When you start your fitness journey, everything is new and different for the most part or the main focus is building the capacity in movements with proper form and technique.
And while the technique and quality of movement never goes away, the part of the workout that you can start to challenge yourself on, is the intensity of the workout.
Whether this means weights or volume.
There are always different levels or variations of the workouts, and we reach this point in our routine where we are comfortable always going in and choosing the “Level 2” option because that’s the level we are at most days right?
So, that is where we stay and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, there is a point in the journey where our form and technique are pretty sound, we are comfortable with most of the movements and weights used at that level, and we can finish the workouts in or under the target time just about every time.
And for some of us, fitness is about moving and feeling good after we leave, not for any competition or athletic endeavor.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t still compete with the most important person we are always in competition with….ourselves.
The person who you started as on your fitness journey is not the same person you are now.
In fact, that old version of you would probably never believe that you were capable of even getting to where you are now.
So, how do we then level up and make this new version of ourselves proud?
We continue to challenge and push ourselves to new heights.
Maybe you always use the 26lb kettlebell, okay well let’s use the 35lb one for one workout this week.
Or maybe we normally scale the cardio piece, let’s try to go for the next level up distance in the next workout.
It doesn’t mean that you have to challenge yourself each and every day and beat yourself up to where you are so sore you can’t move the next day, it means choose one.
Choose ONE workout each week where you say, let’s take an extra minute or an extra few and do the level up from what we normally would do in the workout to challenge ourselves in new ways.
And on the reverse side of the coin, if you are always trying to go for the RX+ version of the workout and hitting time caps or trying for a new skill in a workout but keep hitting failure.
That is also a sign to maybe take that step back, get some focused coaching on the skills that you want to improve on and know when it’s okay to scale.
It’s all a balance.
The one thing we always want, no matter what the level is, is to constantly be growing and challenging ourselves to be better.
Make the person you will become a year from now proud that you chose to level up. Because with small steps in growth comes big gains for not only your fitness but your mentality and who you grow to be as a person in and out of the gym.
So, choose one time a week where you challenge yourself in a workout or in a strength piece or in trying a new skill.
Let’s grow together.
