What are you capable of?

It is always good to have some solid reminders of what you are capable of.

I have two main goals that I have been working on, My short term goal is to train hard, but smart to prepare myself for the Spartan Ultra Beast on June 5th this year. Yesterday's workout in the pool was a great reminder that even though I have the physical ability to do the workout we did, I need to really work on my mental game. There were portions of the workout where I needed to check myself and put my mind and my thoughts into a much more positive mindset. When you are feeling weak or fatigued it is easy to get discouraged and jump into a negative thought process. When I saw this happening to me yesterday I needed to squash those feelings and not concentrate on the big picture. I needed to concentrate on what I was doing at that moment and nothing more. I knew in the back of my head that the workout would be done soon enough, but until then enjoy the process, enjoy the ability to do this workout, enjoy the fatigue, feel blessed that you can do this type of workout. Once I pivoted to this thought process or mindset the workout became a positive force that drove me.

My second goal is more of a long term goal that I have been working on for the past year. In 6 weeks I will be turning 55 years old and my goal is to see if I am capable of getting myself stronger and in better shape then I was the year before. I want to see how many years I can make this goal; happen. This past Friday I was finally able to pull a deadlift that I had not done on a straight bar since I turned 50 years old. I was finally able to pull and lift a 405lbs deadlift. When I turned 50 I literally had to muscle my way through the lift and even though I was able to pull the lift off, it looked like hell and it broke me down so bad that it took me a month to recover from the lift. I was so discouraged and broken I stopped deadlift with a straight bar and would only go back to it sporadically over the next few years. As with anything in life, age and maturity have a way of setting you straight if you are willing to listen and learn from your failures. Because of having this mindset of learning from my past, I was able to look into the mirror on Friday and say to myself, "You are stronger and in better shape than you were last year".

The reminders that are needed to keep and maintain the positive mindset and the dedication to do the work that has to be done in order to achieve the goals you have set forth are so valuable. You must be able to recognize them and use them even when you want to quit. Set the positive precedence in your life as your guide and then the desire to quit will be fleeting.

As always your comments and thoughts are always welcome.