2841: The Weight on the Barbell is Important - Not the Scale by Nia Shanks on How to Have A More Positive Approach to Fitness

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:24] So, press play on Good Sleep Tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily. The Weight on the Barbell is Important, Not the Scale by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com and I'm Dr. Neal.

[00:00:48] Hey there, happy Tuesday, welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I simply read to you from the best health and fitness blogs for free. I cover fitness, nutrition, stress management, weight management, and more. Just like an audiobook, but from a bunch of different authors. And always with permission from the sites. The topic of today's post is actually ironic. Just this morning, I did a quick workout using a barbell only. So I did one of those barbell only routines.

[00:01:13] I got it done, but I was actually kind of disappointed at the amount of weight I was actually able to lift this morning. I got it done, but I got it done, but I did one of those barbells. So let's hear Nia's take on the barbell as we continue optimizing your life. The Weight on the Barbell is Important, Not the Scale by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com

[00:01:41] You probably know the feeling. You step on the scale hoping to see a smaller number than last time. But it didn't budge, or worse yet, it increased. Immediately you feel deflated, upset, confused. Why didn't the number go down, you ask in dismay? I've been there and done that. My mood for the entire day would be affected by the number on the scale. And that really sucked. Some people feel empowered and get a sense of euphoria when they see the number on the scale go down.

[00:02:09] They become addicted to seeing a consistent decrease and rely heavily on that number to indicate their success, or lack thereof. But you can't spend the rest of your life striving to reach a lower and lower body weight. You'll either fight a losing battle if your quote-unquote goal weight is unrealistic, or once you achieve it, you'll be out of motivation to keep on going. Heck, why waste another day focusing on a number that truly means nothing in the big scheme of things?

[00:02:35] Why not do something that's truly motivating? Something that makes you feel good about yourself. Something that improves the quality of your life and decreases stress. Something that not only tells you you're on the fast track to success, but also increases your self-confidence. The number on the scale is not important. And making your sole focus to achieve a smaller number is not empowering. You know what is important and is actually very empowering?

[00:03:02] Focusing on the weight on the barbell, or whatever strength training tools you use, whether it be dumbbells or just your body weight. When you switch the focus from what you weigh to what you can do, amazing things will happen. By focusing on what you can do and increasing the weight on the barbell, or whatever tools you use, you'll experience a sense of accomplishment that a smaller number on the scale could never provide. You'll love and appreciate your body in a new way. Heck, maybe you'll even have fun.

[00:03:31] Make these numbers increase. By making the following numbers increase, awesome things will happen to your mind and body. You'll experience the amazing benefits strength training has to offer. Don't believe me? That's fine. I understand your skepticism. But I challenge you to apply the following tips for a minimum of four weeks, consistently. And then get back to me. Tip number one. The weight of the barbell, dumbbells, or progressing to more challenging body weight exercise variations.

[00:04:00] Make it a goal to consistently add more weight to the barbell or whatever strength tools you use. Lift some heavy stuff and get stronger. And then lift some heavier stuff and get even stronger. This is a powerful combination for building an incredible body and boosting confidence. Again, don't take my word for it. Do it for at least four weeks. And you'll experience it for yourself. Oh, and for ladies, please don't give me the whole weightlifting makes women big and bulky speech. We've obliterated that myth before.

[00:04:29] Tip number two. The number of reps you perform. You can't add more weight every workout. That's why it's a great idea to stick with the same weight and focus on increasing reps first. For instance, let's say you can squat 115 pounds for three sets at five reps. Stick with 115 pounds until you can perform three sets at eight reps with that same weight. The next time, add five pounds or so and start back at the three sets, five rep volume and repeat the process.

[00:05:00] Tip number three. Focus on food quality and make sure you're eating enough to improve your performance and build the body you want. So, focus on making those numbers go up and watch what happens next. Look, awesome. What happens when you ditch the thought of achieving an ideal weight and opt instead to focus on improving your performance in the gym? A lot of things actually. First, you'll actually start having fun with your workouts because you'll have a positive goal.

[00:05:27] To get stronger and do better than last time. Second, you'll discover your true physical strength and abilities. I'm telling you, fewer things are more empowering than busting out your first set of unassisted chin-ups or squatting your body weight for the first time. And third, you'll build the body you want along the way. And if you look great, why would you even entertain the idea of standing on the scale? Do not make the mistake. Some folks do and exclaim, wow, I love how my body looks now. I wonder what I weigh.

[00:05:56] And then step on the scale to find out. Oftentimes, we'll build the physique we love and weigh a good 10 plus pounds more than our ideal weight. This is confusing because there's a disconnect between what we believe the scale should reveal and how we perceive our own appearance. Again, if you like how you look, why does the number on the scale matter? It doesn't. So forget about it. Be more awesome. Everyone wants to look great, myself included. And there's nothing wrong with that.

[00:06:23] But I encourage you to not only focus on how you look, but to focus more on what you can do. If I don't help deliver the body transforming results my clients demand, they wouldn't keep working with me, obviously. However, I like to take things deeper than just building a great looking physique. After all, if my clients have great looking bodies, but they have to constantly suffer, sacrifice, and revolve their lives around the gym and a rigid nutrition regimen, then I have failed. Building and maintaining a better body should not require exhaustion and deprivation.

[00:06:53] Contrary to popular belief, it's entirely possible to build the body you want without being miserable. As long as you do things the sane and simple way, that is. Getting back on track. Being awesome means building the body you want the sane and simple way. It means being proud of not only how your body looks, but what it can do. It's about being the best you possible and not giving a rip what anyone else thinks.

[00:07:18] It's about ditching all of the conflicting information and sticking to the tried and true basics and doing what works for you. So, be awesome. Ditch the scale, load up a barbell, and get to work. You just listened to the post titled, The Weight on the Barbell is Important, Not the Scale, by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:07:49] The number on the scale is absolutely misleading. Nia is absolutely right. As you start strength or resistance training, you may find that the number on the scale will not change at all, or it actually might go up. Muscle, after all, is more dense than fat. So, if you start to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, well, they might offset each other. Or, if you build enough muscle, that number on the scale is going to start to go up. But here's the trick. When you think about how your clothes start to fit,

[00:08:18] if you notice that, hey, my pants are a little bit looser, especially around the waist or the dunlop, well, then you're on the right track. Even if that number looks like it's higher, well, if your clothes are fitting better, you might be losing some fat, which is a good thing. This is why the body mass indices or BMIs of those who do a lot of strength training may not be completely accurate. Their BMIs may say they're obese, but if you look at them and you look at their waist size and their hips, they're okay.

[00:08:46] And Nia mentioned something else that's super important. When you think about goal setting, focus on the positive. Oftentimes when we set goals for ourselves, we might say, I can only consume 2,000 calories today. Why don't make it more positive and say today, I'm going to eat at least three servings of vegetables. So instead of your goal feeling limiting, you actually feel a sense of abundance. All right, that's enough out of me.

[00:09:12] A quick reminder though, we have a bunch of shows in our network to help you optimize your life. To find them all, just search for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this. I thank you as always for being here. Thank you for listening every day. Thank you for being a subscriber. I hope you're having a great week so far. I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.