TRUST THE PROCESS (AND BE HUMBLE)
Earlier today, I was doing some running intervals in my neighborhood (workout 95/300!), passively wondering what my neighbors think of how often I’m outside and working out. Do they think I’m extreme or disordered? Do they envy me? Am I vain for even wondering?
I quickly got out of that thought, and had a vision where more families in my neighborhood took ownership of their fitness and were out there running WITH me. I have found such huge value in spending time outside sweating over the past 5 years of my life, and wish to impart this on those around me. The sunshine, the relationship with nature, the relationship with our bodies... It’s all so valuable. I try to be friendly to my neighbors and smile at them so they know I’m enjoying what I’m doing and maybe they’ll want to do it too?
I digress. I can understand why more people don’t have a workout plan they follow. It can be incredibly intimidating. I remember the old days, when I was a student at USF and using the gym on campus. At first, I didn’t use the free weights at all. That area of the gym was populated mostly with people who didn’t look like me (men), so I felt super nervous to go out there. I stuck with the treadmill and the machines, and absolutely loved my gym routine.
After a while of treadmills and machines, I realized I was feeling good, but I wasn’t making any more physical progress. I decided to google some exercises to do with dumbbells. I was far too afraid to use the free weights out in the open, so I would take a few rubber dumbbells over into the corner and do my own workouts there. Eventually, I made my way to the middle of the free weights floor and became a spectacle in my own right, squatting over 200 pounds on the smith machine. The hunger to better myself has always been greater than my fear of looking silly, even though that fear can at times be huge.
That was when I was 20, and when my ownership of my fitness started. I realized that I couldn't make the changes I want in my body (and LIFE) without the information to do so. I started seeking out videos, books, articles, coaches, and training plans to get me to where I wanted to be, even though I wasn’t quite sure where that was! I dabbled in long-distance running, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and Olympic Weightlifting, always seeking out the knowledge to do things the right way, and many times finding a coach I could follow.
The most important key to progress I have made in any athletic endeavor has been to listen to people who know more than me. Once I find a coach, training plan, or book that I find reputable, I make a plan to follow it (or them) and do. Although I am dedicated, disciplined, and opinionated, I am very coachable. I trust the process I am following and THAT is when my gains happen and my progress comes. When I hire a coach, I hire them because they know better than I do, so of course I listen to them once they tell me what to do. I encourage you to do the same.
Listen to your coach. Follow and trust the process. Put your head down and do the work. Progress will come, change will come, and you will soon realize the unlimited power and potential your body possesses.
