When I was in college, we were studying for a big final, and I told my classmates that I had to get out of there, because I had to get to the 6pm class for a workout. I was decently fit-ish at the time, and one of my friends asked why I HAD to go workout, because in his words: I was already in shape.
I didn’t have a great answer at the time, but I do now.
Earlier this year, we took our gym members on a trip to Treeumph. It’s this super fun course in the woods, where you climb up trees, walk across ropes and planks, and fight your completely logical and valid fear of heights while you struggle not to look down.
I’d already been once before, and I had a GREAT time, but I’d only gone with one other person. I remember the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment each time I completed an obstacle, and an even better feeling once I completed a “level” and got to move on.
This second time though, we had a bunch of our members, and nothing makes an experience like this better than having a bunch of people you care about along for the ride.
One of the women at our gym, this awesome woman named Val, came with her daughter. She’s in her 50s, and still in her first couple of months at Shark Bite. She made it through the first level, a 45 minute long, 20 feet in the air trek, and I would’ve considered that an overwhelming success. Then as we were getting ready for the second course, she tightened up her straps and climbed on up. And guess what? She finished that one too!
She couldn’t do a pushup when she started with us.
By the end of the day, she’d spent over 2 hours traversing through the trees, defying what she thought she could do, and putting a bunch of 20 and 30 year olds to shame.
And there’s the magic.
I like doing deadlifts. But I don’t like doing deadlifts so I can be the best deadlifter. I had to get to that workout that day, so I get to do deadlifts until I can’t anymore, because they’re hard and because they make other things easier.
So I can keep doing awesome things OUTSIDE of the gym, just like Val.