Any change is a journey. You have a start point, and a rough idea of an end point, and maybe a decent idea of the path to go from one to the other. However, any journey will provide twists and turns along the way, and any difficult journey is likely to bring good as well as bad. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to achieve, but it wasn’t well defined and still isn’t really. I think if you had shown me a picture of me now at the point I began, I would have been fairly happy with that as an outcome. However, along the way, I’ve learnt how much is possible, and enjoy challenging myself. Like many people, the journey has been lead by vanity, and still continues to be that way to a good extent, but wanting to be better with my strength and fitness are now becoming larger factors in my measurements.
To this continued change in my view of progressing, I decided to join a Crossfit gym. I’ve followed the Crossfit games for a few years now, and always enjoyed seeing what they do, and been in awe of their capabilities. I also always quite liked the idea of giving it a try, but felt far away from where I’d like to be to start. In the last week, I did the induction evenings, joined, and did 3 classes. I have been challenged in different ways than I have been in my own garage gym. I have been doing a lot more high intensity work, which is somewhat the core of what Crossfit provides, and know this will help me increase my fitness levels. I’m also learning new movements, which are challenging me.
Will I still be doing Crossfit in 6 months or a year from now? Currently, I don’t know. I really enjoy the sessions and don’t see a reason to stop, but my fitness journey is evolving all the time, and therefore I have no idea how my exercise routines may look over time. What I do know is that I will continue to make things more difficult for myself so I continue to improve and grow. I will continue to try new things, and spend time doing those things I enjoy most.
Exercise shouldn’t be seen as a punishment for eating too much. It should be seen as a way to show what you are capable of. To learn what you can train your body to do when you give it a little bit of time and effort. Learning to enjoy the workouts by lifting a bit more than I did the last time, or running a touch faster than I did before is key to staying motivated and on track.
I’ll also remind you here that I’m not unique or more capable than anyone else. I started out eating too much and doing too little. I did this for a long time, and just finally decided to commit to getting something done. When you look at other people who are fitter or stronger than you, remember that they have taken a long time to get to that point. It didn’t happen with luck, or with genetics. They generally have had to work frequently for a long period of time to get that way. Progress doesn’t come for free.
If you want to see more frequent updates on what I’m up to, you can take a look at my Instagram page here. I update fairly frequently and you can see what type of stuff I’m doing to become a better me.
