The Truth about Training

My very first coach (out of four) pounded the hell out of my body at the gym. There were days I couldn't walk up the stairs from my bedroom. He's been the only one (besides me) who really knew how to train my body with an endomorphic metabolism that cannot handle carbs/sugar well. If you have a slow metabolism, make sure you really kill your muscles at the gym or the excess weight will remain. It's not "hard work"(like everyone reiterates), it's knowledge applied of knowing your body and then discipline.

For years, of going in and out of the gym, especially in college I was banging out full body workouts up to 3 hours for 3 days a week and did cardio every day (with the exception of a rest day). I wasn't sure what I was doing then, but working my muscles and trying to stay tight. I became " a creature of habit" just trying to look right and work off the food from the dining halls. The oreo creme pie or pecan pie I just couldn't resist. Doing the same shit on a different day wasn't helping. Or so I thought. When spring break rolled around, I remember my father remarking "Look at your arms...geez I can see your triceps! You been working those out?" (I know I blushed as I'd hoped no one around me at the airport heard my father's remarks) Or the stares I couldn't help but notice walking through the airport aisles. At the end of the day it felt great to have outside reinforcement that I was doing someTHING right. But, even, with some kind of progress, I couldn't help but feel like I could do more and that this body I was in still wasn't where I wanted it to be. I was growing muscle but I wanted my legs to thin down and my hips to align themselves with my shoulders.  It never seemed to happen fast enough.

I'm completely aware that history has been repeating istelf. At least 4 years after college and an insurmountable wealth of knowledge in training, I still have relatively the same workout struggles. After a hiatus from writing about it, laying low and re-dialing in, re-focusing and cleansing the energies of doom that seem nigh, I learned more faithfully the art of patience. That it is necessary when traveling this long road of ups and downs, of doubts and high hopes that whatever destination, whatever goal, you'll actually achieve it at your desired date. Too many times this journey has been "de ja vous". The daily peeks at my legs in the mirror to see if they'd gotten any tighter.  The stressing about how many carbs I'd had. The worry that the scale just isn't coming down fast enough. Or praying that my back would look bangin' as I decided to really kill them along with other body parts I felt needed more work. There were many days I found myself losing hope that my body would get tighter or that the muscle would look outstanding in size, but would have no striation. Until one day a month into my building phase, a training buddy yelled out to me while doing hanging abs, "Kristen, your back is effin sick!!!" Its little moments like that that become defining. Later that week, I sent pictures in to my coach. He replied.

"P.S. your back is sick, please do bodybuilding too!"

*big smiles* (God knows I am not ready for bodybuilding!) I had worked my back hard...but, I ALWAYS work everything hard!!  What I had done differently was I broke my own rules of only working body parts once a week. I had broken out an old training program an old coach had written up and started doing it. And within doing it, I started enjoying it. And within enjoying it, I started feeling my muscles grip and tighten and squeezed them and the gym became less of an habitual thing. And throughout stressing, I relieved my stresses and continued to eat.... enough.I became more purposeful in doing more than just "hard work". I was enjoying the work with the intent to connect with my body. All thoughts of what was going on outside those gym doors, I left in the parking lot. And in growing an ass, and a back...and having days of feeling shitty cuz I still couldn't fit into my jeans or dress because I grew an ass and a back, I still struggled to make some kind of visual magic happen. If you're not feeling your muscles working and you're just working out, you ain't doing it right my brotha's and sista's!! Two weeks later, my body let go of some of that ass and leg size. Patience never seemed like a better virtue to possess.

My very first coach did pound the hell out of me, like i said earlier. I thought the only way I could get results was if I could barely walk up the stairs. Its not true. And that result may be a symptom of overtraining especially if it takes more than 4 days for the swelling to go down thereafter. Ha!! He got me results but I don't need to go through as much agony and pain as he and the other two coaches had put me through via eating too much, too little or doing tremendous amounts of cardio.
The truth about having had 4 coaches is that they have all relatively taught me the same thing in different ways. The million dollar advice about really training, is that you MUST feel your muscles working. If you're not sure or you only "kinda" feel it, then try the exercise at different weight (lower or higher). You don't have to annihilate them and you probably should do your reps slower to get different results. If exercises are getting too easy, slow your reps down. You can lower the weight if it makes you feel the muscle more. They also taught me, to be smart enough to know my body, but faithful enough for them to guide me, which was always the hard part for me. Being independent while dependent is a very careful line to walk. So stop doing the same thing every time you're there. Veer off the script. I repeat veer off the script!! Very little truth has been found with simply following a script. In order for anything to come alive, in your body, in your mind or in your work, is for you to dig deeper to feel all in which you are doing. Please change someTHING up. Try not to do the same workout more than once in a week or two or if you do, again, change something up-- the sets, the weight, the time. Its classic muscle confusion that will always make you get the results you are looking for. I think what works for me, works for everyone. Train the muscle and enjoy it. Raise the weight every week if you can. You won't know what you can handle unless you raise the weight. Then after you've done all this, give yourself weeks, months to see some quality results. Be PATIENT. My diet is changed almost weekly. Its tweeked, its examined just like my body is. What you put in IS what you WILL get out...eventually. Revisit your diet if you think you're doing mostly everything right at the gym.

My coach presently is NOT burning me out with cardio and is NOT starving me and has shown me individually what I can do to help me be the best that I want to be and NOT for a season or for a photo shoot or competition, but for a lifetime. To me, that's the gold. Being balanced from the inside out. With or without a trophy. I want to look and feel fabulous all day every day and not because someone told me so, but because I really really feel it within me. With my coach now, its not a social activity with him. There isn't a team he's in charge of. Its business, and NOT as usual. He really enjoys transforming people. Thats what i need someone who's as passionate as I am about a passion of mine to better lead me to where I'm trying to go. He's made me conquer some fears weekly and get down to the bottom of recurring physical and/or internal matters. He first focused on me, individually, so that I was able to fully focus on myself with no distractions to give my body and my mind what it was seeking. Answers, stability and a profound independence in training myself to the best of my ability with some seasoned guidance and the ongoing motivation that my doubts are lies and my fears, my imagination. After 3 months of working with him, experimenting with food, my metabolism and many many glorious cheat meals later, leaning out hasn't been the "hell" he's described. I have egged him on for more "hell" and am really starting to see true results after being fed. Being fed with time, devotion, attention to my details and dedication to me as one person he's working with that he truly wants to be happy with their results.

"Kristen, don't worry about anything. That's what you pay me for. So that I can do that for you."  It was the best words any coach I think had ever told me. It was what I needed to hear. He took the globe out of my hands and is carrying my world of body issues for me. Now, that's what I wished I paid for sooner. Since then, with the trials and tribulations that would follow, (i.e.metabolic burnout, metabolic rebound, smh.. ), he would always start with, "Not to worry". And slowly, I trusted those words and now the results are coming.

 In coming 180, this is about being focused, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally stable. I've just wanted to learn my body. From 15 y.o. to 26 y.o. so that I don't spend 11 more years of my life struggling with the same issues. And for me, that means truly focusing on myself, in the gym, at home by myself, on or off of facebook, with or without my family. So much of working out is mental. When you're in the gym, date yourself. Stay in your lane and please, if you can, enjoy the journey of trying to figure out this amazing puzzle God has blessed you with. You.