A Fitness Challenge to Be Proud Of: A Blessing for My Body

I don’t know if I could honestly look one of you in the eye and say I’m not competitive. In fact, I’m competitive to a fault, which unfortunately translates into me not doing things if I know I won’t do well. That’s such a miserable motto and it severely limits the fun, so I made a vow with myself to start pushing myself more and do it for the challenge. The personal challenge, that is. I’m referring to a corporate fitness challenge that my job was hosting last week.

The Fitness Challenge

This was all timed …

• Row 800 meters on a row machine
• Farmer walks holding 35-pound dumbbells
• 25 ball slams
• 12 wall balls
• 12 plank to elbows
• THEN row 500 meters
• Repeat the same number of farmer walks, ball slams, wall balls and plank to elbows.
• Done! (I felt like this needed its own bullet because my collapse was epic and beautiful.)

Not a lot of moves, but killer. I had watched people doing the fitness challenge days before, and I was terrified. People had given up. Some had even thrown up! Plus, I knew what people were thinking … I work out. I write for a fitness website … my husband is the manager of that gym. They were expecting me to not choke, and all I kept envisioning was me choking. I did it though! I was a nervous wreck all morning long (three bathroom trips of nerves if you want to get personal), but I did it!

I don’t know if it helped my inner warrior, but right before my turn I took a Reset class at my gym. (Apparently Michal takes Reset on the road, which is awesome! I was so thrilled that he was coming to my work that I forgot it may not have been the best thing to do right before a challenge.) I was calm, zen and floating, and then I had to go put the smack down on the gym floor. Who does that?! Me apparently — and I rocked it!

It was hard and I swear I tasted blood at the end (I’m dramatic like that), but I kept up a great pace. I pushed through. I remained positive. I didn’t give up and most of all I DID NOT CHOKE!  I beasted through, and it felt awesome!

Jenn’s shared her Fit Pit Throwdown challenges with us all, and I’ve always looked at her in awe. That was something for the amazing. Not me, you see … the amazing. I never pushed myself or challenged myself to see if the hard work I was putting in at the gym was paying off. Guess what? It’s paying off. The act of accepting a challenge, putting my ego aside and ignoring the negative voices in my head telling me something bad would happen was such a blessing to my body.

I dare you to do a fitness challenge if one is ever presented to you. It’s not about being the best, the fastest, the strongest. It’s about looking at facing something head on and saying, “I could do that,” and then going for it. Some day they will be able to measure the empowering feelings we get from such acts of awesomeness. And completing this kind of challenge will break the scales.

Have you ever pushed yourself with a fitness challenge? Really, really gone for it? —Tish