Show Up Muscle

On several occasions Sarah Farrell and I have discussed the “Show up Muscle”. This is the trait that enables you to show up, be there, do something regardless of how you feel, the current situation, or whether or not you want to do it. This is often times the biggest determining factor between success and failure. Many people chose to fail by choosing not to show up. They allow life’s excuses to get in the way of their progress and accomplishments.

When it comes to CrossFit there will be days, many days, when you may not feel like coming in. You may still be fatigued from a previous workout, you may be sore, tired, unmotivated. Show up anyway. If you have your schedule in place and have committed to a plan, stick with it. Get down to the gym and do the workout. Let your trainer know when you walk in how you feel. We’ll commend you for getting there. We might even go a little easy on you that day. If nothing else, you’ll get in and get moving. You will get in your skill work, get your blood flowing. Once the workout is done you will be glad you did it. These are days we call mental toughness days. They make the good days seem so much better when we chose to work through them, and go hard even when it’s not a good day.

We are often asked “What is the best way to get in shape?”. Of course we will recommend the CrossFit programming because we know how supremely effective it is, but the answer to this question is pretty broad, but very simple. The best way to get in shape and stay in shape is to find some sort of physical activity that you will do, day after day, year after year, and eat reasonably well. If you do this you will be in better shape than most people in the united states. Stepping it up to the elite levels of fitness that we strive for takes further dedication and motivation. At this point the specifics of the programming become important, but the bottom line is, you still have to show up.

Spend some time today thinking about your “show up muscle”. Is it well developed? Does it need some work? This applies to all aspects of our lives, not just fitness. Get out there, show up, do what you need to do to succeed, and tell us about it. The more often you choose to ignore the excuses in your head, the more developed it will become. The excuses will get smaller and smaller in magnitude.