That said, it might make sense when I tell you about the agony that ensued when I attempted to do the workout I put her through Tuesday night as my own workout this morning. One of the bold aspects of my “schtick” is that I never put clients through exercises that I don’t actually do myself. Consider it the ultimate in empathy training—today, this cute little quirk of mine almost killed me.
It was never an innocent exercise, but it certainly didn’t seem out of control: at the peak of the workout I’d had Brittony do a push up with her hands gripping the sides of an upside-down Bosu, followed by 10 mountain climbers. Repeat 5 times? No problem. Brit handled it like a champ, and although she was tired at the end, she claimed to feel okay.
Brit works so hard and it’s really inspiring, so I was really excited to try her workout for myself when I got to the gym this morning. I made it through the lunges, the dips, the squats and the curls…then came the Bosu push up/mountain climber combo. I pushed through the first set of five and was amazed at how tired my legs felt as I struggled to reach full stride with my mountain climbers (I shouldn’t have been—I haven’t challenged my legs in weeks!), but the real kicker was when I tried to start the second set with a strong pushup. I just. Couldn’t. Do it. Or at least I couldn’t do it right. I felt my back tilt with the effort and automatically knew I needed to stop.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with myself for not being able to finish the set, but I this afternoon, I got the affirmation that listening to my body was the right thing to do. As I got out of the car and picked up my tote bag I noticed an extreme fatigue in my anterior deltoids (i.e. the front of my shoulders). It was a struggle just to lift my arm, let alone pick up the gigantic canvas tote Brian refers to as my “luggage.” I know my shoulders are going to be unbelievably sore tomorrow if they are this tired today, and had I pushed through the second set of push ups out of pride, I probably would have hurt myself and would not have been able to push up at all for a while.
So what’s the message here? Listen, and I don’t mean to the radio or the television or that new tough love book you bought in the self-help section at Border’s. Listen to your body—it’s an amazing tool. We gaze in wonder at documentaries about animals and their amazing instincts, but we short change ourselves for the ones we , too, posess.
I really believe that in most ways, our body knows exactly how to take care of itself, but we are so conditioned to ignore its messages that we often don’t hear what it says. Whether we’re eating when we’re full, deciding not to take a lunch break because there’s just too much to be done, drinking that 4th shot of tequila or try to do another set of push ups regardless of our form, it’s a dangerously human habit to ignore your body’s limitations.
Part of the permissiveness of my approach in Feel Good Training comes from the idea that you instinctively know how to take care of yourself and definitely know what feels good—you just have to practice trusting your own intuitions. Challenge your listening skills for the next week. Let your body tell you:
- When you are hungry
- When you are full
- When you are dehydrated
- When you are restless and need to move
- When you are tired and need to be still
- When you are comfortable and content
Listening to your body feels good. It is a method of self-respect and an exercise in self-trust. Try it.
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