Caring About Your Looks is Shallow...or Is It?

Today I'd like to introduce you to someone. 

She is a knowledgeable fitness coach with 9 years of experience. She placed in the top 1% nationally in Crossfit during her 7 years of competition. She has trained with the best Olympic-level weightlifting coaches and world-class Powerlifting coaches in her quest to perfect her benchpress, back squat, and deadlift. She is CrossFit Level 2 certified and has achieved Red III in the Level Method system. (She used to be a part-owner in a Level Method gym.)

Her heaviest single deadlift is 335, and her best 20 rep backsquat is 205 ya'll! And she found a way to do all of that and still be kind to herself and her body. 

And to think, she accomplished so much after she cried in her first warm-up! (Aah, now you're getting to know her.)

And, though impressive, none of that is even why I'm so proud of her as her coach.

What really makes me proud is her determination to overcome all obstacles and succeed. And just like she was determined to overcome her fears and doubts to become a competitive athlete, she did so in other areas of her life, too. And works towards what she wants every single day, with love and grace.

She is our first guest blogger.

AND... she launched her first fitness e-course (a glute program) this week, a huge milestone for someone who says "tech isn't my first language."

It is my honor and privilege to introduce you to Alexandra Bardales of Zandramind Coaching, and her first guest blog post with us.

Caring About Your Looks is Shallow

But if the physical affects the emotional, is it shallow?

At the bottom of this post I have BIG NEWS for you. But first, let's talk.

We probably agree on this:

Working out and shaping your body goes deeper than skin level. 

BTW- when I say “working out” let’s just get on the same page about that. What I mean is “showing up to your body”- the appointment you have with yourself, and with your body. Working out can be so many things. To me, it is simply a practice of doing something physical for your body’s health, whether that be walking, stretching, running, or classic working out. But for the sake of simplicity just know that when you read “working out” it means any conscious way of strengthening or caring for your muscles.

Sure, the surface result of losing weight, gaining muscles, toning, having nice skin, shiny hair, bright eyes, and so on just makes you feel hot, sexy, attractive, clean, and kept. 

But those things also go deep because often what we see physically ON ourselves affects how we FEEL.  

Let me explain.

When we see our bodies looking how we like - our skin, hair, eyes, and teeth looking healthy and bright - the messages we receive AND put out are things like:

“I have respect for myself therefore I care for myself and my body.” 

“I love myself and love taking care of my body.” 

“I enjoy putting effort into myself and reaping rewards for it.”

“I am a hard worker who makes time for self-care.” 

“I am healthy.”

“I am vibrant.” 

“I like myself and so I spend time with myself.” 

When you take care of your body through workouts, diet, sleep, etc it affects your self-image, the picture of yourself in your mind’s eye, and your beliefs about yourself (your “I am” statements).  

With a strong self-image you walk with your head tall, your shoulders back, and you’ll smile and laugh more readily. You have a high, healthy opinion of yourself. 

And since working out is just one way to impact your self-image positively, it can be a healing tool and confidence-builder. 

Working out can even be an antidote to many self-worth/self-care/self-confidence issues that many of us have that are deeply rooted.

Working out is a great avenue to feeling good and getting shit done.

To me, the idea that I worked for my strong body feels super empowering! Is body shape or your body's capability the only way to feel confident and sure of yourself? Hell no!

But like I said, it's a tool I use, and one I promote.

Other Tools for Feeling Great:

• Meditation. Connecting to the ground- literally with shoes off and bare feet on the dirt, clearing my energy (here’s a video on how I do this on YouTube), sitting silently, and ending with thanks. If I didn’t do this daily I would feel scattered, rushed, and unaware of myself and my actions. This practice is probably the most important thing I do to influence my mood and self-image.
• Sleep. I usually get 8 hours of sleep but sometimes, like around menses, 6-7 hours. I drink bedtime tea, and when it’s time for bed I put in earplugs and slip a silk face mask over my eyes and it’s soooo nice to just check out like that for bed! When I don’t get enough sleep for days in a row, or even just one night, you bet I feel depressed, negative, and easily upset.

Those are just 2 of the many tools, along with working out, that I purposefully craft into my life because I want to give my best to myself and the world around me. 

As I promised when I first set out to create an epic butt-building program...

STRONGER, BIGGER IS HERE!

YESS!!

Stronger, Bigger (my 5-week butt-building program for strength and size) is live!

I AM SO HAPPY TO SAY that FINALLY, it’s here. 🤩

I cannot even explain how much work went into it. 

As a big thank you for reading this blog post... 

→ The first 10 people to purchase get 13% off! (with coupon code SBthirteen)

→ On top of that, the first 3 can do a free Enneagram assessment with me. I will reach out to you if you are the first 3 to buy.

Head here to check out Stronger, Bigger

-Alexandra

→ P.S. Stay tuned on Instagram because I will be sharing a LOT about Stronger, Bigger this week...

→ P.S.S. REMEMBER: USE THIS COUPON FOR YOUR 13% OFF: SBthirteen

(only the first 10 can use that coupon so move quickly!!!)