I know the primary reason for my lack of weight-loss. Strength training. Yep, that darned muscle is doing me in on the scale, especially if I weigh in the day after a weight-lifting routine. Apparently when your muscles are recovering and rebuilding from strength training, they retain water....that's freaking awesome! So, new rule, no strength training the day before official weigh-ins.
I know that the muscle building will pay off. I learned recently that for every pound of muscle you build, you burn another 30-50 calories per day (Coopersmith, G. B., 2006. Fit + Female: The perfect fitness and nutrition game plan for your unique body type). Therefore, the muscle I'm building is going to have to start paying off on the scale eventually. I also know, as mentioned in a previous post, that muscle is more dense than fat, so even if I am losing fat and gaining muscle, I may not see a change on the scale, and could see (and HAVE seen) an increase on the scale if I am replacing fat with a similar volume of muscle. Knowing this is helpful, but it is still discouraging to work so hard and not see the numbers changing. My clothes aren't really fitting much differently at this point, but I am starting to see the differences, and I can definitely feel the difference. I know that if I continue doing what I'm doing, that my body will change, and eventually the scale will catch up. So, I'm trying to stay motivated.
It helps that my bestie/roommate, Neila has stepped in as a sort of personal trainer. She's already taught me a lot of about eating healthy. But recently she has been challenging me to workout smarter AND harder. For a while, I was just going to the gym, doing my cardio (either a class or 30-40 minutes on the elliptical) and going home. However, I wasn't being strategic with my time on the elliptical. I wasn't varying my resistance at all, just hopping on at Level 1, doing my time and leaving. And I wasn't doing any strength training (and if you don't know, muscle burns fat, so building muscle is essential). While this was better than nothing and was still getting my heart rate up, it's not as effective as varying my resistance. The first time I let Neila prescribe my workout, she kicked my butt. We started with an arm/chest routine that left me sore for nearly a week, and then she had me hop on the elliptical. "Put it on Fat-burning" she said...all of the sudden, the elliptical wasn't so easy anymore.
I must also tell you about my first encounter with the stairmaster. This ain't your mama's stairmaster.
No, imagine an escalator with slightly higher steps. Now imagine climbing that escalator while it varies speeds. If you can't keep up, down you go! So, when Neila said stairmaster, I got a bit of an attitude. Mostly because it looked scary and kind of boring. Scary yes...boring, not so much, I was too busy trying to catch my breath and dripping sweat to be bored. She could have been easy on me, let me start at a level 1, but where is the fun in that? No, she said "Level 5, fatburning, 15 minutes." I'm like, who walks up the stair for 15 minutes at a time? My initial teenage attitude soon turned into a fit of rage. Five minutes in, and I'm huffing and puffing and holding onto the rails for dear life. Neila says, "You know, you're a lot prettier when you smile." To this I answer a phrase containing a four letter word that I shall not repeat here. She says, "You don't like being pushed, do you?" I say, "No, not really. You should really stop talking. It's just pissing me off." Ouch, not my most shining moment...it's a good thing she loves me and know not to take this personally. I DID finish the 15 minutes, I did NOT die, or even puke for that matter. Then she had me on the treadmill for 20 minutes. She is definitely not an easy trainer...watch out Jillian Michaels!
My very rageful reaction to the stairmaster made me ask myself, "Why so hostile?" I realized my frustration was toward myself. I thought I had been doing so well. I could easily spend 40 minutes on the elliptical, I was getting in better shape...and here I am ready to quit after 5 minutes on the stairmaster. It is humbling to realize you are not in as good of shape as you had thought. It is also humbling to realize how little you have been challenging yourself. I had an epiphany: when things don't come easy to me, instead of trying harder, I tend to avoid them. Singing and academics came easy to me. However, sports and anything physical, other than dancing, did not. So, I shied away from them.
I have since faced my mortal enemy, the stairmaster, of my own accord a number of times. The first time, I was at the gym alone. I decided that the stairmaster would not rule me. I could face it without rage or expletives spewing out my mouth. And I did. I only did 10 minutes, as I had just done a legs strength routine and the muscle fatigue was too much. But, the point was that I got back on, and I did it without oozing hatred toward myself, the machine, and my best friend. Since this experience, I have been challenging myself, and allowing Neila to challenge me. I still sometimes get a whiny teenage attitude, but I know that I CAN do it, and that Neila is pushing me for my own good.
It's amazing how refining it is when you are put under pressure. It brings all of the nasty stuff to the surface when you are forced to face it. I'm thankful for a friend who isn't afraid to push me and who puts up with (and calls me out on) my attitude. Here is to being challenged and refined, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
