The Word "Can't"

Cory not only got me up at 6 am to work out, he was also my cheerleader. I truly appreciate his unconditional love and his confidence in me to make positive changes.

He is a good cheerleader - 95% of the time. And I am not dogging him in any way. He has been diligently exercising for several months. He is leagues ahead of me. I appreciate that he has so much confidence in me he thinks I can be at his level. But I am not. And him telling me I should exercise this way or that, do this much time, this much weights, etc. frankly ticks me off.

So today I explore the word "can't". You watch Biggest Loser and you see the trainers screaming at crying contestants as they utter, "I can't."  But can they really can't? You know they've gone through a thorough health screening. Those trainers know exactly what their bodies can handle. They aren't going to push them beyond what they can do physically. Mentally, yes, but not physically. What those contestants mean to say is, "I won't".

There are physical things I literally cannot do. My knees, my muscle tone will not let me. Physically, it isn't possible. But someday, it will.

Example. We have what we affectionately call the CeCe Corral. It's a multiframe baby gate that stretches across our living room. It keeps her from getting into Cory's computer, the wood pellet fire place, the dog food. When we first got it, I couldn't climb over it. I was not limber enough. But I lost weight and got in better shape. Now I can nearly hurdle this thing. I was physically limited, and now I am not. I went from "can't" to "can".

So many people, when they start their fitness journey, try to meet the abilities of their peers. Many of those goals are physically out of their reach. They get discouraged and they quit. Today I couldn't full body plank or do a side plank. My muscles aren't strong enough yet. Instead I planked with my knees down and did squats during the side planks. I still got a good workout and I didn't feel like a failure.

Someday I WILL full body and side plank. And I will celebrate and shoot for the next goal.

One goal at a time.