One of my favorite things about being part of the Prowess community is watching the transformation that happens when new members join the gym. For many new members, the variety of new movements can feel overwhelming at first. But after some coaching and practice, their confidence begins to grow. The movements become more natural and efficient. They begin to be able to strategize their approach to workouts. Over time, muscles adapt to the new challenges, and what was once impossible is within reach.
This same process happens with nutrition! At first, discipline feels unnatural and difficult. But, just like shoulder muscles develop to allow for heavier overhead pressing, handstands, and eventually, handstand push ups, the mental “muscle” of discipline with nutrition habits develops too. When you first begin nutrition coaching, the discipline of drinking 80oz of water every day may feel unnatural and difficult. But as you and your coach work together to strategize and navigate hurdles, it becomes easier. And the discipline you develop when you stick to your hydration habit carries over into your next task! As the discipline muscle grows, you layer new habits one on the other, and your goals that once felt impossible are within reaching distance.
One of the main jobs of a fitness coach is to know when to push an athlete and when to encourage them to hold back to avoid injury and burnout. The same goes for nutrition coaching! If we push the discipline muscle too hard, too soon when it comes to nutrition, we will get overwhelmed and burned out, just like with fitness. (Think the fad diet/fall off the wagon cycle.) We totally get it: it’s hard to hold back when you really want to reach those goals! So part of our job as nutrition coaches is to help you make progress at a steady, sustainable pace so you can continue stacking wins month after month.
If you scroll through Instagram, you might get the impression that discipline is all about gritting your teeth, pushing through, working harder. While there’s some elements of that, it’s a lot more about carefully developing your habits, strategizing your goals, and stacking small wins on each other until they turn into something bigger than you could have ever imagined. Are you ready to get started?
Emma Rains
Nutrition Coach
Prowess Fitness + Nutrition
