missed last week’s {coaching the coach} post? catch up here.

Well that was fun. Seriously. That first week of being coached (by myself) was the kick in the butt I needed to get super serious about September (and apparently, alliteration).

I will spare you all the sweaty details, but here are a few of the surprising results from week one’s prescription confessional, along with what I’ll be doing during week two:

body

last week: I burned out those legs on the floor, on the tramp and in the deepest lunges I could find and realized just how much my legs connect to my back. Now of course I knew this — everyone recognizes that our bodies are intuitive and efficiently organized if only we’d get out of our own way. But I didn’t think that by focusing on my legs I would see such drastic results in my abs. The further I pushed my legs, the more my core had to stabilize. It was a beautiful relationship that I plan on continuing.

the big takeaway: Making every movement bigger makes my circumference smaller.

this week: To capitalize on the back/core momentum, I will:

• focus on my arms by expanding every movement further and further away from my body.
• take out unnecessary and inefficient movement in my upper torso when I’m isolating my arm and back muscles.
• continue to plug my shoulder blades into my back to expand and open my chest.

food

last week: My big goal was to drink 64 ounces of water a day and have the clearest pee of all. I did pretty well here, but something magical and unforeseen happened to my eating habits because of hydrating so often and so fully: I tasted my food. Consuming so much flavorless (albeit refreshing) H2O made me surprisingly conscious of how good the flavors were in my regular ol’ meals. I was full on water so I wasn’t rushing my meals away.

I also watched the documentary Hungry For Change to get even more engaged. It was a huge wake up call to me. After watching that film, as I walked around the grocery store all I could see was “food-like product” and very little food. My favorite catch phrase that has stayed with me all week was, “People are feeding themselves, but they aren’t feeding their cells. Their cells are starved for nutrition so they still feel hungry even though they’re filling up on food-like products.”

the big takeaway: Asking myself each time I reached for food if it would nourish me at the cellular level made every food-related decision a no-brainer. Big metaphor for life, people!

this week: Because I’ve identified this molecular need for nourishment, I will:

• add more greens to every single meal. Yes, this includes breakfast. Meatless Monday recipes, here I come.
• continue drinking so much water; I want to be able to sweat all day and still have flawless skin.
• reduce unnecessary sugar from my meals. I’ve cut sugar out of my coffee for months now, but I’m about to get serious with the sugar reduction.

mind

last week: This was the toughest part for me and the biggest reason I think everyone needs a coach. It was difficult to acknowledge my own success! I gave myself a pretty tough workout on Monday, and I had to call on my reserves of encouragement throughout the rest of the week. Because bari is a ridiculously awesome place to be, I had lots of affirmation and love coming from the team, and I’d like to specifically thank Kara and Sara for giving me oodles of support right when I needed it the most.

the big takeaway: Everyone needs a community, even if it’s just one person, to say I see you, and you’re doing great.

this week: Knowing I need a little more affirmation than the average Jane, I will:

• write a gratitude list every night, three things that made my day.
• finally get the massage I’ve been saying I’ve needed for months.

I’m looking forward to this week, Tribe. It’s a big one, and I know my habits are going to start setting in during whatever I do or don’t do this week. If you’re following along with any of this prescription on your own, let me know when you see me in the studio so we can give each other a sweaty fist bump and some encouraging words. See you in class!