No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness. ~Aristotle
its either extremely dedicated or extremely crazy. probably both. but this coming Saturday, the SiB poster child Boyd is celebrating his 1000th workout IN THE STUDIO. which means that he has done more than that if you include his outside of our little fitness family togetherness wods. seriously, its NUTS. but so totally boyd that i decided it required some deeper examination :)
over the last 4(ish) years, boyd has become the model of everything i am hoping to accomplish in the studio. which is insane. because 4 years ago (even 2) i pretty much wanted to punch him daily. isnt it funny how life works that way - you are frustrated to death, and beating yourself up, until suddenly you arent. and you realize that all that fighting and frustration led you right to where you were trying to go. amazing.
Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. ~Edward Albee
this is what i think we all should learn from Boyd - and his severely OCD commitment to SiB:
- trust the process. we are all a work in progress, and we all jump on the wagon at different stages. every one of us has to start EXACTLY where WE are, and travel the path to get to where we want to go. sometimes that journey is longer (or shorter) than others. but you cant shortchange the trip. you have to go thru the process, and trust that it will work. and you cant give up on it if it seems to be taking too long.
The obstacle is the path. ~Zen Proverb
- be accountable. im not saying you need to create an excel spreadsheet for your workouts. but im also not saying you shouldnt. accountability comes in many forms, and you need to find the one that is right FOR YOU. im a paper calendar girl. i circle my workouts on a paper calendar - which i instituted in the studio. some people are great at it and use it - and others never sign it. and that is FINE. we all need to find the system that works and then USE IT. maybe your accountability is a workout buddy - and if that works, great. but you will not stick to anything, ever, without accountability.
Work on yourself first, take responsibility for your own progress. ~I Ching
- just commit already. we are all busy. we all have reasons and excuses why we CANT do something. Boyd is literally the hardest working person i know. his solution was to make the gym an "appointment" on his calendar every day. and treat it like one. he wouldnt no-show another appointment, so he cant no-show the gym. and making that mental commitment allowed him to embrace making that time for himself. if it is IMPORTANT, you WILL make the time. stop letting yourself off the hook with the "too busy" excuse.
Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. ~Yoda
- drag your friends with you. boyd single-handedly made me have a class at 730. that was the time that worked for him, so he called his 2 bffs and made them join in. its more fun to torture yourself with friends. it adds a social aspect to the daily grind of fitness. everything is more fun with friends. and why shouldnt your friends make their health a priority too??
True friends stab you in the front. ~Oscar Wilde
- dont take the easy way. EVER. life is hard. we all know that. taking the shortcuts might seem like the right answer. it might make your life easier in the short term. but that is not where you GROW. you grow thru the grind. by forcing yourself to do the thing that is hard for you. by pushing through even when you dont want to. we all let ourselves off the hook sometimes, but it cant be the regular course of business. do the hard work, day in and day out. earn your success. and then celebrate it.
You learn you can do your best even when it's hard, even when you're tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage. ~Joe Namath
- never give up. its ok to be last. last happens. for some of us it happens alot. and then, seemingly all of the sudden, it stops happening so much. its easy to convince yourself when things are hard, and when you dont feel like you are getting better, to just quit. we tell ourselves its ok to quit because we would see results already if it were going to work. this is the biggest lie we like to hear. its ok to quit because it wouldnt work anyway. dont do it. dont give in to that temptation. everyone is on a different path, with a different timetable. DO NOT GIVE UP. eventually you will get where you want to go.
He conquers who endures. ~Persius
- its not a race. this is where it gets personal. sorry boyd. boyd spent the better part of 3 years what we liked to call "breathing thru water". i have no idea why he couldnt breath - might be the 45 broken noses, but he just couldnt break thru the cardio part of our workouts. 3 years of him literally finishing last- or close to it. of the 430 class harassing him for his times. of me yelling at him to pick up the fucking bar already. for 3 years, literally day in and day out, he gave 100% and still made what outwardly seemed like very little progress. and then. and this is the best part. it clicked. i wish i could tell you why or exactly what it was. but i cant. it just finally happened. he started breathing actual air - like the rest of us. it took him 3 years of daily beatings, but he finally overcame his innate rejection of all things cardio. and he is literally kicking ass and taking names. now we are all using HIS time to beat as a motivator. and it took the better part of 4 years to get there. how many times should he have given up before now? it happens for all of us differently. but it happens. run your own race, people.
One may go a long way after one is tired. ~French proverb
SiB is like coffee. for me and for boyd, and most of our other tribe. its what makes us kindred spirits. i need it, everyday. it fuels me, it gives me energy & drive in all of the other aspects of my life. and i just plain old LOVE it. i didnt always. it was an aquired taste, that i came to as i got older. and even though it might be flavored a bit differently for all of us, we all use it to thrive.
i am thankful everyday for the people that SiB has brought into my life. i am glad i get to share this journey with so many incredible friends, and im so lucky that i continue to learn and grow through this process.
Boyd's 1000th workout is Saturday morning at 7:30. You are more than welcome to join us!
