There’s a lotta wrong directions on that lonely way back home
Kris Kristofferson - The Pilgrim, Chapter 33
Before ‘Sheena’ started The Spring Shred her weight had ballooned out of control and she’d been off work with some mental health issues.
Sheena had taken a few wrong directions.
I know Sheena and for the past five weeks I have been keeping an eye on her progress.
Every Sunday, I double check The Wall of Fame to make sure her name is on the list.
Every Monday, I check to see if she has got a green box and I calculate how much weight she has lost.
Before The Spring Shred got underway, Sheena was in limbo.
One part of her was ripping to get at it while another part of her was extremely apprehensive.
She was pushing and pulling at the same time.
Wounded and vulnerable after her mental health battles, she no longer totally trusts herself.
I’m no psychologist but I know Sheena and I’ve coached people before who were in similar predicaments.
When we spoke at the start of The Shred, I told her to keep it simple.
Don’t worry about the future.
Don’t dwell on the past.
Focus on the present.
Take it one day at time.
Set achievable goals.
Do what you can do, then progress from there.
A kind-hearted and talented woman, Sheena has multiple gifts.
But like the rest of us, she has a few handicaps and the odd demon as well.
She can be extremely sensitive and has a tendency to over think things.
Rather than move a muscle and change a thought, she would often prefer to sit down and analyse a situation for a few hours - paralysing herself in the process.
She can also be an absolute extremist. When she applies herself to something, Sheena wants results and she wants them NOW.
This is arguably her biggest barrier to progress.
If it was a 60-metre dash, Sheena would be unstoppable.
But this business of getting leaner, fitter and strong is an ultra-endurance race.
Sheena’s sprinter tendencies are not limited to her approach to life.
She wants instant results across the board.
Within a fortnight of starting The Shred, she was already starting to worry about what would happen when she was no longer able to keep losing more than 2lbs per week.
Focus on today.
Let tomorrow take care of itself.
Not long after finding it a struggle to complete 10,000 steps a day, she was soon doing in advance of 100,000 steps per week.
Of course, that still wasn’t enough. She recently sustained a slight injury after attempting some jogging.
Sheena had hidden this information from me as she knows I “hate injury news”.
I wasn’t concerned about the injury. I was annoyed that she had started running.
In my opinion, she is still too heavy to jog. Bear in mind, even when you jog, you are putting four times your bodyweight through your joints.
Why take that risk? Why put your joints under that strain?
Surely it makes more sense to walk or do low-impact cardio like cycling or rowing.
Once you’ve got lighter and you’re putting less stress on your joints, then start jogging.
That’s what I told Sheena.
As ever, the No.1 objective when you start training is to avoid injury.
Before you can train hard, you have to train smart.
Slowly but surely, I think Sheena is coming around to my way of thinking.
Even though she is just five weeks into The Shred the changes in Sheena’s life are significant.
Last week, she told me that she’d love to quit work.
It wasn’t because she hates her job, it’s because it’s now interfering with her training!
The Sheena I knew several years ago was buoyant, confident and had a genuine zest for life.
Talking to her a few days ago, I recognised that person again.
She is reborn.
From my perspective, that is the ultimate satisfaction.
Helping someone rediscover themselves and their mojo - it doesn’t get much better than that.
Hopefully Sheena will continue to get leaner, fitter and stronger.
I am optimistic that she will stay the course.
Because what Sheena has discovered is that the lifestyle that will get her leaner, fitter and stronger is the same one which help her find her way back home.
PH
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