Failure

Here's the skinny... Ha! Get it? Skinny... I'm not skinny, but I've got the skinny. Sorry, corny fat kid joke.

I was supposed to start P90X3 this week. Know what? I didn't. I took the week off. I ended up taking the break because there was a lot going on this week. I had my friend's memorial service. I had several big assignments due at school. I have an event that I go to every year, twice a year, where I sell handmade items, thus I had to get some items done to sell. Gram had a doctor's appointment one day and a liver biopsy on another day. Those are all just excuses in reality, but that's the short and the long of why I took the week off. I actually think in the long run it might be better that I did. Weight training can be like that, sometimes you have to let your muscles regroup a little so that they will train better when you get back after it. I did NOT, however, quit running. I still got that done this week, and I made my step goal everyday. I am noticing my ankle these days, it is talking to me (old injury). I warm up out of it so I am not going to worry about it. One of my old bosses (a horse veterinarian) used to ask if you were hurt or injured? You can play hurt, you can't play injured. I just hurt a little. So, long story short, I was not inactive, I just didn't "train" per se.

This upcoming program promises to be intense. Tony's programs usually are. This one is different because it doesn't have all the long breaks within it. It is condensed down into 30 minute workouts. I like that. That's part of why I love T25 so much. It fits my schedule. This program came with a big ole book too. It obviously deals with how to train your muscles and how to eat for training. I am taking this week to get it read so that I get the absolute most that I can out of the program. One of the things that resonated with me last night when I was reading was the subject of failure.

I am not a failure type of person. I HATE to fail. It kills me to do something half-way (wasn't that good of me to not use the colorful word to finish that half-@$$), I hate to not be the best at something. Failure is not really an option once I decide to do something. Unless we are talking about keeping weight off, I have yet to really WIN that battle. But, the P90X3 book took a different approach to failure. They were applying it specifically to weight training, but I am wondering if it could pertain to other areas of a person's life. They want you to fail in P90X3. They want you to barely be able to do the last rep of each set. Or, they want you to fail to do the last rep of each set. They want you to push to the point of failure. That is the only way that you can progress.

I thought about that while I was running today. My running app has added sprints to my running program. I have to max out when I sprint. Two things happen when I sprint. 1) I run out of air by the end of it. I get to thinking I'm not going to make it much farther. 2) When I go back to jogging, the jogging is way easier. I want you to know that I am loving the running, but I am not in love with the running. Does that make sense? I struggle through portions of my run. I think I'm not going to make it. But I keep going anyways. It is interesting that the sprints make me think that I am going to fail and make my life easier all at the same time. I was reading that you can actually get more air in your lungs by doing interval training like that than you can by going long distances at a constant pace. I am starting to think that statement is pretty true.

What if we applied this to other things? What if we just weren't afraid of failing because we knew that if we did it would make us stronger. How far could we go? What could we do? I have limitations set up in my own mind. Points in life that if I reach them I think I might fail, what if I took those points away? My friend that passed away was never afraid of failure. I saw her fail plenty of times, it never one time phased her. Food for thought.

P.S. This program requires before pictures, measurements, and a fit test. Mentally prepare yourselves because I am going to throw some numbers at you next week. If we are gonna be honest we gotta be honest all the way, right? For those of you that know me you won't believe my numbers, I am A LOT heavier than I look, so just be prepared for that. But if I don't measure, we won't know what I can get done in 90 days. Let's do this thing!