I’m about to tell on myself.
I have found, especially lately, that I’m cutting corners in warmups. I know that seems silly and “it’s just a warmup” but there are some things I still struggle to do and, in my mind, I feel like I’m already sweating so why bother trying to do the inch worm more than twice? I find that I don’t do ALL the walking lunges the ENTIRE way down and back because I don’t like being last and having everyone at the end waiting for me. I can’t jump far so I sort of avoid the 3 squat broad jump line drill instead of giving it 100%. My brain has me thinking that I’m already warm, I’m already sweating…. I’m good. I’m warmed up. I’m ready for the hard workout I’m about to do.
Tsk Tsk Tsk. Shame on me. Our warm up isn’t just for fun. It’s to actually WARM UP the muscles and joints we’ll be using for the workout. Come on, Elena! You KNOW this. Get it together, girl!
Why do we cut corners? Why do we do less than we expect from ourselves? Because it’s hard. Because we like easy, we like smooth sailing, we like quick and short as opposed to slow and steady. I’m no different. Do I REALLY want to inch worm all the way down to the end of the rig possibly being the LAST person and literally not doing it as gracefully as most? Nope. Not even close. Anyone will tell you… I DESPISE line drills and dynamic warm ups. I don’t really know why I don’t like them.. I think it’s just all of the things I can’t do or am uncomfortable doing in one section of my hour and I don’t want to waste the time. (That’s some truth right there if you’ve ever read it!) We all have one or two (or 20) movements we don’t like at 13 Stripes.
Here’s the deal: If we continue to cut corners, cut reps, cut rower meters or bike calories are we REALLY helping ourselves? If we can do the work, why don’t we? Let’s be clear here. A modification is NOT cutting corners. It’s doing something different or scaling back and still working the same targeted muscle group or heart rate. Cutting corners means CONSCIOUSLY shaving off reps to get done with the workout quicker. Most people would call that cheating. Truth be told, the only person I’m cheating when I cut corners is myself.
We are all guilty of it. Ok, maybe not ALL but at some point we did. I know I do but I am going to make a conscious effort to be honest with MYSELF and if I need to modify, I’ll do it. If I need to talk to the coach and say “I can’t do 75 single unders but I can commit to 50” and get that approval, I’ll do it. I know my limits but I shouldn’t cut them short.
Neither should you.
See you at the Box!
#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #cuttingcornersdoesnthelp #justdoit #hardworkpaysoff