mindset reflection week 2 round 4. Perfection

The past couple of weeks things have been popping up in my life with the p word. Perfect. People either telling me that I like being perfect, me not liking when I cant be perfect etc. SO ive decided to address that this week. Perfect isn’t a word I necessarily like. I dont think there is a perfect body, or a perfect way to live, or a perfect way to follow things, but in saying that I do not like when I cant do things perfectly. For example, last week I just couldn’t get a movement right, and couldn’t lift what I wanted too and that did my head it. So here I am sitting here trying to figure out what I really feel about that P word here are my thoughts. I think within the fitness world or the training world there is such a thing as perfect. Perfect form, perfect choreography, perfect technique that should always be followed and further developed or something you always aim for. But I think that there is not a perfect weight that everyone should lift for every exercise, there cant be, we all have different strengths, different levels of fitness and strength and experience of training, and this is why we shouldn’t compare. There is no perfect weight we should lift, so if others can lift heavier then us then that’s ok, we are still developing our technique and we are still developing the strength (mentally and physically) to increase the weights we lift. For two rounds I battled with getting my head around the bench press. It was frustrating me so much, I couldn’t increase the weight, I couldn’t get my head around the technique and I was so ready to just give up. But 2 weeks ago I had my pt dancing around the gym as something clicked and the technique was there, the strength was there. It was one of the best feelings. It frustrates me when my technique is off, it drives me nuts, because as my members in my classes tell me im a technique freak. That’s the one place I want to be perfect and I get so frustrated when I cant. Half the time I cant feel the issues either which frustrates me even more. I am sure I give my pt evil glares all the time when she picks something up, and its not angry at her, its total frustrated at myself. It is also very frustrating when class technique is different to lifting technique. DOES MY HEAD IN. but this is also where I have seen the greatest strength and fitness gains. Ok I have gotten off track havnt i? Yes I like being perfect in the gym. But with that want for perfection in the gym, also comes the high expectations I set myself, sometimes too high, which then as always nearly follows with a break down, or disappointment when I don’t reach those expectations. There have been many of those, too many infact, yet I wouldn’t change that part of me. Why? Because the need for perfection and the high expectations allow me to achive and continue to achieve what I do. I don’t compromise technique for anything. Not in challenges, not in classes, and not with the members that do my classes. I know that having good technique not only keeps our body safe and injury free, but will also allow my body to get the best results. It was hard when loosing weight, wanting to aim for the ‘perfect’ bodies, but I fast realised that there was no such thing as perfect, just the best version of me, that was going to be ever changing. I don’t think there is a perfect weight, or body shape or clothing size, or measurements not in general and not individually. My body is always changing based on my goals, and I don’t think ill ever reach a place where I say and think, yes this is perfect. There will always be something I am trying to improve, or change, and as my training vchanges, and goals change that will change also. In terms of percfection the past weeks ive had many comments from people along the lines of but you’ve been doing this so long now, shouldn’t you find it easy to be perfect with food and exercise and everything else? I am human, yes ive been doing it for a long time, and yes I have come a long way, and everything else. But I am still human and I am a long way from perfect. I have bad days, I get stressed and emotional and I want to eat and binge. The alarm goes off and I don’t always want to get up. I see results on the scales I don’t necessarily want to see, or clothes stop fitting that I love, or I just get stuck in my head and feel like nothing is working. Food is always going to be my struggle. I like to eat, I love food, and yes I eat when im emotional. SO im always going to struggle with food. Im never going to be perfect at this. It will always be a struggle, and It will always be something I will need to work on in terms of food. But I know that and that’s ok. And the mental battle, yup that will always be there too. Ive said it before im a thinker and a feeler, that will always be there too as it is who I am. That’s half of why I write these blogs. Gets things out of my head. But also allows me to figure things out. Does that even make sense? So I guess the short version of all that is, and what ive figured out is. 1. I think there is perfection in the gym with technique and its what I strive for every session 2. It drives me nuts when I cant lift what I want to, or what I think I should be able to do, and when im not getting technique right 3. I like being organised with work and gym and life 4. I don’t think there is a perfect body or a perfect way to live life or to even follow the program as life happens and can throw you off, as long as you get back on track that’s what matters in the end. You don’t fail if your not perfect. 5. Im not perfect and I still have lots to learn, mind, body, training, nutrition, life Hopefully some of this made sense. Love lisa