Do. The. Work.

Recently, I’ve been honing the skill of OCR lurking. From my risk-free vantage point, I watch as the OCR Enthusiasts hoist themselves over walls, swing from limb to limb/ring to ring, pull themselves up to death-defying heights, and trudge barefoot through the snow – flopping down in it wearing next to nothing to do a quick set of burpees. I watch these fearless, strong and able beings in complete AWE and study their moves as if I might somehow benefit from watching their technique when I come upon a similar obstacle.

When I do get to the gym, all hopes of magical prowess are wiped from my mind. I am HUMBLED because, let’s face it, you cannot build strength and skill by watching videos. You. Must. Do. The. Work.

I SUCK!  And I know it. But that’s beside the point.

Although I have been successful in attacking the rope climb, last night I made the attempt over and over and over… AND repeatedly FAILED! After several attempts, I went inside to do my regular strength workout.

I know all-too-well that what I currently do in the gym is not nearly enough to get me to the finish line. But I also know that I need to build up my strength and endurance at a reasonable rate to avoid injuring my 52 year old body. So, I did my workout then swung by the desk to talk with YaYa and Torey, one of the personal trainers who may also do the Monterey Spartan Race. I reported my disappointment at failing to get up the rope.  Torey had just received a text message from his 7pm client cancelling their appointment. He laughed out loud, because the message arrived only 3 minutes before the scheduled appointment time. When I first joined the gym, it was Torey who got me started on a strength routine. We worked together a couple of times and had talked about setting up some additional sessions to help me prepare for the upcoming Spartan Race.  I just hadn’t gotten around to scheduling.

But tonight, I jumped at the opportunity for a last minute session. “I’ll take their spot.” I said.

By then, Torey had already reached out to his next appointment to see if they could meet earlier. He only had about 20-30 minutes to work with me before they arrived. He gave me a few more exercises: hollow holds, farmers walk, wrist extension/curls, and lat pull-downs with a narrow hold. He showed me the exercise, found an appropriate weight, and encouraged the crap out of me to push me past what I thought I could do. After he left to see his next client, I finished off my workout — completing a few sets of each — and then returned to the rope climb armed with a new helping of motivation.

SUCCESS!