Bad to the Bone

I haven’t been to the traditional gym in quite a while. Yesterday my husband told me I was missed at the gym. Flattered and curious I asked who had missed me. He said some woman he didn’t even know came up to him and asked where I’d been. I think he’s just as annoyed with having to explain so he just said I’d been doing crossfit instead. She said, “yeah, she was hardcore!” My first reaction was, “Why yes, yes, I am hardcore.” ::with a big grin on my face:: While my second reaction was, “yeah, and that’s why I am where I am. I’m such a bad ass I’ve gained half my weight back and can’t fit into my clothes! What’s so special about that!?”

Here we all are killing ourselves to be given the title “BAD ASS”, when really what most of us are doing is pushing ourselves further away from good health and being fit. The sad part is not many of us even get it. We only know what we’ve been told and more is better and “bad ass” and “hardcore” is worth the 1000 calories and lack of fat and carbs in our diet. Not to mention the countless hours spent breaking our bodies down in the gym. “I just ate 1200 calories, 50 grams of fat and burned something like 1300 calories! Hell to the yeah, I’m a hardcore bad ass!”

That really doesn’t sound that bad ass to me right now. Maybe the willpower of maintaining this “lifestyle” is what is seen as so admirable, because everyone really knows how ridiculously hard it is to maintain and no one that isn’t insane or obsessive compulsive (guilty on both accounts) could pull it off. At least for the long term.

With all that said, I still find hardcore and bad ass completely desirable. I just define it differently than most. Hours and hours in the gym is not my idea of bad ass anymore; it’s a sign you’ve lost your freakin’ mind, assuming you had it to begin with. Unless your doing low intensity cardio for that time period, I say call it quits after a moderate to intense 20-45 minute weights workout, get some carbs, fat and a lot of calories in you and go home and REST. Yes, I said REST, not move on to the next piece of cardio equipment to see how many more calories you can burn on your body bug. Don’t forget to pass on the caffeinated beverage of choice. When you can accomplish this, THEN you fit my description of a true bad ass! And after several months of smart lifting, adequate calorie intake, ample amount of rest, and passing on the Monster drinks you’ll be so hardcore everyone will want to be just like you!

Anyone that says “who can’t lose on 1000 calories?” is clueless and at risk for falling in the more-is-better trap. Hopefully you will be saved before the damage really sets in. I wish I would have had someone slap me around a few years ago. Instead I’ll do it for the both of us. Who doesn’t love a good bitch-slap once in a while?

What’s your routine like? Do you take time to rest and recover? Do you workout for longer than an hour beyond 75% of your heart rate?