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Often times when I find myself in a rut I usually try to deal with it on my own. But when things don’t get better I start to feel broken and scared. I stare at the phone wondering what to do, who to call, and a tiny voice inside me makes me reach out for help.
I hadn’t workout in weeks, and getting back to the gym seemed like a monumental task, so I called an old friend who I used to play ball with in high school. We used to be competitive on the court, so I thought she was the perfect person to get me motivated to take charge. When she picked up the phone I burst into tears, and shared my struggles. She immediately stepped in and said that she too was having a hard time with working out on a daily basis.
She suggested that we do a 15-day workout challenge. We had to at least do something every day even if was small. Then she suggested that we text our daily workouts. You mean like proof? Yikes! It was more so for accountability, and I agreed.
Game on.
Usually I work out three to four days straight then end up taking a day off, which can turn into another two or three days, so I knew by the fifth day my challenge was about to begin. Since it was a team effort, though, it was easier to surge ahead. Then around the halfway mark it hit me. I was on the elliptical at the gym, and my body felt fatigued. I had to ease up on my resistance on the machine, and skip the weights, but I was maintaining the pact and doing something because I was there, and I refused to give up.
The pressure of having to take a picture also worked to motivate me to keep going. She was sending me pictures of her workout stats, or a picture of her yoga mat, and I would send her pictures of my stats along with a sample weight machine for that day. Sometimes to mix things up I sent her a pic of the contents of my locker, or the Olympic size pool in my gym.
Then about the tenth day into the challenge, I woke up, and I just didn’t want to do it. That’s when the mental challenge took over, and out of nowhere that voice entered my mind and said you can take a day off, you don’t have to go to the gym today. I wasn’t expecting it, and actually thought about not working out, but then what would I do about the proof picture? How could I not be accountable when my friend was doing her daily workouts on her end, so I made it to the gym.
Thankfully, with the help of my friend, I managed to make it to the end. I honestly can’t recall the last time in my life that I was able to sustain a 15-day workout. It also brought us closer than we had been since high school. It rekindled our friendship, which was an unexpected gift.
When it was over I knew I could potentially fall back into that mental trap when I would wake up and decide not to work out. That voice did manage to seep back in. It was like a crescendo in my brain, and one day off became two days, and the next thing I knew I was back to the person I was before the challenge. Luckily, at least I had a record of lasting 15 days and was able to reap all the benefits. The greatest takeaway was that I discovered that without the encouragement of my friend there was no way I would have achieved that goal on my own.
Although today I am not working out on a daily basis, I learned from the challenge that my body can handle it. It’s my mind that needs some work. When that voice comes in and starts making excuses, I have to acknowledge it, know that it’s going to be there, and do my best to rise above it.
When all is said and done, I walked away knowing that it doesn’t take long for me to fall back into my self-induced trap, but there are people out there to lean on. Although that internal voice was diminished during the challenge, due to the team effort, it grew louder post-challenge. It tried to pull me back into my previous state of neglect in my routine. Despite this reality, the beauty of the challenge is that it taught me that at times in my life if I am struggling, it’s necessary to reach out for help. I realized that for someone like me, who is prone to try and handle things on my own, that’s not always the answer.
It also showed me that it works.
Friendships can come and go, but you know when you have one for life. No matter what the issue may be I know that next time I’m in a rut I won’t hesitate to pick up the phone. I have a newfound hope knowing that my old friend will be ready to take action, and I don’t have to do everything on my own.
