When was the last time you exercised to see what your body could do rather than what it could look like?
I'll be honest, I still work out to achieve a particular aesthetic BUT, the way I choose to achieve that is by exercising to see what I am physically capable of. And I am not even close to finding out!
The human body is so able. Even when we struggle with certain incapacities, the scope for repair and resiliency that our bodies have is unfathomable. It's like that quote; "our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, it's that we are powerful beyond measure" or something like that (I think I totally butchered it but you get what I'm saying) - if we actually tried, we would shock ourselves with what we could do.
And that's not just an observation about fitness (duh).
I challenged myself this past week to push beyond my perceived limits. Do you want to know how it went?
Well, I don't want to say that I suck (because I'm not about that self-flagellation life) but my 'perceived limits' this week were in a different place than normal. Here come the excuses; I was sick, still jet-lagged, my energy was loooooow BUT, I still pushed myself within every single workout. And that looked a lot different from a regular week when I'm firing on all cylinders, but that's ok.
The point? Meet yourself where you are at.
Every day, in every workout, meet yourself where you are at. I tell my clients all the time that every workout is a new opportunity to discover how strong you are. And that doesn't always mean physical strength because on those days where your body is tired or you're not quite feeling your best, its your mental strength that then comes out to play. And those are the days that you truly discover what you are made of.
So, cut yourself some slack, don't fool yourself into thinking that this is only about getting fitter or thinner or stronger. Dedicate your next workout to finding out what you are capable of, physically and mentally. Do one more rep, stay in it for 3 more seconds, go 5 steps further, because it's in those reps, moments and strides that the changes happen.
Try this Shoulders and Triceps workout:
* Dumbbell Overhead Press x12 -SS- Dumbbell Neutral Grip Press x12; 3 sets
Jump Rope High Knees x50 (after each set)
* Plate Around the World x10 -SS- Plate Underhand Grip Lateral Raise x12; 3 sets
Jump Rope x50 (after each set)
* Tricep Push ups x10 -SS- Tricep Kickbacks x12 (each arm); 3 sets
Double Unders x30
* Cable Cross Pull x10 -SS- Tricep Pulldown x10 -SS- Rope Face Pull x10; 3 sets
Jump Rope Jacks x30
****SS = Superset