The Weight on the Barbell is Important – Not the Scale

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

You probably know the feeling.

You step on the scale hoping to see a smaller number than last time; but it didn’t budge, or worse yet, it increased.

Immediately you feel deflated. Upset. Confused.

“Why didn’t the number go down?” you ask in dismay.

I’ve been there and done that. My mood for the entire day would be affected by the number on the scale.

And that really sucked.

We’ve discussed why you should Stop Weighing on the Scale and What to Do for Better Results before, but today we’re taking things a bit further.

Some people feel empowered and get a sense of euphoria when they see the number on the scale go down. They become addicted to seeing a consistent decrease and rely heavily on that number to indicate their success, or lack thereof.

But you can’t spend the rest of your life striving to reach a lower and lower bodyweight. You’ll either fight a losing battle if your “goal weight” is unrealistic, or once you achieve it you’ll be out of motivation to keep on going.

Heck, why waste another day focusing on a number that truly means nothing in the big scheme of things?

Why not do something that’s truly motivating? Something that makes you feel good about yourself. Something that improves the quality of your life and decreases stress. Something that not only tells you you’re on the fast track to success but also increases your self-confidence,.

The number on the scale is NOT important. And making your sole focus to achieve a smaller number is NOT empowering.

Ya know what IS important and is actually VERY empowering? Focusing on the weight on the barbell. (Or whatever strength training tools you use).

When you switch the focus from what you *weigh* to what you can DO, amazing things will happen.

By focusing on what you can do and increasing the weight on the barbell, you’ll have experiences and a sense of accomplishment that a smaller number on the scale could never provide. This is the goal of all the Beautiful Badass workout programs and the most recent Muscle Sculpting Program. And it’s a main reason so many people are reporting great results (while having fun).

Make These Numbers INCREASE

By making the following numbers increase, awesome things will happen to your mind and body. Don’t believe me? That’s fine; I understand your skepticism. But I challenge you to apply the following tips for a minimum of four weeks, consistently, and then get back to me.

The weight on the barbell. Make it a goal to consistently add more weight to the barbell, or whatever strengths tool you use. Lift some heavy stuff and get stronger. And then, lift some heavier stuff and get even stronger. This is a powerful combination for building an incredible body and boosting confidence. Again, don’t take my word for it — do it for at least four weeks and you’ll experience it for yourself.

Oh, and please do not give me the whole “Weight lifting makes women big ‘n bulky” speech. We’ve obliterated that myth before.

The number of reps you perform. You can’t add more weight to the barbell every workout. That’s why it’s a great idea to stick with the same weight and focus on increasing reps first. For instance, let’s say you can squat 115 pounds for 3×5 (3 sets, 5 reps). Stick with 115 pounds until you can perform 3×8 with that weight. Then next time add 5 pounds or so and start back at 3×5 and repeat the process.

Eat a higher percentage of real, high quality food. Guess what? There’ s a good change you need to be Eating MORE and Not Less. Focus on food quality and make sure you’re eating enough to improve your performance and build the body you want.

If you want more simple nutrition information check out Beautiful Badass Nutrition Principles and also My Biggest Nutrition Mistake.

So focus on making those numbers go UP and watch what happens next:

LOOK Awesome

What happens when you ditch the thought of achieving an ideal weight and opt instead to focus on improving your performance in the gym?

A lot of things, actually. First, you’ll actually start having fun with your workouts because you’ll have a positive goal — to get stronger and do better than last time. Second, you’ll discover your true physical strength and abilities. I’m telling you, fewer things are more empowering than busting out your first set of unassisted chin-ups or squatting your bodyweight for the first time.

And third, you’ll build the body you want along the way. And if you look great, why would you even entertain the idea of standing on the scale? Do NOT make the mistake some women do and exclaim, “Wow! I love how my body looks now! I wonder what I weigh?” and then step on the scale to find out. Oftentimes women will build the physique they love and weigh a good 10+ pounds more than their ideal weight. This is confusing because there’s a disconnect between what they believe the scale should reveal and how they perceive their appearance.

Again, if you like how you look, what does it matter? It doesn’t. So forget about it.

BE Awesome

Everyone wants to look great, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I encourage all fellow Beautiful Badasses to not only focus on how they look but to focus on what they can do.

If I don’t help deliver the body transforming results my clients demand, they wouldn’t keep working with me, obviously. However, I like to take things deeper than just building a great looking physique. After all, if my clients have great looking bodies but they have to constantly suffer, sacrifice, and revolve their life around the gym and a rigid nutrition regimen, then I’ve failed.

Building and maintaining a better body should not require exhaustion and deprivation. Contrary to popular belief, it’s entirely possible to build the body you want without being miserable. As long as you do things the sane and simple way, that is.

Getting back on track . . . BEING awesome means building the body you want the sane and simple way. It means being proud of not only how your body looks but what it can DO. It’s about being the best you possible and not giving a rip what anyone else thinks.

It’s about ditching all of the conflicting information and sticking to the tried-and-true-basics and doing what works for you.

So . . . be awesome.

Ditch the scale.

Load up a barbell.

Get to work.

Want to LOOK awesome and BE awesome? Get the Free Beautiful Badass Mini Course (free workout included) to build a better body the sane and simple way. You’ll also get insider only information. Enter your email address below.