Your Destiny, Your Focus

by Kris Pitcher

Controlling your destiny is within your hands. A lot of times it may not feel as though it is. I feel strongly about this topic and now is a good time to reconnect with the power you have to drive your destiny.

You attract things into your life with your thoughts. You can either focus on negative things and draw that to yourself, or you can focus on positive things and draw those into your life. The choice is yours.

We attract. This is why focusing on what we can control in our lives is really important, and smart. We can't control what other people do. We may influence someone else's destiny but ultimately they will make their life choices.

Focusing our energy, thought, or prayer on getting other people to do things is misplaced focus. If we turn that focus inward, internalize what we would like to attract to our lives...we begin to influence our own destiny.

We control very little, but the things we do control are very powerful in our lives. When we focus our energy on those our influence guides the right things. It's not easy. It takes constant correction, meditation, questioning, refocus.

Some people thrive on chaos. They create drama, clutter and confusion in their lives. We all have these kinds of people in our lives. And my question would be, are they really thriving?

Start with an intake of the things in your life you place importance on. Begin with your values, your goals...are you focusing on attracting the right energy in your life to make those things happen?

If saving for your retirement is important to you, a life value, yet you are over extended in debt to keep up with your circle of friends - I would say those things are not in alignment. You're not controlling your destiny. You are not attracting wealth by spending yourself into debt.

Same goes for your eating plan. If you have a certain goal, whether it's to compete in a physique event or not, and you have an eating plan to get you there...you have everything within your abilities to control your destiny. Going out to restaurants, eating off plan, or thinking it won't matter if you cheat this once isn't attracting the right energy. Your focus is off.

Only you can bring the right focus and attraction to your life. Others can assist you, but ultimately you must do that work. You must make that connection. It's your destiny, find your focus.

 

GPS by Restaurant

by Kris Pitcher

I had a funny experience the other day. The kind which solidifies - I'm different. You probably have these too. Being different is my normal, and there are certain times when it's just more apparent than others.

On the phone with a scheduler, I was preparing to visit a new office. One I hadn't been to before. The nice gal at the other end of the line was helping me understand where they were located and the conversation went something like this:

Scheduler: You'll take the exit and head North, you know where the old Marie Calendar's was?
Me: No.

Scheduler: Right near the Jack in the Box? You know where that is?
Me: No, I'm not familiar with the Jack in the Box.
Scheduler: Oh, well the Longhorns is on the left and the Mc Donald's is just further North, but then you've gone too far.

Now I'm actually laughing on the phone to her.

Me: I'm not familiar with the restaurants in the area...you're talking to the WRONG person (still laughing) but just give me a street indication and I'll find you.

We did go that route and finding the office was easy. Upon my arrival, meeting Ms. Scheduler I could see she was familiar with the restaurants in the area and GPS by restaurant was usually a successful way to help new clients find their office.

For me however, it was a reminder I am different. And that's just fine. It is OK to be different. It takes being different to reach the goals we have. It takes not knowing where the old Marie Calendar's was to have the physique we want to have.

We find our way just fine. We just use different markers than most. Instead of feeling like you stick out like a sore thumb...just know you are charting a different course, mapping your way by different checkpoints. You're using a different kind of GPS. Keep moving!

Training Specificity, Driving to an Island

by Kris Pitcher

When you're going somewhere it makes sense to take the direct route. For instance, you can't drive your car to an island...in the middle of the ocean. I'm not talking about the kind of island connected to a landmass by a bridge. I mean the one WAY out there.

Sure, you could put your car on a freighter, but your crossing would take several weeks. What most people would recommend is you get on a plane and fly there. You would take that seriously, because you know your car won't make it. It's not designed for the voyage.

Yet, when you have a very specific goal and someone really smart recommends the direct route people sometimes want to meander all over the place "driving their car to an island".

No, no - I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about less rational people. People who want to dispute the science. And cardio intensity is my favorite example of this within the contest prep family.

Science tells us at what intensity we most efficiently burn fat for fuel. Period. Not my science. The field of science. It tells us at what intensity we shift from one energy system to another, becoming less efficient at burning fat and so on.

But me and about three other people (and all my husband's clients because he teaches them why) continue to do steady state cardio at the low end of the HR zone. My point is, there are still a lot of people driving, while some are flying to the island.

My point is, when we are training for a specific goal, there are going to be specific training protocols we'll need to do in order to reach that goal. That's called training specificity. If you want to improve your tri time, you swim/bike/run...you don't do yoga.

When you tell your coach you want to become a better runner they put you on a running protocol. Isn't it silly for you to then complain and tell your coach you'd rather do your training in the pool because your friends are swimming? Silly.

You need to run to become a better runner. Just like there are certain things you need to do to be a successful physique athlete. Not the least of which has to do with your diet. Specificity. We're trying to accomplish something in a direct route.

At a certain point in our training as we become serious, as our event comes closer and as we have more limited resources in terms of energy to expend it's even more important to be specific. This means giving up some of the extra curricular recreational things. Meandering things.

It may mean we teach fewer fitness classes for a short time. Maybe it means we give up hot yoga for the final six weeks of our prep. It might mean we can't enjoy spring skiing. We have to assess and prioritize what gets us to that stage. And we have to remember, we can't drive our car to an island...

Toxic Timeline!

by Kris Pitcher

We have what I would describe as an, "I need it NOW!" mentality in our society. I fall victim to this false urgency too...it's not just you.

We get a plan and we want a new plan before we've even given the first plan a chance to work. We want change and we want it fast. We have a toxic timeline.

I look in the mirror and want to be ready for my contest now. My contest is in June. I can't be ready now...I need to be ready in June. And you can't be ready now either. You'll be ready in time.

I need it NOW!

If I were ready now I wouldn't be ready in June. And that would just be silly. It would be silly because there is no contest right now. I would be ready at the wrong time. So, I have to relax. RELAX!!!

My timeline is all set out for me, and so is yours. Mine is mapped out on the refrigerator to help me literally see it. Each day I can stand in front of my calendar and look at how many weeks until my contest.

Twenty-one weeks...WHEW! I don't have to be ready today. It's not time. I have time and I've allowed for time. That's what this process is all about. Now, I just need to keep my head straight about that fact.

If we stop needing "it" now, we can relax and do the work. We need to do the work each day, each day leads to a week, and a week into a month and so on. Pretty soon we've done the work to be ready and low and behold...it's time!

The energy invested in wanting it now is just nervous nothing. It creates stress and no one needs that. Let go of the toxic timeline and work on the here and now. Break things down into the daily tasks needed to get the big goal done.

What I see happen is we get paralyzed in this nervous energy wanting to get from point A to point Z, and we are unable to take the necessary steps in between. We need to be able to take the steps and do the work in between. This is what separates those who accomplish their goals and those who don't.

Get rid of the urgency. You don't need to be ready RIGHT NOW. You'll be ready in due time. You've timed it out just right so you will be ready at the right time. Trust that process. Put up your calendar so you can see how much time you have. Then allow yourself to do the work you need to do today.

There! Take a breath...doesn't that feel better? Allow yourself the time to become successful!

Living With Ants

by Kris Pitcher

A tropical place is a dream for a lot of people. The slowly swaying palm trees, the gently lapping waves...there's a lot of romance that goes along with it.

The way we spend time in a tropical climate might be a little different from the story book romance. We live there. I shop groceries there, cook there and clean there. And like any romance, when you live it, you see the real deal.

Dieting or contest prep is a little bit the same. The end result looks very romantic, easy even. But living it is the real deal.

In a tropical climate you can do everything right and have the best of extermination habits, and you are going to have ants. You do things differently than at home with food storage, food prep and clean up. Even when you, "leave no trace" those tiny ants are going to make their way into your kitchen.

They always do. The point is you have to learn to live with the distractions which are inevitable during dieting. They will come despite your best efforts. You can't exterminate them from your life.

The ants are going to cross your path and you need to be able to live with them, around them, without allowing them to make you completely crazy. You'll ask yourself, "What more can I do to make them go away?!"

The answer is nothing. You need to live with them. To be a successful dieter you need to live with constant distraction. You need to be able to think around the trail of ants. They were there long before you and will be there long after.

The distractions and challenges are the reality of living inside the storybook...where the romance is what we make it. It is entirely possible to be successful dieter if you can grasp the concept of living with ants.

The Scale Won't Budge!

by Kris Pitcher

Against your better judgement...you step on the scale. Hmmph! You step off and remove your socks. The read out on the scale still isn't "right". Stripping completely naked you take off your glasses and pee one more time. Why won't the scale budge!?

This is a scenario I know plays out in homes other than my own. I have to tell you, after a week of contest prep...the scale's a bit of a bitch.

But then I have to think about my expectations. I'm not going to pull big numbers in a week. I don't have big numbers to pull. This is a slow process. Starting twelve pounds up from contest weight...I'm not going to see a 3 pound drop in a week.

And my point is, stop being disappointed by the number on the scale. Reassess your expectations and settle in for the long haul. This is going to take as long as it takes. You're not going to get "biggest loser" numbers every week. Ain't gonna happen.

There are a few things at play that are important to consider when we let the number on the scale play games in our head. Foremost, it's measuring our total body weight. That is all.

The scale isn't measuring how much fat we've lost. It's not measuring how much lean body mass we've gained. And it doesn't know the first thing about our hydration.

Did you know a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds. Eight! The scale doesn't know if you've gone to the bathroom, eaten a meal, or sweated more or less today. It's a relatively useless piece of information.

If I told you I weighed 125 pounds, you'd believe me. Or, if I said I was 145 you'd believe that too. See? It doesn't matter. It's only a number. The number doesn't indicate whether I've been spot on with my diet, or done every second of cardio I was supposed to do this week.

The scale doesn't measure my workouts or how hard I lifted this week. It doesn't take into account how many hours of sleep I got. So whether it moved a quarter of a pound, or a half this week...my work remains the same.

When I check in with my coach and he looks at my body, or when he tests my body fat - these are indicators we can work with. I may have gained muscle and lost fat this week. I'd be beating myself up over that when I should be celebrating if all I did was pay attention to the scale.

So, from now on...think about skipping your morning trip to the scale. Think about what role it plays in your progress, in your success, or lack thereof. Your mind-set during this process is too important to be filling your head with useless information.

I won't be getting on the scale every morning before I get on my cardio machine. I've got my head in this game and I'm paying attention to the information that matters. What are you paying attention to?

I Just Want to Tone...

by Kris Pitcher

I would classify t-o-n-e as a four letter word. Toning. "I just want to tone...I don't want to get big or anything." I realize I've just been on holiday...but I could poke my own eyes out over this one.

Would you like to just tone?

Put down your fifty gallon purse along with your little dog and GET IN THE GYM! Enough is enough. You've done a great job getting started with your exercise plan by adding cardio to your life now it's time to put your big girl panties on and hit the weights!

You won't get big. I PROMISE. And you girls who "naturally put on a ton of muscle"...this isn't for you. It's for the "I want to tone"ers. You make up the 1%, I'd like to address the other 99% of the ladies out there with their 3 pound weights.

Can you tell I'm passionate about this? I have to work really hard to put on muscle. Really. Hard. You're not going to get all muscle-y. Lifting weights is really important, and I know you know that...because you do want to tone. Smile and insert sigh.

Seriously, you can pick up those 12 pounders for some arm curls (really, I've seen your handbag). And that leg press isn't going to hurt you. Fat makes us look fat, or big, or bulky - not muscle. Lean body mass is compact, taking up about 2/3 the space of fat.

Toned, ripped, shredded, stacked, whatever you want to call it - the work is still the same. The difference in looking toned and looking completely "ripped" is how much fat you want to take off. So, if you start looking too shredded we can always get you a taco.

My point is not to share my complete distaste for the word tone, but to let you know you don't have to be affraid of the weights. You're not going to get all muscled up over night. It's time to get in the weight room and add to your lean body mass. Crank up your metabolism, increase your bone density, increase your insulin sensitivity, make those weekend ski trips easier, or just...get toned.