Steve's email today contained a revelation for me: My health and fitness are exactly like video game bosses.
Each time I die in a video game boss fight, there is a moment of frustration that is soon followed by a new resolve to do things DIFFERENTLY until I find the strategy to win. With my health and fitness, though, I act like the kid who throws the controller across the room and pouts when the words 'GAME OVER' appear! (I cannot stand that kid!!). So, here I am, respawning with a new mindset and a new outlook on what 'failure' truly means. It doesn't mean that I'm a failure, like my previous shame-filled thoughts would have me believe. Rather, 'failure' lets me know that I'm a student of life. It let's me know that missing a workout doesn't mean I've given up, or that I'm not good enough, but that I have an opportunity to learn and RESPAWN as a stronger, smarter, more eager me with another brand spanking new opportunity to succeed.
My fitness journey started anew in August of 2017. I read a book called Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Mike Matthews. That, combined with the discovery of the super motivating Nerd Fitness Academy led me to my longest streak of working out, EVER. Three months of five difficult, rewarding, result-producing workouts per week, followed by three months of zero workouts per week. Why did I stop, you may ask? The answer is... It's complicated. Let me try to break it down (yes, I am thinking of things as I write them and I do not already know the answer. I'm figuring it out RIGHT NOW):
My workouts were getting difficult to the point of nausea during some (100 pound weighted lunges for 16-20 reps for 3 sets, BLEEEGGGHHH. Almost passed out on multiple occasions).
The amount of weight I was lifting was starting to intimidate me, causing some pre-workout anxiety that started affecting other parts of my life. I would literally dread leg day and deadlift day. The workouts were getting to the point where I was nervous every time I stepped up to the bar.
My workout times varied and I would let other less important things take precedence. This led me to have an erratic workout schedule which led to a loss of motivation (it was 10x harder to workout at night).
I would feel bad after a week of little to no progress in my lifts, like I was 'spinning my wheels' and the 5-7 hours of working out that week was 'wasted' because I only went up 5lbs in a lift.
Steve Kamb constantly says if you try to do the same thing you did before, you will fail. I believe that wholeheartedly. So now the question is, what will I do differently in order to avoid the problems listed above?
I will tune down the weight and reps of the workouts that made me nauseous, namely weighted lunges. I will start light and increase the weight and reps SLOWLY. Fitness is not a destination but a lifelong journey.
When I get to the point of being intimidated by the weight, I will figure out my new 1RM via a calculator online and work at 70-75% of that weight for the following month or until I feel comfortable and confident in upping the weight.
I will workout at the same time each morning, regardless of how much other work I need to get done that day. My health and fitness will take priority, and let's be honest, 99% of other things are not important enough for me to change my schedule to fit around. Now, I understand things will come up that will take priority, and I also now understand that if I miss a workout because of these things, I will simply respawn the next day and continue on. Easy as that.
Working out consistently, whether or not I see noticeable results that week, is never wasted. I was successful in being CONSISTENT, which is a larger goal than benching, squatting, or deadlifting x number of pounds. The act of working out five or more times per week is my lifelong goal. Being fit. Being capable. Being consistent. These things are more important to me than benching 250. That goal will come BECAUSE of my consistency. So, I will strive first for a regular, unchanging workout schedule with weight lifting goals being overall less important.
There you have it. My respawn strategy. Is it perfect? Definitely not. Will I fail to heed my own words at some point? Yes. Does that mean I'm a failure? NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST. It is simply an opportunity for me to take a step back and evaluate why the failure happened so that I can get back in the battle with new knowledge and increased awareness.
The words GAME OVER will linger only as long as I let them. Let's just press the start button and hop right back in stronger, faster, smarter, and overall BETTER than before.
*presses the start button*
