“Perfection of effort is not required, by the way. It is the consistency of attempting to work these tools that brings the progress. It’s like anything else. If I want to tone muscle, lifting a ten-pound weight a few times every day will move me toward my goal much quicker than hoisting a fifty-pound barbell once a week. Yes, it really is true: “Slow and steady wins the race.” Just try a little, every day. You’ll see.” - Holly Mosier
I have shared earlier that during the CB period I did not commit to a training regime to upkeep my strength and capabilities. Hence, coming back was tough. I noticed so many strains in my climbing and it annoyed the hell out of me. Physically, I felt my core and endurance weaken. In terms of executing techniques, my timings are either way off or I simply am just baffled as to where the movement should set off to stick the move I've imagined. My route-reading also took a hit - I used to be able to read routes as I would've read a sentence, but now, it feels as if I'm reading an ancient Latin language that I cannot comprehend.
My self-esteem also took a hit. My core isn't as defined as they used to be and Adil noted that my shoulder/lats/back area is not as bulky as they used to be 😫
Seeing all these problems with my physical capabilities and esteem led me to myriad of grand ambitions. I wanted to run, I wanted to start doing weighted pull-ups, I wanted to do intensive PT, I wanted to eat less, I wanted to do so many things. But I also know myself very well.
I know that I will feel so overwhelmed that I end up doing nothing. I can craft the perfect training comeback plan and schedule them every day but if I give up because I am to0 overwhelmed, then, it's all for nothing.
So I struck a deal and I only asked 1 thing of myself.
Me: 15 minutes Abs HIIT. That's all.
Me: Ugh? But it'll hurt.
Me: I'm not asking you do to any thing else. 15 minutes before your climbing session ends.
Me: But that means I have less time to climb!
Me: We both know you won't do it outside of your climbing session. So you might as well do it while you're already out and exercising.
Me: Fine. But this better work.
Me: Trust the process!
I've been doing this for about a month now. This week, I see the result of it. I don't feel as tired as I did a month ago on roofs and inclined walls. I also feel better about myself because my core lines are back 😝 You know that I'm not the first to tell you this, but consistency does pay off.
I know it seems like I am actually not asking that much of myself and there is nothing hard about that, but to me, the HIIT exercise is the lesser point here.
I wanted to train my mind back towards a disciplined mindset. There are times in which I battle with myself such that I think "Let's just skip this HIIT today, and spend that 15 minutes trying this route again" or "You're achy/you're lazy/you had a hard day at work so it's okay if you don't do this HIIT. Be kind to yourself today."
The act of saying NO to myself when these thoughts pop-up is what I am exercising and strengthening. To me, if I can't even entrust myself to do something small consistently, how can I trust myself to execute bigger and harder challenges well all the time? What's the point of me doing a 4x4 if I do it only once a month because I get so overwhelmed every time I do it and the inertia wins me over? I rather take the itty-bitty but regular steps and once I have more faith in myself, then I can start working on bigger challenges because I know that I've re-built my disciplined back up needed for those.
If you find yourself in the same place as me, name just one small call-to-action for yourself. Then define when you are going to do it and how often and for how long. Do it for a month. Let me know what's that one small deal you struck with yourself in the comment section below. Let's be each others' accountability buddy!! 😊
