Why
you should worry less about the number on the scales, and more about
the number on the bar
When
your main goal is to reduce the number on the scales, you do a whole
bunch of detrimental things. Firstly you probably go the usual route
of eating less and exercising more. This will only work if you are
grossly overweight. Eating less means less fuel, yet you
increase your activity levels. Your body has no option now but to
steal fuel from a valuable source – muscle. Reduced muscle and
reduced fuel intake results in a lower metabolic rate, which means
regardless of your increased activity, your body will slow down the
rate at which it burns fuel. You will also rob your body of vital
vitamins and minerals, which results in a less effective immune
system, and higher susceptibility to infection, mood swings, poor
sleeping patterns, bad skin and hair, etc. With the addition of
increased activity, and your body having less ability to recover,
you're likely to suffer from an increase aches and pains which take
longer to dissipate. Your ability to perform well at exercise is
dramatically reduced too. Think you can squat and deadlift heavy in
the state described above? Think again. Your health is adversely
affected, and your performance is adversely affected; but you've lost
those annoying few pounds right? Well it has probably been a struggle
to go through all of that to lose those few pounds – the sort of
struggle that's not sustainable. Eventually you will crack. You will
either get ill, or probably have a binge due to the cravings you've
created. Then you will despair at the thought of the weeks of effort,
poor health, running yourself into the ground to achieve the loss of
those few pounds, only to find yourself worse off for it, and likely
to have regained those pounds back again anyway. The long term
effects of this strategy also mean that each time you do this, you
further damage your endocrine system and overall health, which means
it gets harder and harder to achieve the same thing each time. Long
term; you're going backwards.
By
focusing on the number on the bar, you give yourself a performance
related goal. This will directly be affected by ALL other factors. If
you're concerned about increasing your deadlift or squat, you need to
ensure that you are functioning optimally. So you need to ensure
adequate and quality sleep. You need to ensure that you include
active recovery to be prepared to lift heavy. You need to ensure you
have fuelled your body correctly to have what is necessary to lift
that weight. You need to ensure you don't over-train so that you are
fresh for your lifting days. Now your body will function as it
should. Your health will be optimal. Your sleeping pattern will be
optimal. Your recovery will be optimal. Your mental focus and clarity
will be optimal. Your mood will be positive. And guess what? Your
body weight will be optimal too.
If
you focus on a performance related goal, everything else must be
optimally aligned to prepare for it. If you focus on bodyweight
alone, you end up sacrificing everything else to achieve pointless
goal. Think about it: If you say you want to lose a few pounds, what
do you mean? A few pounds of what? Fat probably. A few pounds of fat
from where exactly? Waistline probably. Why there specifically? So
that you will look better probably. So when you break it down you
want to LOOK better, not weigh less!
So
stop focusing on losing weight! Start focusing on looking better,
which will be a welcome result from focusing on better performance.
---
Challenge everything, especially yourself.
Alex Kay Grimmer
Contact me for Kettlebell classes and Personal Training in Southend-on-sea.
Please visit my website: ALEXKAY
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