Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a place not so very far away I used to smoke and drink (a lot) and eat lots of not so good food. I was in my middle thirties, had the standard extra 25 pounds and thought I was in OK shape since I could still move a few bales of hay around (if there weren’t too many and they weren’t too heavy) to feed the critters.

Somewhere around this time I started TaeKwon-Do training and then into the gym. This started the journey that has had lots of pit stops on the way including a 6th place finish at the 2014 Reebok CrossFit games. The journey isn’t over. But my point today isn’t the training. My point today is change…transformation.

You can change. You can transform. Your future does not have to be the same as your past. But you can’t change or transform without discomfort. You can’t do the same thing and expect different results. If you are perfectly happy where you are you can just keep on keeping on. But if you want to make change you are going to get comfortable with discomfort.

If you want to be in better physical condition doing 20 minutes on the treadmill at 60% of your maximum heart rate is only a start if you haven’t done anything at all. After about 3 months of that something is going to have to shift if you want more results. You will need to get your heart rate up higher. You will need to run faster or longer. If you want to get stronger you are going to have to pick up heavier weights. You will never get stronger using the same light weights week in and week out. You don’t have to believe me…just look at some of your friends who have been going to the gym for years with little to no change. Still overweight, still on medication, still sick and tired, still no change…they aren’t going backwards but they aren’t moving forward just like that treadmill or stationary bike isn’t going anywhere. They aren’t showing up to work out with a goal in mind…an endpoint.

When I start a workout I have a place I want to end up…and yes, that is usually on the floor in a puddle of my own sweat. After a year of training I want to be better than I was a year ago…stronger, faster, and fitter than when I started. Maybe there is a point where the gains are harder to get, the personal records are further apart and fitness gets measured in smaller increments but there is no reason I can’t be better tomorrow than I am today.

Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. If it was easy everyone would do it. Most people are not willing to get discomfortable enough or long enough to get what they truly want and deserve.

Embrace discomfort, enjoy the journey!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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