Trying New Things (aka How I Fell On My Face at the Gym)

There’s something to be said for being a creature of habit.  I’m the first to admit that I am stuck in my ways.  Every weekday morning looks exactly the same.  Get up, shower, dress, brush teeth, makeup, eat breakfast and go to work.  It’s been that way for as long as I can remember.  It was that way even as a kid.  I often tell people the story of when I was younger and my mom was still making my lunch (man I miss those days!)  Every day she would ask me what I kind of sandwich I wanted and every day it was peanut butter and jelly.  All throughout grade school it was the same.  You would think I would get sick of PB&J but nope!  Not me!  And even when I started making my own lunches, I made PB&J every day.  Like I said, I’m a creature of habit. 

So what does this have to do with fitness?  Well, there are many ways in which being a creature of habit relates to fitness…eating habits, sleeping habits, workout habits, etc.  In an attempt to not let my creature of habit-ness sneak its way into my fitness classes and routines, I get different workouts and exercise moves from magazines like Self and Fitness.  Over the weekend, I went through my ever-mounting pile of mags and found a few new moves I wanted to incorporate into class.  They looked (relatively) easy in the pictures so how hard can they really be?  The first few were pretty good.  I managed to do them without looking like a complete buffoon. 

And then it got real.  Real ugly, real quickly.  “The Climb” happened.  I was foolish enough to believe that I have the core strength to do this.  And, sure, if I lead with my left hand I can do it with minimal foolishness.  However, if I lead with my right hand…THUNK right on the floor go my knees, hands and maybe even chin a little bit.  It wasn’t pretty.  I tried twice because I refuse to go down without a fight.  After the second time, I realized that is a good stretch goal for me to have!  Oh and when this happened?  I was in one of the fitness rooms at the Y with about 6 people in there.  I didn’t even bother looking around each time I fell.  I knew what I would find and it was best to just ignore them/their stares and keep on going. 

 

The Climb

Start in a plank, facing wall about 6 inches away. Walk left hand onto wall, then walk right hand onto wall to meet it (as shown). Reverse to return to plank for 1 rep. Do 20 reps.

As always, I share my self-deprecating story with you to remind you (and even myself) that sometimes you have to try new things to figure out what you need to work on.  If you just keep doing the same weight lifting, core workout, cardio workout or any other type of workout, you are going to hit a plateau and only work the same muscles in the same manner.  It really is important to switch things up.  Very rarely will I do the same workout more than twice in one week.  Prevent muscle memory where you really are not doing any work. 

I challenge you to try the workout (Self Wall Workout) and let me know how your “climb” goes!

BE BOLD! BE YOU!