I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure today. My nails looked liked they needed a splash of color to match how good I was feeling on the inside, having spent the morning meditating and then pushing my body to its limit in my CrossFit workout.
While my nails and cuticles were being pampered, I looked around and noticed several people that I often see at the salon who come in at the same time as I usually do, said, “hello”, chatted about the weather, and then we chatted about my arms.
I know that sounds strange, but invariably, wherever I go, people ask me where and how I got the muscles in my arms. I always tell them the same thing: “I didn’t used to look like this. A lot of dedication to my eating healthy and going to CrossFit gave me these arms.”
And I got the usual replies: “Oh, that is too hard for me!” or “I can’t afford to go to a gym or to CrossFit,” or “I don’t have the time for that kind of dedication.”
I was a bit befuddled.
You see these women are super friendly and quite engaging. Their hair was perfectly dyed and coiffed and of course, their nails were on their way to beautiful. As I found out, they usually come in twice a month and sometimes get their eyebrows waxed as well.
What’s befuddling is that all five of them (ages ranging from 25-60) were markedly overweight or by clinical standards, obese.
I did the math in my head:
Hair coloring, once a month to cover the grey, $50-$100, add in tip, $60-$120 (this does not include highlights).
Manicure/Pedicure, twice a month, $60-$100 with tip.
Add in an eyebrow at $10/pop.
Total = $130-$230 per month.
Can’t afford it? No time? Huh? This doesn’t even include the beauty products that go along with the services.
I wondered to myself, “These women are so beautiful, don’t they see that? Don’t they see they are worth investing in themselves in their entirety? Don’t they realize that they are setting themselves up to have a myriad of physical issues if not diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and even cancer?
Granted, when you have your nails or hair done, someone else is doing the work. But feeling good, not just looking good, is worth it. It’s priceless.
I am not advocating that people stop doing nails or getting rid of grey hair. I personally love my pretty nails and they definitely complement my muscles. But my pretty nails are not going to keep me out of the hospital, from taking medications that are toxic to my system, help get a good nights sleep, or enable me to feel vibrant and alive. Pretty maybe, but not vibrant.
So I ask you: Aren’t you worth the investment? Set the money and time aside to do something that involves physical activity and being mindful about what you put into your body. Decide to invest in you.
Until next time,
Dr. Eva
CrossFit is hard and is not for everyone. Especially if the coaches are not skilled at guiding people and some young ones are not. I think the women you are referring to needs some education so that they gain insight into their situation. I really think they don’t see it – that health benefits of working out far outweigh the discomfort and inconvenience of working out.
You are absolutely right, Martina! CrossFit is not for everyone, and this is about people finding something they enjoy and doing it. But to your point about CrossFit coaches, I just want to make a point that there are loads and loads of personal trainers and coaches in other sports who have a certificate that doesn’t qualify them to be good coaches. I have personally gotten injured by bad instruction from yoga teachers, personal trainers and zumba teachers. Just like everything else, we all have to take responsibility and do our research, find out who our coaches and trainers are and find the people who will help us safely exercise and eventually thrive rather than dive.