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Someone Out There is More Fit Than You

In October of 2019 I walked into my CrossFit box for the “starter” WOD 2 weeks after finishing my first 50 mile ultra.⁣
⁣
I died. It was the “worlds easiest body weight workout”. I died. Truly. I was incredibly embarrassed. ⁣
⁣
I had ran 50 fucking miles in under 12 hours. But I was embarrassed. ⁣
⁣
Because the reality of fitness is 1) we are always more fit and less fit than someone else 2) our fitness is specific to the task at hand 3) for the beginner years of our fitness “journeys” no matter how much we try to hack it — we just lack fitness. Period.⁣

I wasn’t unfit. I just lacked the muscular endurance to sustain CrossFit level efforts for 12 min instead of 12 hours.⁣
⁣
I could have beat my self up and left or felt embarrassed. Instead I started training during open gym with people who were way fitter than me. It took me longer. I still did the work.⁣
⁣

I then started Olympic weight lifting because I knew that would help. It was a skill I terribly lacked. It took me damn near 15 months to learn how to get my ass under a snatch. Despite years of incredibly power lifting specific strength. I didn’t snatch my body weight for over a year. ⁣
⁣
It took me 5 tries to run 20 miles for the first time. ⁣
⁣

When I walked on my college lacrosse team I was the worst one. Hands down. Period. But I was incredibly fit. More than most. But guess what? It didn’t matter. I didn’t have the right FITNESS for the task at hand so I didn’t play.⁣
⁣
I could keep going on. My point is in all of these situations I could have chose to compare my self to them. Or quit because I sucked. ⁣
⁣
Instead I chose to lean in and slowly do the work the areas I lacked fitness in. I could have compared my self. Made excuses. Deemed my self incapable.⁣
⁣

But it’s never been that serious.⁣
Because I’ll never actually be the best at fitness.⁣
⁣
I am good at fitness. Yes. It’s my job. And hobby. ⁣
⁣
But my running friends are faster & lifting only friends stronger. I don’t compare. I am inspired. ⁣
⁣

Comparison doesn’t contribute to fitness.⁣
⁣
& Comparison won’t do the work. ⁣
⁣
So put your blinders up + head down. Because absolutely NO one “fit” just work up that way. ⁣
⁣
& you won’t either 🤟🏻❤️

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Hey, I'm Lyss!

I’m Exercise Physiologist, sports nutritionist, weight lifter, and ultra runner. I am here to bring science to your training in a no-nonsense way. I have helped thousands of women crush big lifting goals, cross race finish lines, and even do both. I’m here to help you do the same!

RACE WEEKEND 👇🏻 LET ME KNOW BELOW what you w

RACE WEEKEND 👇🏻 LET ME KNOW BELOW what you want to see:

Im preparing for my first ultramarathon back in 3 years this weekend and we’re documenting the dang thing for YouTube! I’ll be ✨attempting/racing✨ a 50 miler 👀.

Comment below “YouTube” and I’ll send you the link to catch up on my recent return to ultra series!

Let me know below what YOU WANT TO SEE, want my official film master @sarahmichelletierney to capture, or me to cover when I’m packing / preparing.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE BELOW 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

You say you aren’t made to run. But if you close

You say you aren’t made to run. But if you close your eyes you can remember what it felt to run barefoot in the grass as a child. Long before a desk bound life made your legs forget their natural state.

You say you aren’t made to run. But you watch a deer legged toddler take off across a room for the first time. No training, just inane.

You say you aren’t made to run. But inside you lies the DNA of those who came long before you. Who out ran the antelope.

You say you aren’t made to run but yet you keep wondering, keep asking yourself … but what if I tried?

You can’t scratch the itch. It’s almost like it belongs to you. It always had. And you’re just waiting for it to show up.

You say you aren’t made to run but when you do you feel your brain slow down and you notice everything around you in more detail and yet— you notice nothing at all all at once.

You say you aren’t made to run but when you try you come alive inside again.

You say you aren’t made to run but yet you have a body made for covering long distances on two legs.

You said you weren’t made to run but you also weren’t made for most of the things you do and yet you do them. We watch hours of TV and sit all day and stare into screens and isolate from community.

We’ll eat liver and cold plunge and stare into the sun and do crazy diets all in the name of reclaiming who we are to our core. “This is what our ancestors did!” “This is what will regulate my nervous system” “this is what will restore my dopamine in a screen filled society!” we declare.

But we won’t go for a run.

And yet — it’s the most natural thing we can ever do, to come home to ourselves again.

🤔 Is HIIT the villian of the luteal phase? Is i

🤔 Is HIIT the villian of the luteal phase? Is it making us inflamed and unable to recover and destroying our hormones and health?

Or — is it being wrongly accused all along? 👇🏻

🛑 THIS IS A HEAVY SWIPE. But if you want good info it’s going to have to come in something more than a 15 second reel. If you don’t have time right now simply hit that SAVE tab and read it later.

I will also try to unpack all this in a future podcast when I’m able to!

Like many things in the world of hormone taboo— the anti HIIT agenda is mostly based on hypothesis and not data or hormone interactions not exercise trials.

While this area is still limited (I mean, isn’t it all 🤪) — we do have a few interesting studies looking at HIIT or exercise across the cycle and the inflammatory or immune responses.

🧬Side lesson: when you exercise your body releases inflammatory markers to signal out to the rest of your body and to start the recovery processes. Immune cells come to the muscle tissue to help clean up + repair. All of this is normal and not “bad”.

When we look at some of the emerging data on HIIT across the cycle we actually see something really cool. HIIT may actually be a usefull tool to REDUCING inflammation or PMS symptoms across the menstrual cycle. INCLUDING THE LUTEAL PHASE 🤯.

Now I know I’m a big shill for big cardio. But this is exciting! And we love behavior led options for improving cycle experience and training experience.

🧘🏼‍♀️ Also of note: Yoga and cardio also will reduce PMS symptoms. Likely exercise is just good for you.

Lastly, don’t forget: Exercise Inflamation ISNT A BAD THING. New data is starting to refer to these as MYOKINES and possible what makes exercise such a magic pill of health. Think of theses a little muscle messengers communicating to other organs like your liver and brain.

As well as these responses to exercise actually make us more resilient to insulin resistance, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

So if you are sick of the anti exercise fear — try out some HIIT this next month and see if it helps!

My programs page @thelyssmethod has some free cardio workouts on our page!

Find this helpful? Please share. 🫶🏻

⚡️1 WEEK OUT — and there is nothing nothing

⚡️1 WEEK OUT — and there is nothing nothing more powerful than when the work is done and you kept a promise to yourself.

Running and racing and fitness goals have taught me a lot over the years. But mostly — they have helped me see exactly who I am.

I am a very confident person. Maybe overly to some. But this doesn’t come from being great or amazing or perfect or the best all the time. It comes from years of showing up and doing what I said I was going to do.

I can always — and always — trust and believe in me.

For all the doubts or uncertainty I once held about myself. Getting out there daily year after year and working toward a goal I said I would do (start a business, run an ultra, get my PhD, etc) and seeing all those come to reality are why I have so much confidence.

The daily work you do, seeing yourself show up, these are the receipts you have for who you are. These are the blocks that build your confidence.

For me? The work is done. I started this year on 1/1/2023 with one simple declaration “I will get back to an ultra”. And no matter what happens next weekend. If I DNF or PR the day or anything between — I showed myself once again I am a person who keeps their promises to them self. And that sentiment alone is always far sweeter than any race finish or accomplishment on its own 🫶🏻

🤡 “Cycle syncing isn’t harmful”. Anythin

🤡 “Cycle syncing isn’t harmful”.

Anything that reduces the exercise engagement of females is a health risk. Anything that fully removes lifting or explosive training over half the month is a health risk. Anything that makes females fear cardio is a health risk.

Should females be educated and aware of their hormones and their possible impacts? And the unique and individual experience they have and how this may impact training and how to do so? You bet ya. And if you DM the words “cycle sync” I’ll send you alllll the resources I have on this ($free.99).

But saw a coach recently called out on the take of only doing “gentle movement” during the luteal and menstrual phase say “cycle syncing isn’t harmful though”.

But is it fully harmless? Especially when females meet the Exercise guidelines less than their male counter parts? Especially in their 20-30’s?

The cycle may be a barrier to some and we should factor this in. There are things we can do to work with our hormones. I’m not against this 👏🏻.

But this approach is NOT it. It’s NOT harmless.

“But but women over abuse cardio all month and it wrecks their hormones this works!!” — by indirectly increasing energy availability. By periodizing training. By polarizing it. All which can be done across the month all the time along side the cycle and managing individual responses and considering our hormones even if the data is premature 😉.

This is harmful 🤷🏼‍♀️. Your coach or practitioner telling you to only train with any intesnity at most 10 days a month won’t be there when your bone density declines. When you’re struggling with your cardiovascular health throughout the menopause transition. This is not harmless.

Females deserve better. I agree. And they also deserve better than this ✨🤘🏻👏🏻

✨ Happy Friday friends — Some recent thoughts

✨ Happy Friday friends — Some recent thoughts + nuggets from over on @threads . Each of these could be their own posts but likely wouldn’t see the time of day otherwise. 🤪🤠🤘🏻

Let me know which message or reminder or info nugget you needed today 👇🏻✨

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