So, you go to the gym and you walk on the treadmill for a while or you use the elliptical,do a couple reps with the cute little 3 pound pink weights and think that's all you can do. You go a few times a week, you're not excited about it, and you're not working very hard. You're just going through the motions. You tell yourself things like "This is not helping. I'm not getting anywhere. I'll never lose this weight. Maybe I can figure out better clothes to make me look skinny. Spanx work, right?" And you give up. You've spoken to yourself in such a negative way. You've let your head talk you out of what your heart wants. Why do we talk to ourselves in such negative voices? I know I'm guilty of it, and I know a lot of people are guilty of the same thing. Speak to yourself in a positive voice and believe in yourself or nobody else will. Don't forget just how awesome you are and how much you are capable of doing. Don't forget that you've got people cheering you on who believe in you and who know you can do ANYTHING. Don't get comfortable.
This is why it's important to step out of your comfort zone. Do things you never dreamed possible for you to do. Train for a marathon or half marathon. Train with a specific goal in mind. Train your body to do unassisted pull ups. Train to do handstand push-ups. Train to do a certain number of push-ups on your toes. Train your body to step out of your comfort zone. Constantly working within your comfort zone is not only bad mentally, but it's bad physically. Your body gets accustomed to routine as well. So, the same workout gets easier and easier to do, and before you know it you're burning less and less calories because it's so easy to do. Change it up. Do something different. Do something that seems impossible. And when you accomplish that goal, set a new goal that seems impossible and crush that one too.
That is why I say you have to eat clean and train dirty. Training dirty means you don't give up, you don't half ass your workouts, and you don't do only what's comfortable. You push yourself. You challenge yourself. You set goals. You conquer. And, your strive for greatness.
When I first decided to step out of my comfort zone, I decided I was going to run a half marathon. To put this in perspective, I wasn't a runner. I mean, I ran track and cross country in high school. But, high school was a long long time ago. When I first started on my fitness journey, I couldn't even run a block without stopping. I got short of breath and my legs felt like jelly. So, first I set the goal to run a mile without stopping. Then once I'd accomplished that goal, I trained to run 3 miles without stopping. Then, I decided I was ready to train for my half marathon.
Instead of just talking about it, I knew I had to commit to actually doing it. So, I registered for a race. That way, I'd already put out the money and I had a date on the calendar set and I HAD to work for it. My trainer told me once to not get discouraged. Even though 13.1 miles is far, it's possible. If you can run 3 miles, you can run 5. If you can run 5, you can run 8, and if you can run 8, you can run 13.1 miles. So, I kept those words in mind and set my goals. I trained from June-October. I'm not a fast runner by any means, but being fast was never my goal. I just wanted to finish and prove that I could do it. Running 13.1 miles seemed impossible. It seemed like something only professional athletes do. Proving to myself that I could do it to was important to me. And, I did. I ran my 13.1 miles in October. I ran slow. There were hills and a lack of water stations, and mental blocks along the way. But, I had a goal and even though it was so far out of my comfort zone, I did it. And, crossing that finish line proved to me that you can accomplish any goal you set. So, I signed up for another half marathon. And, getting out of my comfort zone this time is trying to shave some time off of my chip time.
How will you challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone?
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