Fit for Life: I Was in a Slump

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Matt Espeut, Health & Lifestyle Contributor

PHOTO: File

Have you ever experienced times when no matter what you do, things don’t seem to go your way? Times when you feel like you are either stuck in a rut, or the energy in the universe seems to always be working against you?

One minute you are riding high on the mountain tops, and the next minute you feel like you are trudging through the valley of despair. You have days that you wake up, then think, “I can’t wait to get back in bed tonight.” Then you ask yourself, “What am I doing wrong?” Or “What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like the odds are stacked against me?”

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If you can relate to this, congratulations, you are human. If you NEVER encounter times like this, then you are probably numb, and have no feelings or emotions, or you are a Terminator made of titanium.

I am currently on the other side of a similar situation like the one I just described above. I was off my game and I felt like I was running on fumes all the time. I felt myself slowly slipping into a phase of mediocrity and just checking the boxes instead of functioning at the level I know I am capable of.

The funny thing is I didn’t recognize it until I decided to step things up a notch, dial in my routine, and get my shit together. When I started performing at a higher level, I then noticed I was not 100% before I made some changes.

Let me explain what I was doing that went under the radar until I made these minor changes.

First and foremost, I am rating myself and my actions based on my standards I have for myself. Being average, and performing at an average level is never my intention, and just checking the box and doing “good enough” is unacceptable in my mind and by my standards, so rate yourself based on what you think you are capable of.

My nutrition was substandard. I found myself eating too many cheat meals over the weekend. During the week, I would hit the snack drawer and snack on dark chocolate, and if I had desserts left over, I would eat them. I even cracked open a beer while grilling steaks a couple of times which is not part of my normal routine.

My usual routine would eliminate bread, processed food, dairy and other inflammatory foods during the week. I would have maybe a drink or two while watching football on the weekends, and allow myself a couple of cheat meals between Friday and Sunday, NOT during the week!!

My sleep was also off. I am always diligent about getting 8 hours, however, I was watching too much tv at night and found myself falling asleep on the couch while doing so. I would still get 8 hours, but it wasn’t quality sleep. I also found myself NOT setting an alarm, and sleeping until 6:30 or 7 am some mornings. I have a code to NEVER hit the snooze button, so to stick to my rule, I changed the game and didn’t set the alarm. Not a good practice.

My workouts were also subpar. Although I never missed them so I could check the box, I was noticing that I wasn’t putting in the effort I needed to. I had a few small aches and injuries, so I was using this as an excuse to hold back. I was doing the bare minimum just to say I got my workout in.

So what made me change? - A couple of things transpired over the past 3 weeks:

1. I was talking to a friend that is training for a bodybuilding show, and he was beaming about how good he felt. Like me, he had a good routine, but he stepped up his game from being 80% on point to 100%

2. My members were starting a challenge and I decided to jump on board with them.

3. I have a benchmark for myself: I never let myself get more than two weeks away from seeing definition in my abs. When I feel & look flat, I go all in at 100% for 2 full weeks, weekends included and eliminate ALL cheat meals. (I felt like I was at that limit)

I made a commitment to myself that I was going to step things up a notch, and hold myself accountable to being the best I could be. I went a step further and told a bunch of people what I was doing, so that would be another layer of accountability. So here’s what I have been doing since the middle of January.

Logging my food. I dialed in my macros using the same Fit Body Nutrition app we use when we coach our members. What gets measured, gets managed, so now I am eating the exact number of calories needed to build lean muscle. I even traveled since I started and brought food for the plane & to have in my hotel room.

Stopped alcohol and eating sweets. I would always stop at Seven Stars for a chocolate chip cookie on the weekends, or hit Pastiche on the hill for a decedent dessert. I don’t consider myself a big drinker anyway, so cutting out alcohol wasn’t a big deal. To be honest, the first week of no sugar was the toughest, but now I don’t really miss it.

Going up to bed before falling asleep on the sofa, and setting my alarm for 5:30 am (4 am when I coach the am shift) has been a game changer. I now get up, perform my morning routine and get some tasks done before I go workout. This gives me a win first thing in the morning and gets the momentum rolling so I can stack wins throughout the day.

My workouts have also gotten more intense. The best motivation is seeing results, and since I started making changes, my muscle mass has increased and my body fat % has gone down. This fuels me to train harder and longer.

I have a 21-year-old coach, and we made a commitment to train together outside regardless of the weather 3x per week.

To top it all off, I got to spend a few days with some of the most motivated, successful Fit Body owners the brand has to offer.. The mastermind is comprised of some of the smartest successful people in the industry, and I get to call them my network. Proximity is power, and brushing elbows with that kind of fire power, fires me up to come back and dominate in my business by firing up my team.

Lessons learned / takeaways:

Sometimes you don’t know you were off your game until you are 100% on your game.

If you sense yourself falling, get back up, and get up fast.

Everything is temporary, and reversible

Self-awareness and accountability are necessary to make changes

Always stick to your standards.

It works better when you don’t do it alone and involve others.

So if you feel like you are not performing to your potential, take some small steps towards improvement.

It may be something simple like drinking more water, eating breakfast etc. or joining the community at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp.

Whatever it is, the sooner you take action and start, the sooner you can turn things around.

Remember the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the hole.

Get out of the rut, before it gets too deep!!

Coach Matt

Fit for Life: I Was in a Slump

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Fit for Life: I Was in a Slump

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