Surviving

 

    On the surface, the IDEA of working out seems really awesome. Lifting heavy weights, feeling your muscles bulge, having your body being a "well-oiled machine." The feeling of exertion, in your head, can sound invigorating and conjures images of the Spartans, Vikings, or Super Heroes like Superman. Or, you know, like whatever feels cool for you. Maybe it's something completely different.

But I still bet that your mental image of fitness and exercise is something that you feel is epic.

And, it sort of should be! It's good to hold yourself to a high standard, to be exacting, and to shoot for greatness.

What oftentimes gets people into trouble is the gap between their idea of what they want and the process of surviving until they get there.

    I forget which author wrote it about which of their characters (and, frankly, it isn't that important) but the idea was this: An Adventure or a Grand Quest, while you are living it, is a series of misfortune, obstacles, hardships, and travail. When Frodo was taking the ring to Mount Doom, he was alternately plagued by hunger and thirst, by self-doubt, by injury, betrayal, and being stuck in places for long, indeterminate periods of time.

When we look at Superheroes, even Superman, they are in constant struggle and on the razor's edge of personal disaster.

But we applaud them for winning (and looking good in spandex!)

I think the trajectory of a fitness journey is the same thing. Not "kind of" the same thing. Literally the same thing. We approach our physical workout in a microcosm of how we approach life in general.

Let's say that we are training for the most common goal imaginable: weight loss. In our head, we have an image of how we want to appear. Maybe that is tanned, with a 6-pack, and a 28 inch waist. We have that Superhero version of ourselves in our head! But when we get on the treadmill, we don't FEEL like a Superhero. Our calf cramps, we get out of breath, we get BORED. 

One of the major issues with starting out with good intentions, with a grand picture in our heads of where we WANT to be, is there is a major gap in the image or "movie" we project in our heads and the slog (the Dirt and Weeds of my previous post) to get there.

So, briefly, let's take a look at this gap. We started out with a mental image of what we would LIKE to be reality. We start the process, and then, as we saw, there is resistance in the physical world. Once we meet that resistance, our mind has a reaction to it. An "OH SHIT" moment, if you will. There is a non-acceptance of the reality of what we are experiencing, and that can be very uncomfortable. Then the mind comes in and tells us "this is not what I wanted!" The Superhero image seems unattainable.

Now, I bet you're expecting me to say that this is where you need to develop a Warrior mentality and look for the end goal or that "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" or something. But it's exactly the opposite: I want you to stay with that feeling. I want you to recognize that things are hard and that the image in your head doesn't match reality, and that you DON'T feel like a Superhero.

Because the point of life, and indeed the point of a fitness journey, is not in attainment, in reaching that mental image! The point is showing up every day and facing what is in front of you, and in being with yourself while you do it. It's finding a functional kind of survival. It's learning the visceral lessons right in front of you; the kind of lessons you learn through struggle.

HOLY COW, that might sound a little bleak, doesn't it? Let's see if we can shift our perspective on that a little, shall we?

Struggle is just another name for creation. If we are making a work of art, a piece of pottery, first we need material. Then we need technique. Then we need the kiln. Then we need refinement. When you first start to make a bowl, you need to know how much clay you need. How do you know? Well, firstly, it is helpful to have someone make a suggestion. But mostly, it's through practice, through trying to make bowls. When you are shaping the bowl, you need to know how to use your hands, how the clay feels in your hands, and how the clay responds. A LOT of those bowls will break! But with each bowl, you better learn how to make a bowl. In the kiln, some pots will shatter (even the ones you thought were really good!), and in the finishing process you'll mess up the paint.

Your fitness journey is the same way. Every day we show up "on the mat" to create something. It might not feel like a set of bench presses is creating anything besides a set of nice pecs. But I'd argue that you're building a lot more!

Let's apply the analogy of pottery to weight training (specifically because weight training doesn't SEEM like a skill, and it SEEMS like it is just about the result). The raw material of weight training is effort and time. Yes, I used "effort and time" as a single unit, that wasn't bad grammar. How much clay goes into making a weight training session? You have to figure out how much. Someone can tell you, but unless you show up day after day and put effort/time into shape, you won't know. Your technique is important, too. Sometimes you do too much and you are sore. Sometimes you come in tired and angry and your session doesn't go very well. Sometimes when you try to do that 300 pound squat, you don't get it. But that's all ok. Every broken pot teaches you something more about pottery. Every "bad" session, stressful session, or even session that you start and then quit, teaches you more about your body and your SOUL. Not about working out, but about how to move through life.

    Yes, here is where I get philosophical. 

Remember, the point of exercise isn't about what you look like, or even about how you feel at the end of the day. Movement is about learning about what it takes to move. Over time you'll lift a lot, and you'll lift a little; you'll be a bodybuilder, and you'll be a yoga guy. You'll go through years where you don't do anything at all: no pottery or exercise! 

But it's all learning, and it's all surviving.

If we can be like the tree at the beginning of the post, like Frodo, or like the made-up potter from my analogy, we are surviving. The tree grows a little every day, faster in the spring and summer, slower in the winter. Sometimes it gets struck by lighting (which CAN'T feel very good). But the tree shows up every day and does it's thing: it grows. Regardless of what happens.

And you might be reading now and say "Justin, you're basically telling me that I don't need to exercise, I can just make pots". Maybe yes. You'll still grow. You'll still be a Superhero. Exercise just has lots of good things to recommend it, and it's the medium that I use.

My goal for this post is to maybe change your perspective on "working out" and on what it means to be a hero.

So go out there and do what you do. Survive. Grow.