101 Kettlebell Workouts Number 6: If one of those workouts should happen to fall...

Going into workout #6 from David Whitley's 101 Kettlebell Workouts which you can get at www.irontamer.com. We stumbled upon a valuable lesson.

What was today's lesson?

In David Whitley's 101 Kettlebell Workouts he says, "Push yourself, but don't be stupid." Which I touched on in my last blog.

Today I learned that sometimes, it's stupid to not push yourself. Case in point...

As i worked through todays routine I found myself feeling "finished" by the time I got to the TGU's (Turkish Get Ups). I had just finished my Goblet Squats and was noticing that they didn't feel right. My shoulders at the bottom of the squat had started to round over. My spine wasn't staying straight. This is usually a clue for me that my hips are too tight. I was still a little sore from yesterday and didn't stretch real good after my last workout. It's at this point that the little voice in my head decided to start up some negative talk and for what ever reason, I started to listen. Before I know it, I'm down on myself. I still had 30 TGU's to do and some swings. Ok, so now what? Screw it, I thought, just pack up and head home. Well then the real argument starts... you can't go home, you're not done... dude you suck, you never should have left the house... I don't suck, I'm tired... you're tired because you suck... maybe you suck... there's only one of us who sucks here and that's you Kettlebell boy... how 'bout we do one Turkish Get Up and re-evaluate? That's fine, but you still suck. And on and on it went... After my third TGU, I was so angry at myself and the Little Voice in my head, that I said, I'm going to finish this workout with our without you... Fine! I don't care it says... you'll still suck.

Sometimes the Little Voice is quiet. Sometimes it's highly supportive. Other time's it simply wants to sabotage your actions. The trick is when it rears it's ugly little head is to find a way to over come it, push on, and push forward. I come to the point where I'm either getting my second wind or just fed up with the negativity and I say to myself, "Self, you can say and feel any way you want but I'm doing all of these Get Ups here and then I'm gonna do some swings and I don't give a rat's ass what you think!" So down I go to resume my Get Ups. I'm on like number 7 or 8. The Kettlebell's on my right side, I roll over and prepare to wrap my hand under the horn and as I look down wedged between several blades of grass is a mangy ol' beat up feather. Feathers are incredibly symbolic to me and always a sign of good things. Now, if you'd like to read more about that CLICK HERE. This feather was all the energy I needed. I finished the Get Ups, got some water and did my swings.

Sometimes a "sticking point" is in your head. To have stopped today would have been stupid. To have not pushed a little harder would have been stupid. Allowing myself to believe I'm doing this alone would have been stupid. Fortunately I got smart. Tomorrow we'll rest up with some active recovery at the beach and some meditation time at the Lake Shrine.

Tune in for Workout # 7 and thanks for tagging along!