Now Is the Best Time to Start
Written by: Matt Marion
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” -Chinese Proverb
At some point in our lives, we’ve doubted ourselves or placed limitations on what we were capable of. It usually sounds like “No way am i ever gonna be able to do that.” or “No i'm too old for that now.”. My favorite part of training by far is watching clients do the exact thing they said they would never be able to do.How you frame things in your mind is often how they turn out. Not because your assumption is correct, but because it limits your focus. You prevent the outcome from ever being anything else than what you fear it will be. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. I’m sure you have heard it so many times already, but you have to tell yourself you can do it. Take it a step further and tell yourself you are GOING to do it. Say it out loud. It feels good, doesn’t it? That’s the feeling of you taking the first step.
From there, it takes practice, research, and more practice. Try the thing. Allow yourself to do it with the possibility of failure. I have learned so much more by trying something and failing than I ever have just researching how to do it. How things feel gives you so much more feedback than anything else. And if you don’t nail it first, second, or even third try? Take a step back and study it. What did you do well? What are you having trouble with? Learn from it and attack those problem areas.
Even as a trainer, I am still constantly learning I can do new things. Recently I was challenged by a coworker to do a handstand walk for ten feet. I didn’t really have a desire to do them, partly because I figured I couldn’t do them. When that challenge turned into a bet with a dozen doughnuts at stake though, I happily accepted. Who doesn’t like doughnuts? I would practice at least an hour every day before my workout. The first day ended with me not having made a literal inch of progress, and I even had some bumps and a bruised ego from falling a few times. So I did some analysis and came back the next day to much better results. I managed to get two feet away from the starting point. On my third day i went five feet, and better yet, no falling! I was consistently doing well. A week later, I had won the bet at a full ten feet and was happily munching on a dozen doughnuts. Telling myself I could do it turned into me practicing and knowing I could do it. That’s all it takes.
No matter what your circumstances are, you can always push yourself to new heights. Age is the most common limiting factor I hear. You can learn the ins and outs of exercise in line with your body’s abilities, and then improve them. Joint pain can be a thing of the past. You’ll be able to lift things you never thought possible. Honestly, you could start outperforming the twenty year old. I routinely see people in their forties or fifties and above in crossfit, and not only are they doing well…they’re at the head of the pack. Last summer during a street fair, Spa 23 held a push up contest to see who could do the most push ups without stopping.We picked a male and a female winner and BOTH of the winners were over the age of fifty! They had both done around sixty push ups. I can't tell you how many young and fit people I watched line up to try and still get beat. It was an incredible sight to see.
Here is the crazy thing: NOW is the best time to start. Yes that’s right. Even in quarantine where some of us have access to no equipment. You have an opportunity to learn the basics of body weight training. You have the time to go for walks or even runs. Take up yoga. Learn those push ups and pull ups. Practice and perfect your squat form. Do that core work you may have been avoiding. Build that cardio. Improve your movement and flexibility and feel better. You will set yourself up with a solid healthy base to use when the gym reopens. So often with a gym and weights we jump straight to pressing or squatting heavy weight when we can’t even press ourselves up correctly. Our body compensates and our movement patterns suffer. So take the time now to practice the “basics” and get yourself set with the tools to come back and make more progress than ever and do things you never thought possible. Get to it!
As always, if you need any advice or have questions, feel free to email me at matt@spa23.com. I’d love to hear from you!