Pushing beyond your limits

Can you believe how fast this month flew by? It feels like just yesterday that I was dreading going back to work after the Christmas break. Now here I am, in the last week of January, watching incredible athletes hit a tennis ball over a net at the Australian Open.

Looking back at these last few weeks, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I’ve started strength building sessions with local exercise physiologist, Nick. It’s only been five sessions, but I’m already starting to feel the benefits.

This is no New Year’s resolution, I can never commit to that. And, I’m not keen to exercise, mainly because it’s hard. But, I’m diving headfirst into this program even after a long and exhausting day at work and the unbearable Sydney humidity. Can you imagine that? Me, actually looking forward to exercising!

But, Nick is like a human roller coaster, always ready to throw a curveball at me. And let me tell you, this week was no exception.

So picture this: I’m walking into the practice, ready to get my fitness on. But what does Nick do? He looks at me and goes: ‘Drop your stuff and follow me. We’re going for a walk.’ A walk? Seriously, is this part of the program?

So there I am, trotting along like a baby gazelle trying to keep up with this towering, super fit trainer. I mean, really, who made this guy so ridiculously fit? It’s like he’s a walking advertisement for protein shakes and fitness memberships. Meanwhile, I’m huffing and puffing, desperately trying to hold a conversation without sounding like a wheezing wind turbine. You can imagine the struggle, right?

But wait, it gets better. As we continue our walk, which by the way feels more like a marathon to me, I pretended to drop my water bottle, and use those precious few seconds to catch my breath. Well, I probably looked like a malfunctioning robot trying to pick up a banana peel. But hey, at least I got a few seconds of rest.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK :

But you know what? It turned out to be an amazing session. Why? Because Nick has this incredible ability to make every session enjoyable while pushing me to my limits. Very early on he established conversation topics that interests me and uses engaging conversation while pushing me to increase reps! It’s a fun way to increase my fitness,  but more importantly, I’m trying to delay those debilitating ageing conditions. So bring on week four!

I won’t mention the tiny indulgence of a Ferrero Roche ice cream I had afterwards, though. Shh, that’s our secret.

QUOTE OF THE DAY :

‘There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.’

-Tom McCallum

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