So I was working out for the first time at my friend, Jennifer Wright’s Crossfit Box/Gym today. This was my first introduction to Crossfit and to top it off, I hadn’t worked out in almost two months so needless-to-say I was feeling a bit out of shape.
I arrived a little bit early to get a feel for the place and had a chance to get debriefed a bit by Jennifer so I wouldn’t look like a complete fool. After being there for about 15 minutes or so, people eventually started to show up for the 3rd of the 5 sessions they have per day.
I scanned the room for a head count and counted 15 women and just me and another guy named Lonnie. I immediately approached him for a little male support and advice and he was happy to oblige me. I must admit that I came to compete but I have to say those ladies were looking pretty fit and ready for action.
So now the stage was set and the anticipation was rising and I was mentally preparing for a ferocious butt-kicking and that’s exactly what I got.
It was 35 minutes of a barrage of several different intense exercises and challenges back-to-back-to-back. They called it the “Filthy Fifty” but since it was my first day, they gave me a reprieve and I was allowed to do the “Dirty Thirty”. And, oh yes my old friend Pain managed to show up right on queue. My enemy better-known-as my “inner-me” also showed up and started trying to talk me out of trying to finish before the allotted time. “Take it easy, it’s just your first day.” He said, but I had to yell back at my “inner-me” and let it know that I wasn’t having it.
While my body was going through the fire, my ego was also taking a pounding too when every time one of the ladies said, “Come on Cedric keep moving, you can do it!” Ughhh!!! Now, I’m usually the motivator but the tables were definitely turned and now I was the one being motivated by a bunch of feisty, kick-butt, childbearing Mama’s. LOL…
So, eventually I whispered to myself, “I have five minutes left to complete my last challenge of 30 reps of 24 inch box-jumps. I can do that with no problem.” But as I got to rep #5, it became painfully obvious that I’d made the mistake of speaking too soon and this was going to be a lot harder to complete than I thought. Sweating like a maniac, suffering in pain and feeling faint, 25 reps is going to be impossible without passing out.
Then suddenly my inner competitive voice whispered, “Don’t do 25 reps, just do 1 rep, then another, then another…” So, reluctantly I did one, then two, then three and before I knew it I could feel a little surge of adrenaline that took me to completion in 34 minutes flat.
YEAH BABY!!! TAKE THAT Mr. PAIN!!! Uhhh!!! I didn’t say those words out loud but I sure thought them. LOL… Mission accomplished.
This whole experience reminded me that “Pain” is just one of the many faces and forms of Adversity and it only shows up to make us stronger. That’s why I commonly refer to it as my “Old Friend.” Yep, the old phrase “No Pain No Gain,” remains evergreen and timeless in its meaning and “Gain” I did today.
Oh… And Jennifer Wright and Shara Benson! I’ll be there again tomorrow morning ready to Make it GREAT again.
So what face or form of Adversity are you facing lately? Hmmm… I encourage you to dig deep inside and pull out that inner guy or gal that’s designed to help you make great things possible. Hang in there and squeeze the juice out of your best “you” as you push past the point of pain to Make it GREAT!
