Sweating the small stuff

This is a post I made for my gym group, but figured it was worth posting. Enjoy!

So I know that a lot of people start thinking about goals this time of year. We look back at what we've done this year, and we look forward to what we want to accomplish next year. This is a super powerful thing to do in life and specifically for our ninja health.

Of course about 1 month from now is when almost all of us start kicking ourselves for "failing" our New Year's resolution. Lots of smart people have written about how to help make "attainable" goals, so I'm not going to spend time waxing on that. What I do want to talk about is Sweating the Small Stuff.

Sweating the Small Stuff has a bad wrap. It is definitely important to let insignificant things roll of our backs, but the phrase can have a really positive connotation. We're Ninjas. We like sweat. When it comes to goals, Sweating the Small stuff is what it's all about.

It's great to set big goals for ourselves. "Lose 40lbs," "Get a promotion," Etc. The problem with these goals is it's easy to kick ourselves when it takes a LONG time. Most of these big goals don't happen overnight. Or sometimes even within a few months. The question is what do we do in the meantime? Someone really smart once said that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Of course that first step doesn't take us very close to our goal. By about step 100, we're probably ready to call it quits.

The way to avoid this frustration is to create small goals that build to your larger. Ideally, these aren't even counted in the same way. If you want to lose 30lbs., don't make a goal that says "I want to lose 5lbs" and rinse and repeat. Maybe one of your small goals will be to make sure you hit the gym AT LEAST 18 times this month. You know that this will help you get there. But you also have a very short time period to allow yourself some small celebration for achieving that goal. Allotting yourself smaller goals allows you to have a lot of small victories. It also allows you more room if you slip up. It minimizes the vicious cycle that is so easy for us to fall into by allowing a mistake to assume we've destroyed our goal. It helps keep us from procrastinating. Varying which goals you focus on also helps alleviate boredom while working hard to get what you want.

So remember Ninjas. We all want and deserve big things in our life. Lets Sweat the Small Stuff to help us make sure that we get there. Oh and enjoy my new inspiration below. :)

A Snatched Life

Anyone who has talked to me for more than about 5 minutes will tell you that when I believe in a product or service, I am intensely passionate about it. So when asked to write a testimonial about my experience in the 6-Week "get fit" program called Snatched, I thought I was in for a no brainer exercise. What I realized as I sat down to write is that what happened in the last 6 weeks touched so many aspects of my life, that I was having a difficult time summing up exactly what it was about this program that affected me so much. It was at that point I realized it was time to dig in deep. Luckily I have this lovely space with which to expound upon thoughts and ideas as much as I please.

First the quick background. Mark Fisher Fitness (MFF). I had heard of this place because I work a lot with Broadway Cares, specifically with Broadway Bares, and this year MFF was a big sponsor, helping several of the dancers get where they wanted to be before the big show. Seeing their commitment to a cause I care about, it was no surprise that when I wanted to shake up my fitness life I looked towards them. When I went on their site, I was instantly hooked by the great atmosphere they seemed to project, including lots of glittery rainbows and epic unicorns. I could tell that they took their motto "Ridiculous Humans, Serious Fitness" very seriously. I was cracking up over phrases like "sex may count a your day's physical activity, but I'd have to see it in action to be sure" and "Not sure about us? Let's just hook up." I decided if I was goi
ng to do something, this is where I would go. All I needed was the catalyst.

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I guess sometimes the opposite can be true as well. I came to MFF after a hard break-up intent on using our vacation money to get what I affectionately referred to as my "revenge body." I heard about this program called "Snatched" that was meant to really get results and set you up for success in 6 weeks. I decided to take the plunge. What happened was surprising. I joined focused on revenge, and I left it focused on me.

The first day of Snatched consisted of only 2 things. Mark talking a lot, and the taking of "before" pictures. When Mark spoke, he gave us a lot of information, and I realized that I wasn't in for some standard boot camp. In fact he asked us not to call Snatched a boot camp, and after that first week, there's no way I could see it as one. The first thing that was apparent was that everyone there really cared. And they cared so much they wanted us to succeed no matter what kind of people we were. They knew that sitting in the audience were OCD types who needed exact specifications and measurements as much as there were ADD types who wanted the big picture and how to deal with the slip ups we were already planning on. They wanted to make sure that all of us got the same love and attention and were able to hit our goals whatever they may be.

During all of Snatched (and in general at MFF) we're always told to "run our own race." At first this was a bit exasperating. What was I doing if not asking for someone to tell me what to do? What I realized is that they were giving me the tools to find my own success. Tools that I could take with me after this 6 week bubble was over. I also realize, it put the definition of success squarely on my shoulders. Every single instructor talked about how we know ourselves better. Were we having a high energy day that we could push ourselves beyond what we normally did? Were we struggling a bit and needing to scale back? These were our choices. They were there to push us to push ourselves, not to push us to get anything done.

The most important thing that MFF gave me was community. Snatched in particular gave me a group of people who really supported me and what I wanted to do. It made me realize that any of my friends at work who said things like "Ugh you're going to the gym again?" or the like simply weren't worth listening to. It also made me realize that there are lots of people out there who were totally supportive of me, and that I should be drawn to them as much as possible! I think that this sense of support and community is created so much in Snatched and at MFF because of the staff. When I hire people, I always look for a "fit." Were I to guess, I think Mark makes that his absolute 100% deal-breaker in hiring decisions. There was not a person- not a single one- at the clubhouse who didn't introduce themselves if they hadn't met me, or use my name once they had. There isn't anyone on staff who I felt uncomfortable around despite putting myself in very vulnerable positions. This sense of community made it harder for me to even imagine missing a class. I went from at most hitting the gym a couple times a week to NEVER making it to less than 5 days a week. This was an incredible change for me.

One of the most annoying things that the trainers would say when I first started was "How you do anything is how you do everything." This first of all was very life-coachy, and not in the good ways. I was there to get fit, not hear stuff like this. Oh how wrong I was. It wasn't until nearly the end of the program that I started to understand what was actually being said. I did the gym the same way I did everything else. If I was passionate about it, I would give it my all. If not, well I would suck at it. What they did was remind me over and over again that if I really wanted this, I had to figure out how to make it work for ME. For me that was finding my passion. Finding my reason to come every single day and get my ass kicked. To find the sense of belonging that I would literally fell bereft without if I wasn't able to make it.

The last thing that I really got out of this program is how much the gym matters in the grand scheme of things. I used to go both ways. I'd beat myself up if I missed the gym, and laude myself if I made it there. It didn't matter if on the former days I was making otherwise super healthy choices or on the latter I ate 6 cupcakes at work. The gym was my definition of health. What I learned more than anything is that it is just a piece of the pie. It's important. And my dedication to getting there is an easy benchmark for my dedication to my health. But equally important are the other aspects of my life. What I eat, how much I sleep, how much I take care of myself. All are part of health, and all are important aspects of my life.

Snatched changed my body. The pictures show it, my friend's exclaimed comments show it, and every time I look in the mirror I see it. What I didn't expect Snatched to do was change the way I look at keeping myself healthy, and the way I factor that into my life. MFF and Snatched showed me that "Health and Hotness" is important, simple, and best done with friends. I won't pretend I didn't put a lot of work into what I did. But I learned that it is easier than I thought, especially since I have help. I learned that putting my body at the top of my priority list is as important as any other aspect of taking care of myself.

My 6 weeks of "Snatching" are over, but my journey into a Snatched life are just beginning. I didn't get everything I wanted in 6 weeks, and frankly, without a magic wand, I never would have. This is probably good. If I already had a 6 pack and great definition everywhere, what more would I have to work on? Instead these 6 weeks gave me the strength of self and the physical confidence to get exactly what I want. Being fit isn't a destination, it's a journey. I'm lucky enough to have unicorns, rainbows and ninjas on mine, and I couldn't be more excited.