Today was a long day in another long (but short) month of February. By the evening, I was physically and mentally spent. I put my toddler to bed and had a brief, sobering chat with my exhausted partner. The last thing I wanted to do at that point was workout. Are you kidding me?
After staring at the floor, waiting for some mythical inspiration, I finally just lugged myself to the closet where I keep my workout mat and dumbbells, and proceeded to do the warmup from hell. Why from hell? Because I dreaded it. This was the longest (yet quickest) 8-minute warm-up. Somewhere in the middle, I channeled all my frustration into doing the stupid stretches correctly (as best I could) just like the sculpted guy in the YouTube video. While my delivery was a little wobbly, I pushed through my lethargy and finished the warmup.
Then came the main workout for the evening – a 30-minute dumbbell shred workout by Funk Roberts – which was an extra grind because I just wasn’t with it this evening. I normally workout with a Funk Roberts video sometimes into the “wee hours,” but tonight I was pulling myself out of a funk in order to keep up with The Funk. After surviving the misery of the first set (2 rounds, 7 exercises), I found a speck of inspiration. There’s one exercise in the second set (2 rounds, 5 exercises) that I struggled to do for weeks. It was a dumbbell plank with side-raise and then a t-raise on both sides. This was the first time that I achieved six reps in both rounds without collapsing midway through. It was a great reminder about the importance of persistence (and perseverance). Had I skipped the workout or gave in to the nagging temptation to quit throughout the first set, I’d have missed this small, but powerful breakthrough.
I pushed beyond my miserable mood to do the workout and it paid off. That breakthrough moment gave me the boost I needed to survive the third set (2 rounds, 3 exercises). Afterwards, I did a (very) brief abs workout and a quick finisher – push-ups. Now, I definitely didn’t do anywhere near 100 push-ups tonight, but just enough to pose for a few snaps to celebrate getting it in.
This is part of the journey. There are days when life sucks and the last thing one wants to do is exert more energy for seemingly small gains. Or turn away from comfort foods that usually soothe the troubled mind. It’s breathtaking to reflect on it now, but I definitely struggled with letting go of my calorie-ladened comfort foods for a long time. It was a process, but what I learned was that I could survive without my go-to treats if I was willing to give my body a chance to experience a different type of nutrition. Was it a shock to the system? Yeah. Were there miserable days where I missed certain snacks? Oh yeah! But over time I came to a place where I could enjoy some of my favorite treats in smaller quantities. After a while, my body responded and enlightened me to the idea that most of the junk that I thought I needed was really unnecessary calories that weren’t actually all that good. It was all in my head. I just needed to give myself a chance. To nudge myself to see, experience a different perspective of how food may or may not love me back.
When I pushed myself off the mat and pressed through that workout tonight, I gained a little more perspective on how my body will reward me if I’m willing to go just a bit further than before. Sometimes it takes getting out of one’s feelings and just taking a step forward. I’m so glad I did that tonight. I have a little more hope to pocket for the next round of whatever life has in store.