Soheefit: Willpower Wonders III: Flex That Muscle

There’s something I’ve struggled with over the past two months out here in the Boston area, and I’m only just now beginning to figure out an effective solution. Here’s the thing: I work at work, then I come home and I try to work. So I work before I work, but then my later work doesn’t really happen. What I ended up doing recently is moving my later work to my before work so that work actually gets done, and then I can go into work and work all day and be fine.

Are you following me? No? Okay, let me try again.

My full-time internship as a strength coach at Cressey Performance sucks the energy out of me. Depending on whether or not I’m training myself that day, I’m constantly on my feet on the training room floor between 7 to 9 hours a day. Add to that the mental exhaustion of making an effort to be friendly to everyone while simultaneously keeping an eye on all the clients that come through to make sure they’re not butchering their form – and I’m pooped. Most nights, I’ve come home and all I’ve want to do is hide in my room for the rest of the evening. As a natural introvert, being constantly surrounded by people all day as part of my job is really a challenge, and it takes a serious toll on me. But I have to keep in mind that I’m not only a strength coach – I’ve also got my Sohee Fit responsibilities. That includes writing, answering emails, taking care of online clients, and staying on top of social media (my twitter handle is strong). Every night that I’ve pushed back an article deadline for myself, however, I’ve been racked with guilt. I’ve felt that I haven’t been living up to my expectations and that I’ve simply been lazy. I’ve that I’ve been losing steam in the motivation department and my want has been slowly fading away.

Here’s what I’ve been doing wrong: I’ve been using up all my willpower as a coach that my stores have been depleted by the time I’ve come home every night.

How I’ve been feeling every night – when I’m supposed to be working.

Willpower levels have been shown to peak first thing in the morning and steadily wane throughout the day. What’s more, it appears that every act of self-control draws from the same reserve. So if you have to sit through two hours of traffic in the morning without losing your cool and then tolerate incessant nagging from your co-worker in the neighboring cubicle, both of those acts will chip away at your total control tank. What does this mean? It means that, in a twisted way, utilizing self-control can, if not managed properly, eventually lead to loss of control.

We’re not necessarily doomed for ice cream binges and all-out tantrums, however. First, a little bit of background.

Blood sugar levels are correlated with willpower failures. While willpower cannot be quantified, a number of controlled experiments have shown that not only does the brain rely on glucose for energy (and consequently decisions requiring self-control), but even the slightest drop in available circulating glucose will cause the brain to hoard the sugar it does have and cut out anything it deems superfluous. And according to the brain, self-control is the first to go.

This is deemed the energy budget model and makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Before all of this existed – technology, a surplus of food, desk jobs – a drop in blood sugar levels had more significance. It didn’t mean that it was time to reach for another brownie, but rather a sign that food was actually not available. Food supplies were unpredictable way back when, so it makes sense that your brain would have wanted to warn you of limited sources. To have a brain that could bias you toward immediate gratification and impulses meant that you were more likely to survive (think about it – jumping at the first hint of sustenance, or slowly amble over to stare down at the remains of animal bones already scraped clean?).

Hold your horses there. I’m not giving you an excuse to chomp down on that danish. Put it down. (Seriously, put it down.) While it’s true that a drop in blood sugar is bad news bears as far as willpower is considered, the amount of sugar that the brain actually needs to function optimally clocks in at less than half a Tic Tac per minute. A little disheartening, wouldn’t you say? If you inhale that chocolate chip cookie, you’ll experience a sugar crash shortly afterward. Sky high blood sugar, low energy. The moral of the story? Stick to foods that will give you lasting energy. You know what it is.

I challenge you to work your self-control muscle – and not just your gluteus maximus with them hip thrusts – by trying out the following task: control one small thing that you typically don’t control. The important part here is that it’s small; nothing that’s daunting and will make you feel overwhelmed. Clean two dishes before you shuffle off to work in the mornings. Pack all your meals the night before. Use your non-dominant hand for daily activities. Hang up your jacket instead of throwing it on the floor when you get home in the evenings. Committing to small yet consistent acts of self-control can increase overall willpower. Mini doses rather than a huge spike followed by a crash and burn, in other words. Baby steps, my friend.

The mere fact that you are forcing yourself to notice what you are about to do and opting for the more difficult thing is critical here. The brain pauses before acting, and the more you practice this, the more likely it is that that behavior will soon become ingrained as a habit. The beauty lies in the apparent trivial nature of each act. They may be small, but over time they can add up and create something great.

The thought that self-control has a limit may be more of a reflection of people’s beliefs about willpower rather than their true physical and mental boundaries. If you think in your head that steering clear of junk food and instead filling your body with natural, wholesome foods is going to much easier to do three months from now as long as you stay consistent, you’re far less likely to throw in the towel in your quest to get healthy. If you imagine a day in the future when you will look forward to training and not be intimidated by the gym, you have a better chance of showing up everyday. These thoughts will make you tougher and give you the motivation to tough it out through the temporary misery. This idea is just speculation at this point but is an intriguing theory that is currently being further investigated. Never underestimate the power of the mind.

Back to my issue with trying to do work in the evenings. As I type this, it is 9:06a.m. on a Thursday morning. I’ve been up since 7a.m. working like a madman, and I feel great. I’m not cranky when I reply to e-mails and I actually feel excited to write this piece. This is a far cry from my evening woes. Add to that the fact that I know that I will have less to do by the time I come back from Cressey Performance tonight – I’m as happy as a pig rolling in turd.

If you can’t muster up the energy to do what’s important to you when you try to do it, schedule it for when you are feeling your best. This may mean getting to bed earlier so you have time in the mornings to devote to your up-and-coming business, and it may mean getting in your training earlier in the day so you’re not dragging through it (or worse, skipping out on it altogether). Whatever it is you have to do, don’t just make it a priority in your head; take action and give it a VIP spot in your daily schedule.

We walk a fine tightrope. We must constantly straddle the line between using too much willpower versus letting it deteriorate on its own accord out of neglect. So again, small, consistent challenges testing your self-control to strengthen the willpower muscle, and scheduling important duties for when you’re most likely to get it done. I promise doing just these two things will go a long way to make you more productive, happier, and more fulfilled.

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About Sohee Lee

Hi there and welcome – I’m so excited you’ve made it here! My name is Sohee Lee and I’m a formerly California-, now NYC-based fitness buff. I recently graduated in June of 2012 with a BA in Human Biology (concentration in Psychosocial and Biological Determinants of Health) from Stanford University. I’m also a nationally qualified NPC bikini competitor (though my opinion on competing at this point is pretty mehh) and am currently studying to become a Precision Nutrition certified nutritionist and obtain my NSCA-CSCS.

If you don’t feel like reading everything below (which I completely understand – I mean sometimes I don’t shut up), then here’s a bullet-point version of me in a nutshell:

• eating disorder for 8 years, discovered weightlifting and fell in love
• shipped off to Stanford thinking I would study sports medicine, but discovered that fitness was my true calling
• graduated in June 2012 and spent the summer interning at Cressey Performance, the nation’s elite baseball training facility
• currently working in Connecticut as a strength coach
• also an online training and nutrition consultant and a contributing writer to Bodybuilding.com (woohoooooo!!)

How I Got Into Fitness

I’ve been physically active my entire life, starting with swimming at the age of 2. I’ve since participated in gymnastics, tap dancing (yeah, really), cheerleading, baseball, track, soccer, swimming, and cross country. I was an endurance athlete and, at one point, dipped into some dangerous territories. Read more about my battle with my eating disorder here and how I climbed my way out of the abyss.

My Take on Training

I believe in prioritizing the compound movements and saving the accessory movements for later, if at all. I believe in lifting heavy, regardless of whether you’re leaning out or trying to build mass. I believe that training should complement your diet, not compensate for your crappy nutrition. I believe that pink dumbbells should be used for rehab purposes only (ladies, I’m looking at you), and that nothing is quite more badass and sexy than a man or woman who can dominate in the weight room.

My Take on Nutrition

Hearing the following statements make me cringe:

• Too much protein will damage your kidneys.
• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you skip it, you. Will. Die.
• Small, frequent feedings keep your metabolism up and everybody should eat this way.
• Not eating for more than 4 hours at a time will cause your muscles to atrophy.
• You should never, never eat junk food lest the calories race straight to your hips, ass, and face. And stay there forever.
• You can say goodbye to alcohol.

Why I Created This Site

I made this site for you, dear reader. For years, I’ve spent every minute of my free time absorbing everything I could about fitness. I’ve worked with a number of trainers, learned what worked and what didn’t, and stumbled through many roadblocks to get to where I am now. Also, I like to write, and I want to share my stories with you. I have many.

I’m a lover of all things psychology (hence my academic area of focus); I’m intrigued by everything that makes us who we are as humans. Social relationships, the psychology behind our decisions… they all play into making us unique individuals.

When it comes down to it, fitness in and of itself is not what I’m passionate about; it’s you and what’s inside that noggin of yours. It’s what exists between me and you – this thing called a connection. A bond. I get such a high off of nurturing something so intangible and watching as we help each other in some way. How can you help me? You can start by helping me help you. Ask me questions, prod my brain, contact me! I’m here to make your life better. Whether that’s by providing you with a thought-provoking or entertaining blog post in the morning as you sip your heavenly java or by working with you as your training and nutrition consultant to transform your physique, I’m here, and I’m ready.