No Excuses, Only Experiences…

“If you really want something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Monday evening, after several grueling leg press and leg extension sets, I fell flat on my ass in the Smith machine at my neighborhood gym. I tweaked my bad knee on my way down as I grappled with the barbell, struggling to lift it back into the cradle. The best part of this rather embarrassing moment? The audience of five guys just watching me fail – and flail – at barbell front squats. Red-faced and hurting like a mother, I started over, finished the set and then moved on to the next exercise in my workout.

Five days later, I’m still thinking about it. I’m second guessing the weight I pressed, my foot position when I attempted my first squat, the rest time I took between sets. And I’m still pissed at the guys who just stood there and looked at me like I was an idiot. What none of them knew was that I’d just pressed a total of 17,200 pounds and lifted a total of 4,200 pounds doing my leg extensions. I don’t know exactly what they were thinking – I just know that not a single one of them asked if I was okay or helped me lift the bar.

Five days later I’m still dealing with the aggravation of a previous knee injury and the pain that accompanies it. For those who may be wondering why I’ve not seen my orthopedist, it’s not swollen and I can put my weight on it. It’s annoying and inconvenient but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I just have to make minor modifications to my workouts this week.

It’s particularly inconvenient because this week is my check-in with Dexter (my trainer) and I don’t feel like I’m going to be showing him the level of physical change that I should be. With my knee out of commission, my cardio workouts have left much to be desired. I haven’t completed my hamstring workout for this week either.

While these all sound like legitimate reasons to have missed or given less than 100% in my workouts, at the end of the day they’re just excuses.

The determined will find a way. They will modify. They’ll work the problem from another angle and find a solution.

For the past two days I’ve done anything but. I’ve wallowed in a combination of embarrassment, self-flagellation, and frustration.

I’ve focused on the negatives of the week rather than looking for the positives.

I haven’t been able to do my regular morning cardio but I’ve been taking half-mile walks at the office on my busted knee during my breaks. I’m hitting my step goal almost daily and getting some fresh air and vitamin D at the same time.

Yes, I landed on my ass with an audience. But, like the warrior queen I am, I pulled myself up and finished my damn set on an aching knee and with a bleeding shin. I gutted it out and got it done.

I’ve been taking proactive steps to manage the onset of PMS and all the fun symptoms which accompany it for me: cravings, bloating, wanting to punch people in the throat…

The first step was finding someone on a similar path who experiences similar issues. I sought out an NPC bikini competitor (one who I look up to and admire) for recommendations regarding how to handle chocolate cravings. Her advice was solid and I’m using it to manage my pre-PMS desire to eat ALL the chocolate. I’m still working on quelling the desire to punch people – though I think the chocolate may be helping.

Next, I talked to my trainer about bloating and what, if any, nutritional steps I need to take to combat this. I have to send him progress photos tomorrow and, at the moment, I’m so bloated I look almost 4 months pregnant. Not exactly encouraging. Dexter had a few suggestions, and while these won’t solve the issue overnight, I now have a clear direction and path towards resolving the problem.

We’re all going to face obstacles in life. We’re going to fall flat on our faces from time to time. That’s just the nature of life. It’s how we respond that separates winners from losers. It’s how we respond which determines whether or not we will reach our goals.

If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. If you face plant, get up, dust yourself off and take a bow. Then go for it all over again.