2.4miles of lunges – I wanted to quit
Earlier this year, you may, or may not, remember me writing about a 5K lunge challenge that a fellow member and I are doing.
We are training to do a 5K of LUNGES.
All in one shot, no breaks, just straight through.
Yesterday was 2.4 miles of lunges, which took about 3 hours and 41min to complete.
You can see more about it HERE on the RTC Facebook Page.
This was the longest single distance lunge workout to date.
My legs were GONE afterward, lol.
During yesterday’s workout, I remember how tired I got, how my legs were heavy and didn’t want to do anymore, muscles were aching in places that I didn’t want, and I was just done.
My mind was telling me to stop, quit. That this is stupid, that ‘who in the right mind does crap like this?’
I wanted to stop, but I didn’t.
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There is a part of some workouts when you’re pushing your body to a new level that things get hard. Very hard.
You have to work harder than before, your body is tired, and your mind tells you to quit, stop, to back off, and not push yourself so much. It’s uncomfortable.
You’ll begin rationalizing why you need to stop. That you don’t want to get hurt, that you’ve done enough, that you’re short on time, etc…
This right here is a battle that you’ll eventually go through when trying to do something that you’ve never done before OR when you are trying to push yourself to a new level of fitness.
As a coach, I can see it when one of our members starts to hit this level; their mind tells them to quit, and here is when we repeat the phrase,
“Don’t listen to the lies!”
What do I mean by this?
In fitness, the mind is the first to give out before the body, so when we say “Don’t listen to the lies.” What we mean is don’t listen to the lies your mind is telling when you are deep in exhaustion; you have so much more to give.
It’s a natural defense mechanism of the mind to protect the body when the situation gets uncomfortable when your muscles are burning and tired, the body’s first reaction is to get you out of that state. To get you back to a level that you ARE comfortable with, a form of self-preservation of sorts.
It’s a battle.
Whenever I see a member start to get here, I get alongside them and tell them they are not alone and work through the exercise. I repeat to them NOT to listen to the mind; they have more to give; they are not done, the body can do more.
It’s a battle, a hard struggle.
BUT… here is the cool part.
When you win that battle, when you overcome those thoughts and feelings of wanting to quit and pushed through it, you immediately go to another level.
You won that battle.
Then you walk away not with a stronger body, but mentally stronger as well.
That mental strength carries you far, not only with fitness but in life.
There are going to be times in your life when you feel life is throwing everything your way; you feel like $hit is hitting the fan.
You could have lost a job, lost a relationship, lost money, got injured, or overall have a crappy day/week/year.
It will feel so unfair with everything getting thrown your way, and you will want to quit.
You’ll even rationalize why you should just quit, how things would be easier if you did.
Now, how do you respond to that is up to you. But for those who have been tested in the gym and have pushed themselves to a higher level when everything in their mind is yelling at them to stop, they will have been there before. They know if they gut it out a bit longer, they will make it and come out the other side stronger and better.
I’m not saying that if you don’t work out, you’ve never been tested, furthest from the truth.
What I am saying is that some workouts, some sets, can symbolize what life will throw at you, similar to an exercise for life. That the workout feels so hard, they everything is telling you to stop, but you kept going instead.
You are stronger than you think.
You are stronger than you give yourself credit.
Remember that when things get hard, they won’t be hard forever, you will come through the other side stronger than you thought possible.
This quote sums it up best
“The darkest hour is just before the dawn.‘ – Thomas Fuller
In Health and Awesomeness,
Travis Merritt, BS, CPT, (and other letters behind the name) is the Owner of Rowlett Transformation Center in Rowlett, TX.
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