A little on exercise: Working with your body.
Last week I was in the gym feeling pretty good and I noticed myself starting to slip into an old mainframe- that pushing harder and pushing more is better. I have a program I am following, and I felt myself starting to think about the weight and the numbers instead of focusing in on my body. I worked to resist the urge to push mindlessly. It was like I was seeking to earn something else, something internal, through exercise. I was able to tell myself. ‘No, we are done doing that. We are done “not listening” to what the body needs.’ I very much used to go after my workouts because it is what was programmed and it’s what I needed to do to get real built. And it worked. I built some muscles. And I also built a lot of imbalance in which lead to injury. So no. We are not pushing to achieve in this workout today. We are asking ‘What does MY body need TODAY.’ And when we feel a slight tweak, we slow down. And re-align. This does not mean we don’t work hard. But we work smart. And yes I am referring to myself as “we”.
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (Almost30) and there was a wonderful guest, Alisa Vitti, speaking about working out with your cycle. “It’s not that you need to do more, you need to know what to do and when to do it. Talking about how to work with your cycle.” There has not been a lot of research on women’s health specifically. And even most of the latest research on fitness does not take into consideration the hormonal cycle that almost every woman on this planet is on. She talked about how in the first half of your cycle, you will have more energy. This is a great time to go take high-intensity classes, to push your body harder. Your metabolism is also slowed down at this time, and you likely won’t need to eat as much. In the second half of your cycle, too many high-intensity workouts may actually be working against you. This is the time to move into a different flow, something like yoga. -Of course, this is all generalized and depending on what you want to do and your fitness level, adjust these rules accordingly. But this is important information to take into consideration! During the second have of your cycle, you will also have a higher metabolism. So while you might be moving less, you will still be burning food faster, and you may need to eat more. Listening to your bodies’ natural rhythm can be a huge game-changer in how you workout.
I have gotten to take some awesome group fitness classes lately! The group fitness scene in New York is pretty much insane. But I think this is happening Nation-wide to a degree! I love group fitness. I love the community. I love that you are not alone in your fitness journey. I love that you have immediate accountability right next to you during class. And I am a group fitness instructor! So, of course, I love it. But there are some things I do not love. A group fitness coach or instructor is there to push you, and to give you basic corrections, but they are not really responsible for you. So do not give that power to them! If anything, that coach is there to push you. Many classes are now being designed to bring you to “failure”, meaning they are designed to make you work a certain muscle or exercise until your muscles give out and you cannot do anymore. I do not agree with this philosophy. I do not think this is what you need to do to build maximum strength. I believe that it actually slows down your recovery time and your ability to reach your potential. It also very often leads to people/athletes/whatever-you-consider-yourself, to get injured. Physical therapists love the fitness industry. It is job security for them. All I am saying is, have fun in these classes. And let yourself be pushed. A class will often be the reason you push yourself farther than you thought you could go. But ultimately, you must be the one to judge when you stop, when you rest, when you slow down or use less weight. Train smarter not harder. (Which will lead to being able to train harder :)).
A little quote from the one and only Annie Simpson (my beautiful and wise roommate), “When we do things out of alignment we don’t ultimately move forward.” These words are direct and spot on and exactly what I needed to hear the other day. I had gotten up early, at 4:45am to be precise, and rode the train downtown to sign up for a few different auditions. My period also hit first thing that morning. I got home and was wiped out. I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that I did not want to go back downtown for the auditions. But it was hard to let myself off the hook. I wanted to show up. I wanted to get in the room. I wanted to move forward with my career and every day counts. But my body was telling me to slow down. As it tends to do every month whether I like it or not. I shared my guilty feelings with Annie and she quickly wrote me the permission slip I couldn’t fully give myself. And then dropped that wisdom bomb on me. “When we do things out of alignment we don’t ultimately move forward.” Hmmm…. Maybe there is a reason our bodies slow us down each month (Not totally debilitate us- this I have much experience with as well and noooo I don’t think this is normal or should be happening. But a slowing down…. Hmmm maybe it’s part of the “flow” I have been working against. Haha pun intended). Maybe this is one of those moments- where slowing down is actually the fastest path.
These are important conversations to be having as women! We maybe have been having them privately for some time. But the time for privacy in women’s health is over. More subjects like this must be brought more to light and the taboo must disappear for real progress to be made through research and conversation. So let’s talk about it.
Bonus blog post coming Monday! It is not actually a bonus it is just a catch up from skipping last week. :). Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Weekend! Bless Saturdays. <3 ….And bless you if you work on them.
Here is me being a Barre Instructor at Fithouse Union Square! We are an all class club. Come take my class every Sunday at 9:30am and 10:30am. Check out our full schedule here.
