of supportive coaches and an incredible community.
It is where I learned to stop thinking and getting in my way.
It is where I learned I could get strong.
It is where I learned that I was not “weak” or “had zero stamina”. I could be whatever I wanted to be.
It is where I fell in love with fitness.
And even though it is shutting down, it will always live on. Through me and the others that it has touched.
Every student I coach, there’s a little bit of SFCF transmitted into them.
You can never take SFCF out of me.
I will forever be indebted to the incredible coaches and community!
Thank you for making it till here! Will see you next weekend.
