Month: January 2019

If you read my post, New Year’s Resolutions, you will know I made this year my “year of challenge”. I really want to concentrate on stretching myself in ways I have not before, and going beyond ways I may have in the past; like when I trained the beginning of 2018 for a 20 mile bike ride held in Washington, DC., last May.

For the first time today, I took a HIIT class at the gym. For those of you who may not know, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Do some research if you are unfamiliar. It is said to burn a very nice amount of body fat and continually burn fat for hours afterwards.

I have not been consistent with my workouts. I hate when I get off course. I feel my body has grown weaker with too many days off from strength training and cardio, which always frustrates me. You would think after feeling like I took a few steps back every time I fall short staying consistent with exercise I would not allow it to happen again, but I do! Vicious cycle I tell ya’!

I have taken exercise classes a million times in the past, but this one was a little different. I was a bit intimidated not knowing what to expect from the instructor or the fitness level of my classmates. I messed around here and there with HIIT in the extremely small gym in my apartment complex where no one would be able to see me struggling and looking awkward.

Now, I wanted to take an hour long class in the presence of others where the competition would push me harder than if I were alone, because as I look around seeing all those in class  who have surpassed me in strength and endurance, it is my reminder of the slack mode I have been in, which pisses me off enough to create a level of frustration that becomes the fuel I need to ignite the fire causing me to go like a bat out of hell!

For those of you who have never done HIIT before, it is no joke! You work your sweet petunias off! Watch some Youtube videos and you will get tired and sore just by watching. I walked into the classroom and there were both females and males of all ages. There were even two elderly women in class. I feel safe to use the word elderly because if I had to bet on it, I would definitely place them in the 65 or older category; maybe more like 70ish.

We warmed up, which was like a workout in itself, then we started the HIIT portion of the class which lasted for about 45 minutes. As we were working out, I realized there were all different fitness levels in class. The elderly ladies were taking advantage of modifying the exercises and then there was the teacher who looked like she was being shot out of a cannon, and the rest of us fell in between.

Then came the moment I was waiting for: class was over!!! Mission accomplished! I made it!! Was it easy? No! Did I struggle? YES! Did I do all the moves with power? No! Did I keep moving though? Yes!  Did I look and feel awkward? You bet!! Was anyone worried about me and how I looked? Probably not, because they were all in their own zone trying to complete the task at hand.

I stuck with it even when my steam was running out and gave what I had to give at the level I am currently at, knowing with each move I was in the process of becoming strong and better by sticking with it. My mood afterwards was uplifted and feeling better about myself just like when I completed the 20 mile bike ride I never would have given a thought of doing before being asked.

I commend the elderly women who had the guts to go in that class with the intensity level and not let it deter them. They did not care about keeping up with anyone; in fact, they modified almost all of the exercises to their ability, but they showed up and gave it what they had.  Showing up is usually half the battle. They were working on themselves, not worrying about who was better or what others thought of them.

Life is always speaking to us. Are we listening in order to hear?  Are we being observant enough to understand what the teachable moments are trying to tell us? I will tell you what I learned today while in that room: don’t worry if you match up to others. Use YOURSELF as a gauge and no one else. Get started and do YOUR best!

We can never think we have arrived. There is always more in us that is waiting if we push through. We must challenge ourselves constantly in order to grow. If we keep doing the same thing over and over our body adapts and we no longer get stronger. That goes for anything in life. We cannot become stagnant. It is easy and effortless to stay weak, but it takes a lot of effort, determination, willpower and courage to grow strong.

Are you where you want to be in your career, relationship, level of fitness, eating habits and so on? If you answered no to any of those questions, then I challenge you to do something about it. Don’t worry if you are not where you think you should be. Get started and you will see the changes you are looking for before you know it.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress” Frederick Douglass

I invite you to click on the links below to watch two motivational videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhcxOhIMAQ

Here we are again; another year has passed. This morning there were a lot of people out jogging. Could this have anything to do with the famous New Year’s Resolution??? I think I would be safe to say, it does. Why do we wait until this one day of the year to make resolutions??? Ones we never stick to and forget why we made them in the first place.

We do not have to wait until January 1st. Every day is a new day to manipulate our life in a positive way. Remembering the reasons for considering changes should be enough to stick to whatever it is that we’ve decided to feel was important enough to improve upon, yet we fall back into our old habits by the end of January.

Personally, I do think the new year is a good time to reflect on the past year and make necessary changes. But what about setting aside a time of reflection each night to make some changes starting the next day? Like I said: with every new sunrise you wake to, is a chance to implement new directions.

For me, I am calling this year, “The Year of Challenge”.  I plan on challenging myself to new levels. I have taken risk before, but there are new ones that I need to consider. I am making a vision board and writing down my plan of action, then once a week take inventory on how I am progressing. You may want to do the same or create another way to keep yourself on the path to personal growth and discovery.

I am ending this with some quotes that you can ponder upon. I hope this year brings you health, peace, prosperity and the courage to challenge yourself, as you excel to higher heights and see what you can accomplish through change and determination.  

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change. Sarah Ban Breathnach

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been. Rainer Maria Rilke

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Hal Borland

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source – a Sower of Dreams – just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true. Sarah Ban Breathnach

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. Charles Kettering