‘I’m not a runner.’ Have you ever said that? Or heard someone say that?
We hear it all the time with our people. When you say that, here is what I hear….
‘I’m deciding that I can’t do something before I even attempt to do it.’
I know right now, your response is instantly defensive. I get it. I may be calling you out a little bit. But stick with me for a minute before you grab your pitchfork and torches.
The thing is, nobody is born a runner. Running just like any physical endeavor takes time spent working on it to become better at it. I can hear your response now, ‘yeah but I get so winded, I can’t breathe, It’s hard, etc. etc.’
Yes, I know it is, BUT do you know how you get better at it? You keep doing your best and attempt it.
When I first started exercising my freshman year of college, I was about 30-40lbs over weight with a belly, (and an ugly mustache but that’s irrelevant to this story haha). I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma and I had an inhaler that I’d puff on before I tried to do anything. It was so bad, that I would literally focus on my breath every step…. ‘in 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4, in, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4, then I’d get tired and it’d be in, 2, out, 2, in 2, out 2, until it was in, out, in, out,’ and then I’d have to walk. I literally couldn’t run 200m without getting out of breath.
But what I did do, was continue to work on it, and a funny thing happened….
I got better and better, I lost body fat, I got more fit, I progressed into other forms of exercise and the rest is history. I no longer have exercised induced asthma, and I’ve ran 50 miles before. I still don’t consider myself a runner, because I don’t love running, but I can run if I decide to.
One of our core values at LivLimitless is, ‘Always Give Perfect Effort.’ If you decide mentally you can’t do something before you even try, is that giving perfect effort? Is that doing your best. If you decide to walk the entire 400m without jogging one step is that really doing your best? Maybe it is, and if that’s the case, great, but what I’d like for you to do is ask yourself… ‘Is it really? Is it really my best effort?’ If you can answer yes to that, then keep doing it. What would make you better is the next time, you walk all but maybe 20 steps that you jog at the beginning and end, then the next time jog 20 steps in the middle. Always strive to do better then last time, and you will get better.
The same goes for the workouts do your best always, and let’s flip the mental self talk script as well. Instead of being down on yourself for what you’re doing compared to everyone else, let’s flip the script to say, ‘I did my very best today, and I’m proud of my effort.’
Because here’s the reality….. you can not do better then your best, but when you do your best it will continually improve and you’ll achieve your goals.
10-31-18
Strength:
Snatch Balance
Workout:
Zombies vs Humans
800m run
DU x 100/ Singles x 500
Back Squats x 50
Sit ups x 50
Push ups x 50
400m run