After a long stressful day of work; skipping the gym and binging on Netflix - while downing an entire packet of Tim-Tams, can seem pretty damn appealing right!?
Stress is a results killer. If you want to achieve your goals in the gym, it’s paramount to keep your stress levels under control. Maybe it’s financial stress, relationship troubles or your boss has been on your case all day..
Either way the release of the stress hormone - Cortisol, can lead to poor decision making - while leaving you much more vulnerable to fat-gain (especially around the ol’ mid-section).
This is usually why we end up burying ourselves in a full tub of icecream after a break-up. The short-term result is a release of Dopamine - your ‘feel good’ hormone, which gives us a temporary high is almost like a drug.
The long term effect is another step backwards on your journey to greatness in the Gym.
At PPS we preach 3 mantras, which help to control stress levels:
Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t
Sh*t happens, get over it
Practise extreme ownership
Focus on what you can control
You can’t control every situation around you, but you can control how you react to it.
Does your boss being a d*ck, your partner breaking up with you or a disagreement between friends mean that you no longer have to stay in control of your nutrition or training?
Do you want to be stressed about these issues AND overweight or unhealthy?
Probably not,
While a focus on achieving your fat-loss/muscle-gain goals in the gym may also be a welcome distraction from these stressful events. As well as the satisfaction of seeing results will bring some welcome positivity back into your life and make the stress you are dealing with, seem less significant.
Sh*t happens, get over it!
I know it seems a bit harsh, but it really does happen and sometimes the only way to move forward, is to get over it (Whatever ‘IT’ is)
Those who are successful in the gym or anywhere in life are the ones who can pick themselves up from negative situations and move on. Those who don’t achieve their goals are the ones who dwell on these situations and use them as an excuse not to achieve their goals.
It’s easy to become a victim and feel sorry for ourselves (Sometimes we have a right to!).
But in reality this isn’t going to help the situation, nor is it going to help you achieve your results in the gym.
Sometimes, we just have to get over it and move on. Put your best foot forward, find whatever positive we can take from this stress situation and put it behind us.
Extreme Ownership
Stress, frustration and overwhelm can usually lead to blame;
“It’s my bosses fault. He’s always grumpy at me for no reason.”
“It’s not my fault my partner broke up with me!”
“I don’t have any money, I got a massive speeding fine and it wasn’t my fault! It’s the speed cameras fault…”
In-turn as we know, this can lead to a lot of negative feelings and ultimately leading to you also blaming them for you not seeing results in the gym.
But what if you blame yourself and took responsibility for all the stress going on in your life? What if you had no one else to blame and your only option was to step up and own the situation?
“My boss is grumpy at me because I’m always late for work.”
“My partner broke up with me, because I stopped being attentive to their needs.”
“I sped and it’s my fault I received a ticket.”
This is a liberating feeling and taking ‘Extreme Ownership’ actually puts you back in control of the situation, helps you learn from your mistakes and in-turn stay on track in the gym, so you can see some results.
Let us handle your training and nutrition and save you the stress. Click the button below to reach out for a free consultation and body composition assessment:.