Mean or Motivating?

When it comes to trainers, teachers, coaches, etc do you find the tough ones to be more motivating or do you need a more gentle touch? As I’ve been gym and class hopping for the last few months trying to find what feels the best since having the baby, I’ve been thinking about this more and more.

I remember when I was younger and I needed a new trainer for horseback riding, it was important to me and my mom to find one that wasn’t known for her yelling as many were back then. I keep thinking of those days now in these fitness classes again. One class I really liked had one teacher on Tuesday mornings that no matter how many times I went, or how hard I worked, this woman wouldn’t remember my name (there were 10-12 people max in the class) or crack a smile. I know some people who flocked to her class and loved every minute, but for me, not so much. The teacher who was there on another day, knew and remembered my name by my second class with her and while the class was crazy hard, still managed to smile.

Another gym class I go to is a borderline boot camp inspired workout. The instructors are tattooed, muscle popping guys that have been giving me the most intense workouts. And while they do push me and everyone else close to our bodies limit, they still smile, hug and shout words of encouragement.

I need that balance, I need someone who pushes me harder than I want to go but also keeps it fun and personal to keep me wanting to work that hard. Am I alone here? I’m still shocked about how many people loved going to the “mean” instructors class. Is it a personality type?

Which instructor/trainer/teacher would you go for?

Workout attire

How much is too little to workout in? I’m not a modest person and I think people, especially women, should feel empowered to wear whatever they want to whenever they want to. That said, I’ve recently found myself thinking quite prudish thoughts over the last couple of weeks while working out.

The first time was during my favorite “pilates on crack” class (they seriously are ok with being called that) called SLT. In the room are about 15 mega reformers that we do a lot of bizarre moves on, many of them bending over. A woman two reformers down from me took her sweatpants off in the middle of class and was left in shorts that were just barely bigger than a bikini bottom. She seriously looked amazing, but (butt?) when she would do the moves, I ended up getting a serious birds eye view. My friend who was next to her said something along the lines of “I just saw as much as her gyno does.”

Next was in my spinning class. It’s common that some of the men take off their shirts and some women work out in a sports bra in this class. It’s hot, we sweat a lot and many of them look amazing. This one woman was no exception- she looked amazing in her sports bra. What stood out to me was how she had rolled down her waistband of her pants so low that her C-section scar was visible, if not more than that.

While both women looked amazing in their outfits or what was left of them, I couldn’t help but think of how exposed they were. Not in a judgmental way but more in a hygienic/borderline obscene way. I should note that both women are older than me so it can’t be old age is causing me to be prudish right?

Have you ever seen someone wearing something you were shocked by at the gym? Would it make a difference if they didn’t look as good in their outfits?

Scaling Back

I’m a numbers girl. Numbers make me feel safe- they don’t lie, they make sense, basically there is nothing to dispute when it comes to a number. Except sometimes when it comes to a scale. Studies have shown that people who weight themselves frequently are less likely to be overweight and can maintain their weight over long periods of time. Even daily weigh-ins can be beneficial and keep you honest about where your weight is.

Because scales can vary from one to another, I normally ask my clients to stay away from the scale during our active weight loss phase and just have their weekly/biweekly weigh-ins in the office. Once they move into maintenance, I have them figure out their scale schedule so that they have a consistent weekly weigh-in to keep them in check with their eating (one client dubbed it #weighinwednesday- love her!)

While the goal of the weigh-ins is to keep you on track, it occasionally can backfire. Some clients can get too focused on the number instead of how they’re feeling or perhaps an accomplishment that was challenging for them- like turning down a trigger food. Other times, seeing the scale stay stuck can cause frustration and discouragement. Or even worse, cause behavior that’s not productive, like skipping the gym or eating too much.  Right now, my scale is only causing me to be frustrated.  So I’m doing what I ask my clients to do- scaling back and stepping away from the scale. My scale is right now deep in my closet where it will stay for the month of January.

The purpose of “scaling back” is to allow yourself to focus on other achievements besides the number. Some refer to it as non-scale victories. I’ve been so proud of my workouts and my eating but I’ve let the scale ruin that good feeling. So for this month, I’m telling the scale to get lost…I will get back on it come February 1st but for now, I’m looking forward to this small break.

How about you? Would you give up your scale for a month?