This past Wednesday I did my weekly run up Knox Mountain and saw a particular gentleman who knows what he wants and is working towards it ... I was just around the first turn on the hill and he went flying past me on his bike heading uphill then slowly came to a stop and began walking. The first thing I noticed as he passed me was that he was on a cruiser style bike. If you don't know what that is, it's a bike that's made for nice flat terrain and it only has one gear. The fact that he was biking up Knox Mountain on a one speed cruiser bike was nuts in my eyes. Needless to say I was impressed and continued to watch him proceed ahead. He would bike as much as he could, then he’d walk for a break until he was ready to hop back on his bike. At the top of the hill I talked with him a little bit at the water fountain. I asked him how his ride was. He said "It was tough. I'd love to get a bike with gears but this one will do until then." Wow! Does he ever have something to teach most of us!!
The question I have for myself is ‘how does this play into my life?’ If I want to ride my bike up Knox, learn to swim or run a marathon but instead make excuses rather than taking action, what else am I going to make excuses for in other areas of my life? From what I saw on Wednesday the man I talked to is a person that's not going to let anything get in the way of his goal whether physical or any other type.
When it comes to physical activity, what excuses are you making? I'll tell you mine. I do my best to maintain my five workouts per week and my fitness level keeps improving which is great. However, every year when it’s time for the Apple Triathlon I wish I could be a part of it and yet I always seem to come up with an excuse or two. This year my excuse was, "It's only 4 weeks away, that's not enough time to learn to swim (I'm terrible at it) or to prepare for a long distance bike ride and run. I'll do it next year." To be totally honest with you, that wasn't my excuse just this year, it's been the last 3 years! This year I even had a free entry into the race offered to me but I told them I didn’t feel I had enough time to train. The hindrance there isn't just the time I would need to train but the fact that I don't want to struggle to push myself across the finish line. So even though I'd love to finish a triathlon, the fact that I don't want to look bad doing it is a part of my hesitation. So what am I going to do about it? What is my next step to make this happen? I'm going to write it in my calendar for next year, months ahead of time so that next year I have plenty of time to train. I'll get a membership at the pool until it's warm enough to swim in the lake, bike to work as a way to train and continue with my runs. By the time the race comes I'll be more than ready to run my race well.
I want to encourage you today to consider, what is your goal? Ambition? or dream? What would you love to do that would fill you with joy? And what is your next step to take you towards that goal? It doesn't have to be a triathlon- it's based on your goals and fitness level. For you it may be working out 3 times per week, going for a walk with your family after dinner every night or even going for a morning jog. Whatever your goal, today is the day to take the next step!! Go talk to a trainer and write a 3 day routine, go for a walk after dinner tonight or go for your morning jog. It's not about going out and reaching your three month goal on day one. What it is about is getting out, having fun and enjoying the process!! If you don't know where to start, talk to me at the office or email me. I’ve been a personal trainer for years, I have the tools to get you going and I’d love to serve you.
We live in the most beautiful place in the world so let's get out there and have some fun because we're CreatedToMove!!
