Today I have a treat for you. It’s an absolutely outstanding guest post written by Metabolic Masterpiece Body Sculpting member, 43 year old mother of twins, up and coming Fitness Rockstar, and a fellow Physique Artist Nation representative, Cassandra Healy.
“It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.” ~ Og Mandino
How Everything Came Into Focus for Me
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result. To many, this saying is profound when we hear it because it reveals what appears to be a simple, basic and somewhat obvious truth, yet the reality of that truth in our own life can somehow elude us.
Overall, I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, especially when it comes to fitness. After all, I’m 43 years old and I have been at this game for some time now. True, there have been pockets of time where fitness was lower on the priority ladder for me, but overall, fitness in general, and weight lifting in particular, have always been a part of my life to some degree for over 20 years or more.
And while there have been some life circumstances that would have slowed some people down or even burned them out altogether from this lifestyle (the birth of twins and the joy and challenge in raising them, the diagnosis of a bone spur and a partial tear in my rotator cuff, occasional, and sometimes not so occasional, debilitating migraines), none of these challenges ever really slowed me down for long. In fact, I can honestly say that the busier my life has become, and the older I have become, the more fitness has moved up that priority ladder and now, just beneath family and loved ones, it has managed to take center stage.
It might help for me to share a bit of background with you. I have always been considered by those around me to be in “pretty good shape”. I have never had a severe weight problem, never been clinically obese, never even been considered pudgy. The heaviest I have ever been I can attribute to carrying twins and even after their birth 6 years ago, within a few short months, I was back down to my pre-baby weight (if only a softer version of my former self). Often times, whenever I would make a comment about “kicking it up a notch” or trying to get into absolutely amazing shape, well-meaning friends and family would tell me to “just relax and enjoy life!”, “you look great, why do you need to look like a figure model?”. As some of you fellow Physique Artists might know, trying to explain the reasons for wanting this to people that would even think to ask those questions of you in the first place can truly be an exercise in futility. How can we explain to others the passion we feel in the gym, the pride of breaking PR’s, the sense of accomplishment we feel when the numbers on the weight stack go up or the measurement of our body fat goes down?
So imagine my frustration when, armed with years of knowledge and experience and passion, I recently made the decision to take my physique to a whole new level and felt completely and utterly disappointed with my results (or lack thereof). Why was I working so hard and seeing so little for it? I know how to eat properly, I do all the “big lifts” – no pink dumbbells for this lady! Heck, I even use progressive resistance and I actually know what that means! Why weren’t the results coming? I even had a real goal this time (or so I thought) – to lose fat and gain muscle. Little did I know, it was that very goal that was getting me into trouble and stopping me from seeing any results at all.
So how was this goal working against me? Two months ago, I’m not even sure I could have answered that question. Today, not only can I answer it but I can honestly say that I am more laser-focused than ever and actually know I will achieve my current goal – and any others that follow- with much more success. You see, I had really convinced myself that I had a goal, but the truth is, I was chasing two goals and as a result, both were just out of my reach. While there have been more and more articles and information popping up all over the internet about “body recomposition” and the balancing act of losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, I think all this information, in the wrong hands, can lead to people just spinning their wheels. I know that is exactly what was happening to me.
This fitness journey is a very individual thing and what I think I finally started to learn is that, while some people might be able to take some of that internet advice and apply it to themselves and actually see results, many others (myself included) would find themselves ending up too scattered with no real direction. I think I was looking at the big picture of what I wanted to end up looking like (leaner, with more definition and a bit more muscle on my frame) and decided I wanted that all, right now, and therefore started working towards both goals simultaneously. For me, it was a recipe for disaster.
It was only when I posted about my frustration on Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Inner Circle that I got some great advice from a fellow friend in fitness, Scott Tousignant. He must have seen something in my post, identified with something in my frustration, that for whatever reason, I had failed to see in myself. His advice, while simple, was profound. It was this: “PICK A GOAL”.
Crazy simple, right? Sadly obvious, even. But in those words, something resonated for me, something I already knew but just needed to be reminded of. Scott shared with me that he, too, had dealt with this same kind of frustration in his pursuit to become “ripped”. At that moment, I knew that my personality would not allow me to pursue both goals simultaneously. At first, it didn’t sit well with me. I’m an impatient person and while I’m willing to do the work, I want the results, dammit! But when I really sat with those words and let them sink in, I realized then, maybe for the first time in a long time, that I needed to start looking at this fitness life as a process. I needed to stop focusing on the absolute end result of what I wanted to look like and focus more on the individual steps I needed to get there. I needed to look at myself as a work in progress, an experiment of sorts, and stop being “insane” – stop doing the same things I had been doing and expecting that the results would be different. I think, as dramatic as it may sound, that it was at that point that something clicked in me, and I went from being someone who had always been” into fitness” to someone who was committed to a Fitness Lifestyle. I started thinking in terms of enjoying the process and being willing to learn about myself along the way, instead of being someone who needed all the answers about how to reach all my goals right in that very moment.
Now, two months into this new mindset, I am taking my time and doing it right. I am focused solely on leaning out and making sure I continue to lift heavy in the gym. The biggest change has been shifting my focus to see that these workouts, for now, are more about maintaining the muscle I already have since I am in a caloric deficit most of the time. That was a tough concept for me to be ok with, not having each and every workout be about adding more muscle. Now, I enjoy lifting heavy for its own sake. I have decided to lean out and strip off that last bit of fat, before I start a new goal, a new cycle in the process, towards slowly adding more muscle mass. And even this early on in the process, with my focus more sharp and intense than ever before, I ‘m already thrilled with the changes I’ve seen. I even look more muscular, just due to stripping off a little more fat and allowing the muscle I already have to show through.
I haven’t set a deadline for how long I will go with this current fat loss cycle, but when I look in the mirror, I’ll know when the next step of the journey should begin. Then, with excitement, I’ll start chiseling away at my next physique goal: capped delts, more defined triceps and more glute development. My goal is to look like a figure athlete, even if I choose never to compete. I can hardly wait!
And the most amazing part is all the other changes that have happened since my focus has shifted and I have realized that I am in this for the long haul. In the last few months, I’ve made some amazing connections with people in the fitness field, like Scott, people who think like me and are passionate about their health and improving their bodies. Rest assured, I never need to explain to them why I want to take my physique to the next level. They already know. Just as rewarding as my own personal journey, is my ability to help other people realize their own dreams of sculpting a strong, shapely physique. At last, things are finally coming into focus for me.
Cass
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I hope that you enjoyed Cass’ article as much as I have. It’s been incredibly rewarding for me to see the shift in mindset that she has now adopted.
Cass and I have had many back and forth discussions about losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. We both know that it’s possible to achieve both at the same time, but the best approach to lose fat and gain muscle is to set a primary goal to focus your attention on, such as fat loss… and if you experience the secondary benefit of building muscle then you treat it as a nice bonus… but you don’t necessarily count on it.
When I made the decision to get ripped, that was my sole focus. I did a few things to create an environment that could lead to some muscle gains at the same time, such as calorie partitioning, consuming adequate protein, and strength training… but my main objective and all that I was really thinking about was getting ripped. In the end I did indeed put on a nice amount of muscle while burning fat, which made me ecstatic.
Cass and I would both love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the article. Please take a moment to share your comments below. Thank you.
Sculpt a Masterpiece,
Scott Tousignant
About The Author
Scott Tousignant, BHK, is a Certified Fitness Consultant with a passion for transforming fitness enthusiasts into physique artists. His most recent program, Metabolic Masterpiece guides you through the process of sculpting your body into a work of art, by applying what Scott has coined, “The A.T.T.R.A.C.T. Formula.
With his synergistic, boredom busting body sculpting workouts you will melt stubborn fat and gain muscle while skyrocketing your metabolism!