This past weekend I noticed something about myself. Stick with me here.
I dropped into a fitness box in Toms River, NJ called Apache fitness. If you’re ever in that area and need a place to drop in, Apache is it! Anyway, I’m always a little nervous dropping into boxes even if I’ve been there before. The owner knew me and was happy to see me and so was the coach so that made me feel good. The workout was a good one… push jerks and assault bike in a 15-12-9 rep complex.
Biking is NOT my strong suit. It’s barely even in my wheelhouse so I knew that even trying to kick out 9 calories on the bike is a bit of a struggle and takes me longer than the average person. I found myself pushing through the push jerks faster than I normally would go… just to get to the bike… thinking if I paced myself against that girl ahead of me who was CLEARLY a strong athlete and, well, thin and built, I would make it through the WOD without being the last or embarrassing myself in front of people. It’s like I forgot for a minute that I know my body, I know my limitations and I know the community and just decided to compete. Against no one.
Then, just as I was pushing through my 6th rep of unbroken 50 lb push jerks on my second round through I realized that I was going crazy. It’s like it hit me all of a sudden. If I don’t slow it down and go at my pace I’m going to hurt myself. My left elbow doesn’t lock out and I was desperately trying to make it do what it doesn’t do just so I could keep up. I was biking harder than I have ever biked just to get to that 9th calorie and I realized that was such an unhealthy pace for me. I was going to injure my elbow or strain my back because my technique was suffering or I was going to gas out and be unable to finish.
Once my brain caught up with the rest of my body I was able to focus on ME. Focus on MY workout. Focus on my technique. Focus on the calories on the bike. Focus on making sure I was doing MY best for ME. That’s the trick of it. We have to stop comparing ourselves to others, we have to stop competing with people that don’t know we’re competing with them. It’s not fair to us. How are we supposed to get better when we don’t take the time to actually GET better?
Today.. take a step back. Think hard. Are you trying to keep up with someone that isn’t aware of it? It doesn’t have to be at the gym… it can be anywhere. Work? Home? School? The grocery store? Are you trying to be better than someone else without checking yourself first? The ONLY person you should be trying to keep up with is yourself. The only person you can change is the person looking back at you in the mirror. The only person you should try to compete with is who you were yesterday. Challenge YOURSELF before you challenge others.
One thing that I always remember… and I always tell other people.. just when you think you CAN’T, you absolutely CAN. I’m dead serious about that, too. I never thought I’d be able to put 50 lbs over my head and I did that 63 times on Saturday. I even PR’d my one rep max at 80 lbs. If I can slow down and go at my pace, so can you. We are all a community of athletes (yep. You. You’re an athlete!) just trying to better ourselves and help each other get better. Don’t try to keep up with anyone but yourself and your will to get healthier. Push yourself because you WANT it, not because someone else is already doing it.
Now.. come workout with me.
See you at the box!!!
#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #readthatagain #keepingupwithmyself #wecandothis #13stripesfitness #bikingcanbefun