Periscopecake

*Originally posted February 2014:

Beyond the obvious restrictions to athletic achievement, such as current weight, genetics and some semblance of developed skills, I believe that the most oppressive ceiling holding us to our current circumstance is overall belief that we “can’t”. We can’t lift that weight, or run that distance, or go that fast.

I have been there. When I got my first set of dumbbells (at 16), there were 3lb, 5lb and 10lb pairs in the set and, because I could hardly lift the 10lb ones, I sold them to a male friend! I used to find running one block a breathless sprint towards death, so I believed that I couldn’t run. Once I was able to run, I stated on many occasions that running a marathon was “unnatural” and “ridiculous” and I believed that I would not do that. Many, many times in the past twenty years, I have put a lid on my abilities and believed that I was doing all that I would ever do.

Even once I’d accomplished a number of athletic pursuits that I thought I’d never even try, I still continued to hold myself down with ropes of “can’t” and beliefs that kept me stuck where I was. I believed I wouldn’t ever run faster than my previous races. I believed I could only lift so much weight. Sometimes my beliefs have been challenged accidentally by discovering, on a good run, that I could push a little harder. I’ve been surprised, on more than one occasion, when challenged to lift something a little heavier than I was doing, that I actually could!

Time and again I have heard clients and friends say that they “can’t” do a certain thing athletically or place a barrier on their success by simply believing that the task is simply just not for them. As my own history has shown me, this is often not the case. There is the obvious reality that athletic endeavors do not bust out of the gate at elite status, and you are not likely to go from couch to marathon in an instant, but that is not to say that it cannot be done.

Full disclosure here, I am currently not able to do a pull-up….and I don’t mean that I can’t do twenty in a row….I seriously mean that I cannot currently do ONE pull-up! I can produce smoke and mirrors that distract with a lot of other things that I CAN do like a total boss, but the pull-up is not in my skill set. That being said, I do believe that not being able to currently, is miles away from actually not being able to EVER. I can train for this! I can develop in a direction that gets me into full on pull-up mastery, or at least able to do a few.

What is it that you feel you “can’t” do? Do you find yourself believing the thoughts that say that you are currently at your fastest or strongest or doing all that you will ever be able to do? I wonder if you persisted and busted through your own barriers, if you too would be amazed at the thoughts you used to think. Would the old you that sold 10lb dumbbells because you will “never use them” find it laughable when 10lbs is the lighter than you would ever possibly use?

The amazing and wonderful thing about fitness is that there is almost no ceiling. Even Olympians are trying to push harder and get better. I am not saying that we should all strive to be elite athletes, power lifters, or attempt to break the land speed record. I am saying that you can TRY. I am saying that you can most certainly advance in some way, at whatever your athletic pursuit may be. You CAN lift more, or run faster, or bike farther, or whatever other thing you only wish you could do. And once you reach that magical place that was most certainly “impossible”, remember how far you came to get there and know that this is also not the peek.

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll

**I wrote this 6 years ago and it came up in my Facebook memories.  I did become able to do a pull-up…but now “can’t” again because I haven’t been training for that lately.  I have since run a couple more marathons and an ultra trail race.  I have also dead-lifted 200lbs for reps (which I also currently “can’t” do because I haven’t been doing that…but I’m working on it).

I am slower at running than ever, but about to start training for my 7th marathon and presume I’ll get faster, even if I never beat my best time.  I have been chasing beating 1:52 in the Half Marathon for ages, and have yet to achieve this!  I am not getting any younger, but I still believe that it’s possible, if I put in the work and really focus on speed; maybe next year.

The thing I love (and hate) about fitness is that it is always a moving target.  You can always get better and do more, or different, and there are many rabbits to chase (strength, fat loss, muscle gain, endurance, flexibility, power, etc) You can’t chase them all at once, and they are quick to get away (see: “can no longer do pull-up”) but that’s the motivation! There is always something; some new pursuit, or previous peak to reach and try and surpass.  It’s all in what you put in and what you train for or try.  There are limits, but they are most definitely higher than we think they are.