Instant Gratification?

We get instant gratification almost everywhere in our lives. We turn on the television and there’s a TV show. We unlock our phones and there’s our apps. We get into bed at night and instantly feel comfortable. Where we DON’T get instant gratification is at the gym or working on being healthier.

How frustrating is that?

The answer to the above is VERY. If you’re anything like me you want results NOW. Right now. Or even yesterday. One of the hardest lessons I needed to learn after I joined 13 Stripes (and there have been many) is the power of delayed gratification. The power behind sticking with it and LATER seeing and feeling the results. I wanted to squat lower immediately. I wanted to finish an AMRAP immediately. I wanted to lift heavier immediately. I want to stand on my head – tomorrow.

Coach Kellie and I had a conversation this week about walking before I run. She makes a lot of sense and, since she’s also my very good friend, she can be very frank with me. Sometimes the words ‘slow your roll’ work their way into our conversations and while that might not be what I want to hear at that very moment….  I know she’s right. (Don’t tell her I said that.)   There have been many times where I find myself getting frustrated because there is something I SHOULD be able to do that I just flat out struggle with. Take jumping rope, for instance.

When I started back in August the thought of jumping… off the ground… and landing.. was SCARY. There was no way that my 310 lb body was going to lift off the ground and land without me hurting myself. I modified every single thing that had any kind of jump whatsoever in it. My fear of falling and failing were way too strong at that point. Then one day I decided to see if I could jump. Just a jump. In place. Not over anything or on anything. Just jump. And I did it. And I didn’t get hurt. I didn’t fall. So I added a 10 lb plate and jumped on that. Boom. Then I just kept jumping. Working slowly and methodically to strengthen my belief in myself that I could do the seemingly impossible.

It was time to break out the jump rope. One jump. Two. Three in a row. The next thing I know I’m buying a rope on Amazon.  Then I’m no longer scared of the WODs that have rope jumping. Then… just like that… just last week…. I used my newest rope (I bought another one. Message me for details) and just started working on my single unders without double jumping them. Just one jump up, rope goes under, I land, rope comes around again, boom. Single unders. Then Coach Nelle asks me to just flick my wrists instead of using my entire arm. Boom. Works like a charm. The next thing I know I’m feeling like a serious athlete jumping my way into stardom. (ok.. that last bit was way dramatic but you get my point.)

My point is very simple:  I didn’t jump when I started and I do now. 7.5 months of working on doing a single under and I FINALLY got it. I can actually say that I look forward to them because it’s an opportunity for me to practice and perfect them so I can move on to double unders. If I tried all of this in my first week or two at 13 Stripes I would have been so frustrated and angry that who knows what would have happened to my healthier living path?  We all have to start somewhere, right? Rome was definitely not built in a day and neither is healthier living.

It requires strength, it requires community, it requires passion, it requires consistency and most of all.. it requires dedication. You are so worth it. Please believe that. It’s true.

See you at the Box!!!

#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #jumpropesongs #singleundersfirst

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