A CUE is a signal, sign, tip, or clue that brings about action.
Cues help us know what we need to be doing. For example when we are squatting we know that our knees go OUT instead of IN. If knees are headed in that is your CUE to get them out. If your are up on your toes that is your cue to get those heels down.
Cues help us protect ourselves from injury and set us up for success. If you are doing it wrong, then it's a waste of time and you're probably going to get hurt. Another cue would be chest up and shoulders back on a dead lift like the pictures below and don't forget the sparkling smile.
Other cues might be core tight. Keeping your core tight once again protects you when you are lifting heavy. Knowing these cues not only helps you get the benefits you want when it comes to lifting and performing but also keeps you injury and pain free. So it is important that I always ask my athletes daily what their cues are, no matter how many times they have told me. I make them name them over and over again. I am sure they get annoyed, but now they can feel when they are not performing the correct form and can immediately cue themselves to do what will protect them and help them succeed in that specific exercise.
As I was sitting in my living room with our family group from our church last week, a dear friend of mine asked me what I was learning about myself during LENT? For me Lent is a time I truly ask God to come in and dig in my heart and get all the yuck out. The pride, the self-centered attitude, the U-G-L-Y whatever...it's not the pretty part of Kristi. It's the part I want no one to see and the part I hide pretty well. A couple of years ago God did freaking open heart surgery. He found things in there that were not of Him, things I didn't even realize. It was a tough experience having those things brought to my attention and then being asked to obey Him when he wanted to help me get rid of them. (you can read about that journey here).
http://khop.weebly.com/1/post/2013/09/monks-dont-wear-yoga-pants-or-do-they.html
But this year my answer to my friend was. "He's taught me to know my cues." I know my cues when I am becoming too ambitious, or success driven; when I am living in my own power and not His. Before it would take me months to recognize these, now I know my cues pretty quickly.
It's like when I am squatting with a lot of weight on my back, and for me a lot of weight means 190. I want 200 so bad! I know when I haven't tightened my core because my lower back hurts. I know when I don't press those knees out and let them fall in, because I feel the difference immediately. So I am starting to know my cues not just physically but emotionally and spiritually too.
The big theme and value at KHOP is not just about physical fitness but it is about WHOLENESS of mind, body, and soul. We may know our physical cues in a workout, but if we don't know our emotional and spiritual cues we are toast.
Here is an example. I work with many girls who stress eat. Heck, I never thought I was a stress eater. But last night after a heated argument with Grant, in the PARKING LOT of the movie theater (we are good to go, don't worry) I ordered popcorn and junior mints like it was my job. (Sundays, btw are not my Free Day to eat candy and overly buttered popcorn). I may have gone to the little butter dispenser on two separate occasions for the same bag of popcorn. So maybe, I too, struggle with a little emotional eating.
So what are your cues?
What are the cues we need to recognize before we start to spiral out of control? Before we binge eat 12 "ORGANIC" cupcakes, or before we spiral into real isolation and shame.
CUES FOR ME:
When I don't get enough sleep or things seem out of MY control that is my cue to get in God's word quickly AND let Him be in the drivers seat or someone is going to be the sad recipient of my wrath. The sarcastic, not funny sarcastic, but mean all-up-in their face sarcasm that tends to explode out of me. Think Bon QUI QUI!
Another cue is when I know I didn't do something as well as I thought I should, even something as simple as the OPEN Crossfit workout. I tend to obsess over why I couldn't get another rep. When I start to second guess and beat myself up my cue is to start being grateful really fast that I have a healthy body that can even do one of those workouts. This is my cue to gain some perspective that in the grand scheme of things, this is a joy and a hobby and should not be a stress in my life. PEOPLE are FREAKING starving in our world. Grand SCHEME Kristi...Grand SCHEME...
I have recently realized that when I am fearful about something (say this new move for instance), I tend to procrastinate and have no motivation. This is my cue to put my big girl panties on and deal with reality and have patient trust that God will provide and take care of our family.
For me, recognizing my cues have helped me not only physically, so I don't cause injury to myself, but recognizing and doing something about my emotional and spiritual cues have also helped me not cause pain to myself and others. It's something I have to persistently recognize and work on. Just like I make my Khoppers tell me their squat cues daily and they know it like the back of their hand, I want to know my "other" cues so well that I can recognize and correct when they make an appearance. So I don't binge eat popcorn and junior mints or go Bon Qui Qui on someone.
What are your cues your signals? I love to learn how others deal with their cues as it helps me on my journey.