Adele and Oprah and the conversations we *should* be having about fitness

I had a post about fitness trackers all ready to go this morning, but I tuned in to watch the Adele special last night and was SO fired up about it.

Aside from the absolutely gorgeous concert setting, one of my favorite things about the whole show was Adele was telling Oprah about her fitness routine. At one point she leaned in and said "I'm an athlete!" 🙌

I LOVE that energy.

We tend to think of athletes as either young people who are competing or professionals who are paid to compete. That leaves a huge gap for all other active adults, whether they're playing or coaching recreational sports, running races, cycling, participating in martial arts, or training at the gym.

And when we don't consider ourselves "athletes," we don't act like athletes.

Athletes generally have performance goals, not aesthetic goals. They train consistently, frequently, and with intention. They eat enough to support their activity levels. They understand and value rest and recovery.

When we don't consider ourselves "athletes," we skip workouts, we don't prioritize training, we follow stupid and overly restrictive fad diets trying to lose weight, and we don't sleep enough even if we're overtraining. And then we, like Oprah, are mind-boggled by the athletic feats of others, wondering why we can't do that or look like that.

Adele mentioned how much she loves to lift weights, and Oprah replied with confusion, "You lift weights?"

The fact that someone like Oprah, who has publicly gone through the cycle of losing and gaining weight. many times over the years, is surprised that Adele lifts weights is a problem with our culture -- and probably Oprah's methods.

Strength training is such a crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to changing body composition, improving physical health, and enhancing athletic performance (and yes, classes at the gym count as athletic performances that can be enhanced by lifting!)

Oprah was also shocked and impressed that Adele has deadlifted around 170 lbs. As someone who lifts, I'm impressed but not at all surprised. That's what training consistently and progressively can do for you, and most athletes train consistently and progressively.

I was honestly more surprised when she said "And I have to eat a lot of food" to accomplish that. 🙌

YES, eating more and lifting more is how it works but unfortunately, thanks to people like Oprah, we more often receive messages that we must always eat less to change our bodies -- and that changing our bodies is always the goal!

When Oprah asked Adele about her recent significant weight loss, Adele said she started going to the gym because it gave her life structure.

"So...you didn't start out trying to lose the weight?" Oprah, the poster woman for trying to lose weight, couldn't even wrap her head around that.

And she's not alone.

Many, many people cannot fathom that others exercise or eat "healthy" if they aren't trying to lose weight. But that's what athletes do!

Before I was a trainer, I was asked many times why I needed to work out when I was already thin and told I didn't have to worry about what I ate because I was small.

I've even had people ask my clients, in front of me, why they need a trainer when they're already in shape.

Those comments are -- like Oprah's questions for Adele -- coming from a mindset of weight loss, rather than health or athletic performance.

Health and weight loss are not always the same. Pursuing fitness is also not the same as pursuing weight loss, though they can overlap. Working out is for more than just losing weight.

Adele made it clear that exercising, for her, was about her physical and mental well-being. Weight loss, for her, was the side effect of making positive lifestyle changes, including eliminating alcohol usage and working on her mental health -- two other things many athletes do that the general population often doesn't.

To wrap up, train like an athlete, meaning consistently and with intention. Eat to fuel your activity. Focus more energy on what your body can do and how it feels than what it looks like. You'll probably end up feeling better, with better health outcomes, than slogging through cardio undernourished and discouraged by frequent weigh-ins.