Not the boss

I am not the boss of everything.  One way to know that this is true is that we experience setbacks in our workouts.  There are times when we are injured or exhausted or stressed out and we just can’t do as much.

Worse, there are days when, even though we have been doing All The Right Things, somehow we can’t lift as much or go as far or as fast as we’d like.  Unfortunately, this is normal variation.  We have to accept it and move on.

There are some coping techniques for setbacks.  We can try:

• Doing what we can.  Maybe shoulder exercises are out, but those legs still work.  Bike or squat or run or dance until swimming, tennis, and overhead presses are back on the list.

• Whining.  Swearing also works.  It reduces stress.  A positive attitude is a great thing, but sometimes we all need a little negativity to clear out the system.

• Resting.  Pushing past an injury is, frankly, stupid.  Most of life is not a race; we can take the time to heal properly.  Sleep deprivation is rampant in our society, so an excuse to catch up a little is welcome.

• Being kind.  Under most circumstances, whatever it is that is keeping us from doing as much as we’d like is not our fault.  We do not heal faster or improve more when we yell at ourselves or call ourselves bad names.  The world is not going to end because we did not deadlift a new record weight or we finished last in our age group at the run.  We already won by showing up.  We all do better with encouragement than blame.

We can do this.