Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Learning to be grateful...

 We all do it.  We take things for granted that we just assume will always be there.  I have.  I have many times...in many areas of my life.  I always appreciate things as I am working towards them, but then when I get to my destination...I suppose I become complacent.

I'm not an athletically talented person.  In fact, I'm a hot mess in the gym at times.  I'm clumsy and uncoordinated...inflexible and easily frustrated.  Every movement...every success I've had in the gym...comes solely from hard work and determination.  As a result, I have always been very excited and grateful when I first mastered each movement that is difficult for me.

It's been a while since I've had to learn new movements myself.  I spend my days teaching and correcting other people's movements.  I guess I began to take what I am able to do for granted.  I would do what we all do from time to time...whine about a workout or find excuses to skip.  I always knew that tomorrow was a new day and I could start fresh.  I never thought about the possibility that maybe some "tomorrow" would come where I was no longer physically able to do what I wanted, but unfortunately for me it did.  I broke my wrist in the gym and nothing there has been the same.

I remember lying in the emergency room alone the morning I drove myself there after falling in the gym.  I felt so frustrated and alone.  I wanted to cry but I was determined to remain as tough as possible in front of the doctor and nurses there.  I couldn't help but think, "Why me?  Haven't I had more than my fair share of struggles in the past year?!?", but we all know that kind of thinking doesn't accomplish anything worthwhile so I tried to quickly dismiss it and be as positive as possible.  It's a setback and I WILL heal, so I went forward committing to myself that I would do my best to continue to workout in whatever capacity I could.

In the weeks since it happened, I have continued to work out.  I have had to adjust and scale movements, but I'm still working hard.  I get funny looks when I go into a gym or run on a trail with a cast or now brace.  I worry a lot about where I will be and how much I might loose by the time I'm fully healed.

Everything has changed.  Things that use to be easy are hard.  I've had to learn to live with one hand to do the work of two.  The funny thing is that the harder I struggle...the more I appreciate the task.

I got an answer to the question I asked myself on the hospital bed that morning.  "Why me?"...because I needed to be reminded just how precious it is to be able to walk in a gym and pick up a barbell.  I needed to find the humility that I once had...many years ago when I myself was just learning.   I took my ability to do anything that I wanted to do in the gym for granted.

These days, I long to do things that I once did.  I watch people in the gym sweating and struggling with barbells and I can hardly stand it, because I want to do the same.  My wrist may be broken, but my spirit is unbroken.  I hate being hurt.  I hate being held back.  I hate the pain and fear of the unknown, but I'm grateful in some strange way.

I'm grateful because my perspective is forever changed.  I now know that working out is not a chore or a burden.  Working out is a privilege and that is how we should treat it.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Start today!

 A year from now...you'll wish you started TODAY! Stop waiting. Stop making excuses. Stop focusing on how long it will take and get started! It took me almost exactly a year to lose all my weight and get my body where I wanted it. It wasn't fast or easy, but it was worth it. The time will pass anyways so why not have something to show for it in the end!
 





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Monday, April 15, 2013

WILL AND DESIRE


"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." ~Confucius

You can always try to be a little better, but are you working towards your true potential? Do you push yourself? Are you constantly giving your all? Be honest with yourself. Take a moment to ask these questions and assess where you're at. Find that will and desire within yourself and reach your full potential!



 



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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Are you in your prime?

 Reasons To Be Fit #156..."because this should be your prime."

You don't have to be in your 20s to be in your prime. You don't have to have a weight loss story to be a success. No one has to know who you are for you to be an example. Ask yourself, "Am I in my prime?"  If not...why?  If not...make right now your prime. Make RIGHT NOW the happiest, healthiest time you could ever imagine!


 




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STRONG LOLA

Monday, April 1, 2013

Failure is not fatal.

“Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience.” ~William Arthur Ward

Don't allow failure to be the death of your dreams. Use your failures to become the birth of a new way of thinking and being. Cherish the opportunity to try again...to learn more about yourself...and to become stronger in the process! 





 
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