Redefining Strength Podcast

Don’t Quit Before Results Add Up!

It can be hard to keep putting in the work when we don’t feel like results are adding up.

But the sucky part is…often those times where we feel like nothing is happening, we’re moving forward and potentially only inches or even days away from our goal.

Those are often the times we just need to KEEP GOING.

A great way to think about this process is this one image I’ve seen of two miners digging for diamonds.

Both are in a tunnel of dirt. The tunnel looks exactly the same through the entire process. 

Dirt after more dirt haha…

So it can get easy to get discouraged and turn back like one miner does. He turns back when he’s probably ONE more hack away from the diamonds.

But he doesn’t know that…all he’s seen is a tunnel of dirt. It looks like to him that he’s made absolutely no progress.

While the other miner continues to just charge through, trusting the process to reach the diamonds at the end.

It can be so easy to give up when we aren’t seeing changes add up. But we have to trust the process and give it time.

Because so often we simple don’t get the results we deserve because we don’t stay consistent for long enough.

So while it may feel like you’re just digging through dirt and nothing is changing, you’re moving forward toward those diamonds!

I often get asked, "How long did it take you to get to (insert the result I've achieved that they want here)?"

My answer is, "My entire life."

This isn't meant to be flippant.

But it's the honest answer.

Sure maybe I "cut" for 6 weeks to get leaner. Or maybe I did a workout progression that built my pull ups over the last 4 weeks....

But these things are still based off a foundation that, in a way, I've been creating my entire life.

Even if you are the same weight or have the same "strength" as someone else, you can't compare your journey to theirs.

There is just so much more to it than just that starting "number" or spot.

Because it's even our experiences that make the difference.

Someone who's "cut" before knows what it entails, even if they have the same weight to lose as you who has never done it.

And maybe they just recently gained the weight while you've had it on for years, putting them in a very different position for results.

The point is...each of our journeys will be unique.

We have to focus on what WE need to get results.

We have to make changes and adjustments and tweaks based on our progress over basing what we do on what someone else has done.

What worked for someone else, even if they seem like they're starting from the same spot, may not work for you.

So remember our "history" factors in.

Focus on what you're doing and track your changes to make adjustments and tweaks over time. Remember each thing you do is a piece of your journey that can build toward results!

It’s easy to start a new program and get overwhelmed by all of the changes you feel you have to make.

And so..well…we freak out and never end up moving forward.

But before you let your brain go into freak out mode…start by focusing on small tweaks!

Or as I’ve liked saying “Tweak before you freak!”

Because small changes add up. And they help us create something actually sustainable.

Too often we feel like we have to overhaul everything, when really those small changes are what add up and allow us to be consistent.

They allow us to create new habits we can maintain after that initial motivation fades.

So focus on small habit adjustments based on your current routine.

What are just 3 small things you can focus on this week?

Is it drinking more water? Doing a 5 minute workout when you’re short on time? Simply tracking your food?

List out 3 habit changes to start implementing and mark them off each day.

Even make them so ridiculously easy you feel silly listing them.

This helps you build that momentum and see lasting changes!

I think often in our workouts in an attempt to do more or that harder variation and last the entire interval of work, we CHEAT ourselves out of the full benefit of moves.

We don’t try to work muscles as hard as we can. We actually just try to survive the time we are “supposed” to work in the follow along.

And this leads to us CHEATING on moves.

Letting our hands shift out in front of us as we do mountain climbers. Letting our butt go up in the air as we hold a plank.

Not sinking as low or jumping as high in that squat jump.

We are focused on doing more over maximizing the movement.

And that can even lead to us thinking we’ve earned harder variations than we have because we can seemingly “do” them, but it can also lead to us thinking things are easier than they are.

But we are never above the basics. And often if you think something is too easy?

You really need to assess how well you’re doing it!

Here are some things I think it is really key we do at times to assess if we are really maximizing our results from each training session.

1. Focus on what you feel working.
2. Take ego out of it and at times, go lighter. Do an easier move. Optimize your form.
3. Shorten intervals of work or add in rest and see if you can get better quality.
4. Stop focusing on just doing more for results. Wasted volume honestly is not only wasted time but hampering your results.

I refused to demo the moves and made friends or co-workers do it.

I was comfortable sharing my knowledge behind the scenes.

But I also really really really (did I say REALLY!?) wanted to share my passion and knowledge and help others.

So Ryan kind of gave me an ultimatum...

Ryan basically told me at one point, "If you really want to do this thing, you need to suck it up and get over it and be in the photos."

(I would say he said it nicer than that as I can't remember his exact phrasing since it feels like it was almost a decade ago, BUT he probably didn't as Ryan has never been afraid to be 100% blunt with me when I needed it. It's why I love to hate him at times and need him around all the more. Love you butthead! Anyway...)

I'm telling you all of this because I think we believe there are parts of ourselves we can't change.

I know I NEVER ever thought I'd be a person in front of the camera.

But really it isn't that we CAN'T change them...it's that we don't "want" to.

It's really often just an excuse we give ourselves to stay within our comfort zone.

And maybe that's fine. We don't have to.

Maybe changing that aspect of ourselves to reach a specific goal isn't "worth" it to us ultimately.

But then we also have to realize that we are setting a limit to what we can achieve.

Achieving "greatness," something we feel is beyond our reach, does mean embracing a part of ourselves that may not even yet exist.

It can mean, to some extent, recreating how we see ourselves.

I mean geez...had you asked me if I'd be doing live videos each week and taking half-nakey photos with make up on, I'd laugh at you as I put on my big t-shirt and pulled back my hair I hadn't brushed in a week. (Ok I still do the last part just also the other!)

The point is, we can choose to be who we want to be. It just requires us acting AS IF we are the thing we want to be.

It will be extremely uncomfortable to start. You will be implementing habits that often go against what you want to "naturally" do.

But it's remembering that what has become natural isn't always best. It was often just easier to fall back into.

However, with the repetition and embracing the new habits, it's why I say ACT AS IF over fake it till you make it, you will ultimately become truly who you want to be.

Because when we ACT AS IF, we aren't faking it. We are just acting as if we are the person we want to be, implementing the habits needed to create the new lifestyle.

As scary as that change was, as much as I felt like I was oddly leaving the Cori I'd always been behind...

I wouldn't go back for a second.

I became truly the person I wanted to be and am now able to do what I truly love and share my passion.

For me the "risk" associated with the change? The uncomfortableness I had to go through?

IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

And I think it's sometimes reminding ourselves that change, while hard, truly is worth it if our goal means that much to us.

So if you're feeling really uncomfortable now with ACTING AS IF you are the person you ultimately want to be, remember it does get easier.

It goes back to that super annoying saying - change requires change.

Embrace those new habits this week. Give yourself a pat on the back for being willing to make yourself uncomfortable.

Change is not for the weak 

And KEEP GOING!

You know that urge to do MORE? To make more changes?

Search for a new macro ratio? 

Workout longer? Train harder?

I think this focus on doing MORE stems from the fact that A. Yes we want results faster but B. We also feel more in CONTROL when we do more.

The feeling that we are “acting” or taking action gives us a sense of control. Even though we may not actually be moving ourselves forward and even wasting a ton of energy as we set ourselves back.

It may be wasted work and energy.

And a lot of adjustments that aren’t allowing time to work it’s magic.

Because the simple fact is, you can’t out work, out diet, out train time.

And to some extent, results are out of our control in that we can’t control TIME.

We need to find a way to be consistent with our training, to stay focused, so that results have time to add up.

So ask yourself, “Why am I trying to do more? Why am I trying to make a change?”

Is it needed? Or are you just trying to feel more in control?

Tracking our macros isn’t just about restricting what we’re eating to lose weight. It’s about truly learning how to FUEL.

Because no matter what result you want to get, from losing weight to body recomposition to gaining muscle to fueling your endurance sport to even simply feeling more energized throughout the day, the macronutrient ratio you are consuming MATTERS.

And by understanding macros, you can better adjust how you fuel over time as your needs and goals change! 

So here are 4 “hacks” to help you get started dialing in those macros because I know the process can seem overwhelming to start!

#1: DON’T START BY CUTTING OUT THE FOODS YOU LOVE

#2: “PRACTICE” – BUILD A SOLID THE FOUNDATION

#3: STOP GIVING YOURSELF THE EXCUSE THAT TRACKING IS “ANNOYING” OR “RESTRICTIVE.”

#4: ACCEPT THERE WILL BE TIMES YOU’RE LESS DEDICATED

Legend-wait-for-it-dary

I love hearing Barney say this in How I Met Your Mother.

And almost every time I try to repeat the line, I somehow butcher it haha

Anyway, the simple fact is…

Not every day can be legendary or no days end up being legendary.

You can’t know the good without the bad!

BUT even on those not so ideal days we can take something out of them that moves us forward.

Here are 4 questions to consider to GROW from those not so fun days to make your lows less low!

1. Do I know what triggered it?
2. What can I learn?
3. What would I do next time?
4. What good still happened?

Remember we can’t know the good without the bad BUT we can always learn from it to make our highs higher and lows less low!

So on my Unicorn coaching call this last week, I was trying to figure out another way to describe what I see as the issues we often blame on “age.”

Because while, yes our body does change as we get older, so often so many of our issues are from well…a leaky ceiling we didn’t address.

If you had a leak and over the years the water kept dripping in that same spot, you wouldn’t be surprised when, finally one day, the leak made the ceiling board collapse. 

You’d know that even though it was only a little water, that over time, those water droplets built up. 

Same thing can be said about so much of what we just attribute to age.

We’ve so often implemented improper mobility practices and horrible dieting habits for DECADES and then we say it’s cause we are “old” things no longer work as we feel they should.

We can’t lose the weight as easily. 

We now have aches and pains.

But really these things aren’t just popping up.

The’ve been caused by a leak we haven’t addressed over the years.

So now if you’ve realized the leak?

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Stop saying “I used to be able to run without warming up.”

Well yea but maybe that was the start of the leak and why your ceiling is having issues now.

Just because you got away with it doesn’t mean you should have.

Same thing oddly goes for why we struggle to lose weight as we get older.

Yes, ladies, menopause and hormonal changes change the dieting practices we need.

But often our struggles to lose weight as we get older also have to do with horrible dieting practices we’ve been using for years.

Cutting calories, training extra to burn more and then rebounding when we can’t stand the deprivation any longer.

And each time we yo yo, losing with extreme calorie deficits, only to regain when we go back to eating as we had been prior, we cause metabolic adaptations and even lose muscle mass.

This can throw our body out of whack and make it harder with each dieting attempt to lose weight.

So ultimately, we’ve just been making the leak worse instead of taking time to fix it.

It’s now or never….whatever age you are.

You have a chance now to recognize your habits are creating a leak that will add up and FIX THEM.

The earlier the better as you’ll have less build up or other damage to fix because of it too.

But stop blaming your age and realize that so much of it is within your control.

You just need to address the leak and prevent the build up!

One of my amazing Unicorns  Ellen commented this in the group last week..."Maybe things are not going a 100% as I want them to go, maybe I am not doing as much as I would like to do....but I have a lot of lemons at the moment and not enough glasses to make lemonade in so I just make lemonade out of the lemons where I have the glasses for."

So often we have a ton of things going on and simply not enough time to do as much as we'd like for each of those things.

But we also have to remember that all we can do is give 100% of what we've got at that time.

We are CONSTANTLY in the act of balance.

And often our desire to do more isn't really that we aren't doing enough...it's just that we want results faster.

The thing is, and I know I say this a lot, we simply can't out work TIME.

And while you may want to make more lemonade, you may want to do more, there is really only a finite amount of time in a day...a finite number of glasses we have to hold the lemonade.

So at some point, you just have to really take a look at what you've done and say, "I've done as much as I can."

And then simply let TIME and CONSISTENCY work their magic.

Amazingly enough too, sometimes doing less, but doing things in a way we can keep repeating the habits day in and day out, pays off more.

Because often we burn ourselves out simply trying to do more when we really don't have the time or energy to maintain that pace.

Embrace the balancing act.

Embrace small changes and doing what you can.

And then trust the process and remember that results snowball.