Post Its To Ryan

Post It Notes I'd LOVE to leave around the NLXF Gym for Ryan

□ Where the hell is the bear crawling and what does she find when she gets there…if you want me to walk on my hands with my ass in the air I need some incentive!

 

□ If you want me to bend down and kiss your ass, then I suggest you STOP having me do 400 squats during class.

 

□When I want you to squat down and get in my face while I’m doing push-ups

I'll tell you!

 

Monday is the New Thursday

Forty is the New Thirty!
Strong is the New Sexy!
And apparently Monday is the New Thursday.

For as long as I can remember, Thursday has been “Burpee Day” at NLXF.  And believe me, when it comes to burpees, my memory is more than accurate.  Thursday is when we do burpees.  Thursday is “Burpee Day.”

So you can imagine my complete shock when at 6:37 a.m. on a MONDAY Ryan informed us that we would be starting a 2 minute cardio set with burpees.

BURPEES???  ON A MONDAY???  WTF??????

To say that I was pissed off would be an understatement.  Everyone knows that on Mondays we do a moderate warm up followed by a bit of cardio.  The cardio typically focuses on the muscles and moves needed for jabs, hooks or roundhouses.  If Ryan’s feeling particularly cranky we might do some ab work.  But mostly we kick box.  We work on our form.  Ryan goes crazy because none of us shift our weight, use our toes, turn our hips, or snap our leg.  He goes especially crazy because after 22 weeks I still don’t adequately shift my weight, use my toes, turn my hips, or snap my leg.  And Mondays NEVER include burpees.

Until today.

Now, I could have spent the remaining 53 minutes of class pondering WHY Ryan decided to include burpees on a Monday, but that would have been a total waste of time.  After 22+ weeks of NLXF I have to admit defeat on any or all attempts to get inside HIS head.  I’ve tried.  And I’ve failed miserably.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Ryan.  Not only is he able to get inside MY head, he’s been living in there so long I should charge him rent.  But that is a subject for a future blog J

What I did ponder as I got onto the floor in a push up position, pushed myself to a squat in one lovely plyometric move, jumped high in the air, returned to the squat and then reversed the plyometric move back into the push up position (sucking air all the while I might add), was WHY I was so annoyed that we were doing burpees on a Monday.  You see, it wasn’t so much the fact we were doing burpees that annoyed me…they are a fact of NLXF life…it was the fact we were doing them on a Monday.

And then it hit me…Ryan had CHANGED the routine.  Suddenly I went from being supremely pissed off to embarrassed.  Wasn’t I scheduled to teach a workshop on adapting to change at 11:00 that very morning? 

For the past two years I’ve been teaching workshops for students, business people and educators on strategies for adapting to change in their respective work and study environments.  My message is always the same; to be successful in the 21^st century you have to be open to change, flexible in your approach to change, responsive to change, and most of all, USE change to move forward.  In my workshops I stress the importance of developing the adaptability skills needed to handle change:  how to take risks, stay focused, remain spontaneous and accept the ideas of others.  And here I was doing everything BUT that.  I was blocking, resisting, stalling, negating and most of all, pouting. 

I hate it when I pout!  I’m a whiner, not a pouter J

I know it sounds crazy but all of this went through my head during the first 20 seconds of burpee work.  During the second 20 seconds of burpee work it occurred to me that burpees on a Monday were a perfect way for me to practice my agent of change lessons.  I could use those darn burpee sets as a way to move forward, challenge myself and elevate my fitness goals OR I could resist the whole idea of burpees on a Monday and choose to make that resistance the focus of my workout.

I sighed and moved forward.  Not because I’m the patron saint of workouts, but because that is what NLXF has taught me.  It’s not about perfection, it’s about persistence.  It’s not about settling, it’s about setting.  It’s not about giving up, it’s about giving in.  And truth be told, I did some of the finest sets of burpees I’ve ever done in my life!

 

So thanks Ryan, for changing things up, for pushing me forward, for making Monday the new Thursday.  Now if you could just get out of my head… J

 

I'm a Whiner Not a Quitter...Unless of Course I'm Moaning and Groaning

Okay, I admit it.  I’m not the quietest person on the planet.  In fact, I can be pretty darn loud.  I don’t try to be noisy, it just happens.  Some of it has to do with being in the theatre.  I mean, let’s face it…a good part of what I do for a living deals with teaching people to express themselves.  It’s sort of the whole point of being dramatic, you SHARE the drama.

And much of my being loud has to do with the fact I can’t hear.  For all sorts of reasons…childhood illness, a really nasty viral infection in my late 20’s, too many shots of tequila with Eddie Van Halen, whatever, I have nerve damage in both ears.  Without my hearing aide I can hear about 40% of what goes on in the world around me.  With my hearing aide in I’m probably good for about 75%.  And most of the time I’m completely unaware as to how loud I might be talking, laughing, whining, sighing, moaning and groaning.   

We recently started a new session at NLXF.  I signed up for another 10 weeks.  (I know…I can’t believe it either and this ongoing disbelief will probably become the subject of a post later on this spring.)   

Now, the 6:30 a.m. regulars not only know that I grunt and groan and moan and holler during workouts, they’ve gotten used to it.  Sometimes they join in.  I know for a fact that Lisa Roussell growls as she is working out.  I’ve heard her.  The first time it happened was during a gauntlet.  I was in front of her and suddenly I heard this growling.  My first thought was that I was being chased by wolves.  Turned around and it was just Lisa!  And Lynn Day grunts…I’ve heard her, too.  True, she doesn’t grunt as loud or as often as I do, but she does grunt.   

As for other class regulars, well,  sometimes they laugh at me, or at the very least, smile in amusement, as I audibly emote frustration, incredulity, shock or just plain effort as I move through the sequence of body numbing tasks Ryan has assembled that day. And I’m equally sure many just try to ignore me.

But it has been brought to my attention that the “newbies” were freaking out just a little bit this week by all of the grunts, snorts, sighs and wails coming from the “old lady” in the front row.   One of the newbies was convinced I was dying.

First of all, let me assure all of you, newcomers and veterans alike, I am NOT dying.  While it is true that any given workout on any given day may be generating a near death experience, trust me, if the workout is in fact going to kill me my last words will NOT BE uff,  arghf, or AHHHH!  They will be more along the lines of “A curse on you and all your offspring Ryan Downs I’ll see you in hell thank you very much!”

No, I don’t moan and groan and wail and gnash my teeth because I’m giving up or giving in.  I do it so that I can get through it.  Think of it as verbally pushing my body through that 22^nd pulsing squat or 45^th lunge or 87^th backhand or 15^th right roundhouse or 25^th gut buster.  I may be a whiner but I am not a quitter.

So, for those of you new to NLXF or who find this kind of personal information fascinating, here are:

The Top Ten Reasons Why I Moan, Groan, Wail, Gnash, Sigh, Whimper, Grunt, Holler or Gasp During NLXF Workouts. 

10.   It’s rude to swear that much in an hour.
  9.       Ryan has replaced all of the 5 lb weights I’ve carefully selected with 10 lb ones.
  8.       We’ve been holding a plank for more than 2 minutes.
  7.       I’m visualizing my ex- (husband, boyfriend, etc) while hitting the bag.
 6.       It’s 7:15 a.m. and we STILL haven’t had a water break.
 5.       I feel like I’m going to puke.
 4.       Ryan has blown that stupid whistle for about the 56^th time.
 3.       My (fill in the blank with just about any body part) HURTS!
  2.       Burpees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the Number One Reason...
         1.    Creed J

And the Greatest of These is Love

In honor of the Valentine's Day holiday earlier this week Ryan challenged his members to "write a love letter"  to NLXF telling the world in six sentences or less what they love best about the program.  Grand prize was a month of free tanning.
 
The resulting entries, all posted on Facebook, were fun to read.  And as someone who also crafted a submission, it was fun to write.  But what was probably most significant from my perspective is that people participated....LOTS of people, as writers, readers and of course, comment writers.

As I read each and every post I could only be struck by the reoccurring themes that began to emerge.  Most made mention of particular exercises that really pushed them to their physical and mental limits.  While it is true that "the burpee" was mentioned most (see my previous post for more details on this most dreaded of exercises), pushups, lunges, high knees, planks, butt kicks and squats also received "honorable mentions."  But always, always, the letter would go on to explain how much the writer LOVED their NLXF experience. They cited the confidence they had gained, the self-esteem that had increased,the personal pride they took in their improvement, and the sense of "family" that had grown among all of the participants.

How is it that a program that brings so many of us to our knees both physically and emotionally can generate so much love and respect among its membership?

My opinion...Ryan and his staff are Master Motivators.  Let me explain.

In his best selling book Drive, author Daniel Pink explores what it takes to motivate persons in the 21st century.  In an effort to avoid a lengthy book review or academic diatribe let me try to summarize his premise as simply as possible:

Fun (the desire to stay involved) happens when effort (what I have to put into  it) and enjoyment (what I'm getting out of it) are fairly equal.  In other words, most people don't mind putting in effort as long as they can find something to like, both long and short term, within that effort.

I'm sure that each of you reading this blog can come up with an example of this in your own life; an illustration of a time when even though something was hard or difficult, you persisted because it was...well...FUN.  There was enjoyment in the process.  This doesn't mean it wasn't hard or uncomfortable.  What it means is that you found something to like within and/or as a result of the effort. 

An example I can give from my own NLXF work would be the Friday Kickboxing Gauntlet.  It's hard; you move constantly; the routines really make you push yourself mentally and physically.  We are coached to hit each bag, each time, as hard and with as much full body power as we can.  And we do!  And part of the reason we do is that it is FUN.  I feel effort and enjoyment are pretty much balanced during Friday Gauntlet.  We all let our inner beast emerge.  None of us are motivated by the "prize"  offered weekly...the month of free tanning.  We are motivated by the pleasure we get from giving it 110%

This "formula" may also explain why I hate burpees as much as Jake Lewis loves them.  I struggle with burpees...they are hard.  Despite what Ryan thinks I'm putting in a boat load of effort but alas, I'm reaping little enjoyment.  Jake on the other hand, puts in 110% worth of effort and loves the way burpees make him move his body and challenge his strength.  I aspire to be Jake Lewis...I am motivated to find the fun factor in burpees (but probably not next week)!

In addition, Pink believes that motivation, the desire to find enjoyment through effort, is contingent on three factors:  Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose, and that Master Motivators bring these factors into the work place with them.  Pink calls this Type I behavior.  Simply put, Ryan doesn't try to "control" us; (except of course, when he's blowing that damn whistle).  Instead he does everything he can to awaken a sense of ownership within us.  We get meaningful feedback, we are given choices, and we are encouraged to take on a bit more each and every time we enter the gym.  Ryan helps us discover the fun of taking responsibility for our workouts.  Ryan is a Type I Motivator.

Secondly, he keeps us engaged because he helps us discover that with effort we can improve.  Our improvement, which can be measured by reps, inches or pounds lost, or positive self-attitude gained, feeds into our enjoyment.  Our effort has paid off, therefore I want to do more.  How else to explain why so many of us are signing up for another 10 week session.  Mastery is painful:  Ryan and company help us discover the enjoyment that can come from pursuing it.

Thirdly, is purpose.  And this is where I feel the spirit that is NLXF plays a key role.  And sorry Ryan, while you get most of the credit here, you can't have all of it.  We, your members, contribute significantly to this as well.

Highly motivated people and master motivators connect their desires to a cause larger than themselves.  And while it is true that all of us at NLXF are working to improve ourselves, we don't do so at the expense of others; we do so in collaboration with others.  This is why I think there is such a  strong sense of "family membership" among the NLXF

In closing, I'd like to share a line from Lisa R's NLXF love letter that I feel best summarizes the unique Type I atmosphere instructors and participants have generated:

We love you NLXF for bringing people  together...one burpee at a time!

End note:
Every effort was made to authentically and accurately summarize and present the work of Daniel H. Pink. 

Second End note:  Ryan sent me a dozen long stemmed roses (yes, they still had the thorns on them) for Valentine's Day.   Not sure how that factors into Type I motivation behavior but I  will say I've been smiling ear to ear ever since!

BURPEES

I really thought that perhaps I could go a few more weeks without having to blog about this most dreaded of exercises.  However, the recent appearance of “pyramid” Burpees in my NLXF class warrants some discussion (not to mention ranting and raging) about The Burpee.

Frankly, I think any and all discussion about The Burpee can be summarized in two short words:

BURPEES SUCK.

But that would be too short for a proper blog.  So here we go.

Prior to my enrollment in NLXF I was a Burpee Virgin.  Somehow, I had managed to live more than 50 years in pure ignorance of their existence.  I sure as hell had never done one.  And I’m pretty sure I could have happily lived another 50 years blissfully unaware of them.

Sadly, all of that changed in October 2011.   I distinctly remember the exact moment Burpees entered my life.  It was week three of my first NLXF session.  Ryan announced near the end of a Thursday class that we would do Burpees.  And by the way, he doesn’t just say the word Burpees…he ROARS the word Burpees, making the U-R sound resonate like the engine of a small aircraft taking flight.  Then he demonstrated one.   You can imagine the look of shock on my face as I watched this exercise unfold before me.  I looked around.  Surely this was some kind of cruel hoax and in a minute everyone would start to laugh and tell Ryan that was a pretty good trick.  But no one did.  Everyone just started flopping to the floor and then pushing themselves up to a jump, repeating the entire process over and over again. 

So I jumped in, too.  I had no problem hitting the floor; that was the easy part.  It was the getting back up just using my arms and toes and then leaping up again that created all the problems.  By the time I was done my knees were bruised, my arms hurt and I HATED Ryan; I didn’t talk to him for two days.

What are they, you may ask?  Well first, a bit of history.  The exercise was named in the 1930s for American physiologist Royal H. Burpee who developed the Burpee Exercise as part of his PhD thesis as a “quick and simple way to assess agility, coordination and strength.”  Royal’s “invention” required simply that the exerciser move a “large load over a long distance in a short amount of time.”

A CURSE ON YOU AND ALL YOUR OFFSPRING DR. BURPEE!

Of course the true irony is that Dr. Burpee's research didn’t remain obscure like 90% of that carried on by most academicians annually, my own included. The US military LOVED The Burpee and immediately adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits during WWII. And then sports teams adopted it as well.  I don’t care if the Navy Seals and the Green Bay Packers do them; I Hate Burpees (although I LOVE watching Clay Matthews [insert big swoon and sigh] do them before a game J).

For the unenlightened, a Burpee is pretty much the most work you can do just using your body for resistance.  It begins from a standing position. From there you simply prepare to die. 

You move to a squat and then fling your full body weight all the way to the floor by way of a single quick plyometric move in order to assume a plank position.  From there, in yet another one quick plyometric motion I might add, you return  momentarily to the squat position and from there you “jump up” in order to move your entire body weight off the ground before landing in an upright standing position, eager to begin this sequence from hell once again.

A PLYOMETRIC MOVE!  Just bite me!

I can do the start from a standing positon but from that point on, the entire process becomes a cluster of painful disasters.  Trust me, the only quick motion I’m good at is inserting and withdrawing my Visa card into the ATM machine.  And of course it doesn’t help my process at all to have Ryan hovering over me from start to finish yelling “get lower,” “faster”, or “jump higher.”

Burpees continue to haunt me at NLXF since my first encounter with them four months ago.  I continue to hate them and every single permutation of them that Ryan brings to the NLXF workouts including but not limited to:  the Squatting Burpee, the “Burpee Pushup,” the “Baby” Burpee, the Burpee in our kickboxing gloves while our partner “works the bag,” and my most recent nemesis, the Pyramid Burpee.  I am HIGHLY ANNOYED that Burpees are infiltrating additional workout days.  It used to be that Thursdays were Burpee days.  Not anymore…we do them on Tuesdays…we’ve done them on Wednesdays.  Is nothing sacred anymore!

Sadly, a recent internet search reveals that there are NUMEROUS variations on The Burpee including these sick and disgusting permutations:

The Jump-over Burpee:  The athlete jumps over an obstacle between burpees.

The One-Armed Burpee: The athlete uses only one arm for the whole exercise.

The Parkour Burpee: Following one burpee on the ground, the athlete jumps upon a table and performs the second burpee on the table, then jumps back to the initial position. (I’m sorry, but clearly alcohol consumption must be a factor with this one!)

And finally, the Chirpee Burpee: Combine a pull-up from a bar extended from the ceiling with the jump.

Please God, don't let there be tables and chin up bars at the gym this week!

Ryan Doesn't Live in my Head Anymore!

I don't know about anyone else reading this post but last week Thursday, during the 6:30 a.m. workout, I'm pretty sure I had a near death experience.  In terms of an overall, in your face, kick your ass workout, it was the hardest day of work I've yet to face at NLXF and trust me, when it comes to Ryan and NLXF, I've faced some pretty nasty stuff.  I thought I was going to die...literally.  My heart was pounding, my body was producing enough sweat to sustain a school of fish; every muscle ached because every muscle was being used.  To full capacity.  For the entire 60 minutes.  I know I had an out of body experience at least once during that workout; I distinctly remember being able to "look down" at myself from somewhere high above, and you know what, it didn't look any better from up there than it was feeling down here.

When I got home I threw up.  Not so unusual for me.  But then, I cried.  Hard.  For at least 15 minutes.  And that IS unusual for me. And because Ryan's workout made me cry, I did what any woman stretched to her physical and emotional limits would do.  I hosted my very own pity party complete with Chardonnay and Chocolate.  (Don't be alarmed, I did wait until AFTER the work day ended). 

But the thing about parties is that they do eventually end.  So when this one was over I took time to reflect on just what had happened during Thursday's session that left me so emotionally unglued.

And I came to this conclusion.  I didn't cry because I vomited; I didn't cry because my body ached. I cried because I had allowed the workout to wear me down MENTALLY.  I let Ryan get into my head!

I typically get to the gym a good 10 minutes before my class starts.  I use the time to get out of the multiple layers of winter clothing one needs to wear before sunrise in Iowa in January, change from boots to shoes, and grab my gear.  And once all of that is done, I watch the last segments of the 5:30 a.m. class.

As I watched the final 5 minutes of the 5:30 class last Thursday I became frozen to the floor in horrific awe at what was unfolding before me.  By the time the 5:30 a.m. class got to its 3rd set of burpees my throat had gone dry; by the 5th set my hands were sweating; by the 8th set I had broken into a cold sweat; by their 10th (and praise God final set of burpees) I was having a full fledged panic attack.

Before I had even set foot into the gym I had allowed that day's workout to intimidate me.  Even before I took my first stretch, pulsed my first squat, walked my first push up or burned my first ab I had marked myself as a doomed woman.  And because in my mind I saw myself as unable to do the workout my body could only respond in the same way.

Thursdays, more than any other day of the week, have taught me that I'm not only exercising my body, but that I'm also exercising my mind.  And anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.  Yes, the workouts require that I physically respond to the directives and challenges Ryan and company design.  But more importantly, the workouts demand that I also respond to them mentally.  In much the same way that I am working to improve my physical strength, stamina and flexibility, the workouts are nurturing this same development within me mentally.  They demand that I expand my range of mental strength; the duration of my ability to remain concentrated and focused; they push my mental alertness.  In short, they require that I believe in myself.

Last Thursday provided the reminder I needed that the workouts I'm doing at NLXF don't start when Ryan barks "Spread out and face the front."  They start before I even get to the gym.  And like everything else we do at NLXF, that takes practice as well.

And that has been my goal ever since.  I am working hard to get my head into the workout along with my body.  I still get to the gym 10 minutes early, but you may have noticed I don't watch through the windows so much any more.  I try to turn my back and focus on mentally getting myself ready to work rather than watching the work of others.  I've decided I'd rather by shocked and awed than scared and intimidated.

And so far, I think it's working! 

And Ryan is exactly where he should be...in the gym, pushing me hard, and cheering me on!

What Would Chuck Norris Do?

A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing to participate in a kickboxing "gauntlet" class for returning students, I asked Ryan if I should go for speed or slow down a bit and focus on my form.  "Speed," he barked, "you don't have any form."

Ouch!  While I bent down to pick up the tattered pieces of my ego that now lay scattered on the floor I could only think, "What would Chuck Norris do?"

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we kickbox.  I LOVE kickboxing.  There is something so primal, so liberating, so satisfying about punching, hitting and kicking an inanimate object. But like most everything in life, it is harder than it looks.  There are elbows to tuck in or level out; knees to bend, hips to turn, toes to point, weight to shift and fists to position.

But while it is true that on the outside I'm a kickboxer who is very much in training, who is working hard to get the elbows, hands, feet, hips and power working correctly, on the inside, I am the star of my own action adventure, fearlessly defending good, efficiently conquering evil, and heroically saving the day.  I AM CHUCK NORRIS!

I don't know a single person who doesn't love Chuck Norris.  We love his moves and we love his movies.  But let's be honest...Chuck Norris can't act.  And you know what...not only do WE know Chuck Norris can't act, CHUCK NORRIS knows he can't act!  But does that stop Chuck Norris?  Does it stop us from appreciating what he does or what he's trying to do?  Absolutely not.  In fact, it just makes him more endearing.  We love Chuck Norris as much as we love say...William Shatner!( another actor who can't act and KNOWS he can't act)!  How is it possible that Chuck Norris, who has not a shred of acting talent, can be one of the most globally recognized cultural icons of the 21st century?  And what can any of this possibly have to do with kickboxing and NLXF. Well frankly, everything.

I believe we love Chuck because he gives himself permission to not be perfect. Through his willingness to share what he does so well (martial arts) within a venue that he doesn't do well (acting on screen), he unwittingly gives each and every single one of us permission to do the same...to not only do something we aren't very good at and want to get better at, but to embrace that very process.  And in doing so we expand ourselves not only in terms of what we CAN do, but by what we BELIEVE we can do!

I am a teacher.  I teach drama and theatre to young people throughout the Cedar Valley and at UNI.  My students are often as young as four; they are very often college age or older.  I work very hard to instill within them this same philosophy....they have my permission to "play" with a process; to learn by doing.  They are encouraged and supported as they attempt, reflect on the attempt, adjust their approach to the attempt, and attempt again.  I believe this to be at the heart of my teaching.  And  I believe it is also very much at the heart and soul of the NLXF experience.

What I think we love; what I believe has captured the energy and passion and imagination of the 500+ people that work out at NLXF five days a week is the fact that Ryan and his team have GIVEN us permission to not be perfect.  They allow us the chance to do the jab or the hook or the roundhouse or the burpee or the whatever BADLY. (and trust me, I've done them ALL badly).  We are allowed to do them "imperfectly" as part of the process of developing the skill to do them better, to do them right., to get them perfect.   And allowing us to do them wrong in the spirit of learning to do them right is different from failing at doing them.  Ryan and company never allow us to fail; they set us up to improve.  They correct our mistakes at the same time they continue to challenge us.   And we love this because underneath it all their support has helped us understand and believe that we CAN do it right or faster or better or more frequently than we could when we first started...eventually...especially if we are willing to put in the time, the work,  and the practice.  The staff's collective faith in us generates faith in ourselves.  And because we aren't being "graded;" because they never compare what we can do to what they can do or to what someone else in the class can do, they motivate us to expand ourselves because they only demand that we compete with ourselves.  At NLXF my triumph at being able to do 10 pushups from my toes is celebrated, not because 10 pushups is perfect, but because those 10 pushups are perfect for me...they are 10 more than I could do four weeks ago.  And it is the very celebration of that triumph that inspires me to immediately work towards doing 20.

So the next time you find yourself facing what at that moment may seem like an impossible task consider asking yourself, "What would Chuck Norris do?'  And then jump right in.

 

It's Easy to Take Your Fitness to the "Next Level" When You Start in the Basement

I want to begin with a confession.

I am NOT an athletic person...nor have I ever played one on television.  When the Great Spirit was handing out athletic prowess and the natural ability to move with grace, ease, dignity, and a general tendency to remain upright, I was probably in the "free dessert" line.

Truth be told, and it's painful for me to write this, I was always the chubby girl (or the fat girl or the really fat girl) that hovered in the corner of the gym or playground.  It's not so much that I hated being active; I ran and biked and swam and skated and played...I just wasn't GOOD at any of it...I couldn't run fast, I couldn't jump high.  I usually dropped the ball, missed the ball, or was totally unaware a ball was actually being used.  I couldn't shoot a basket, do a wheelie, dive off the board, or cartwheel.  I participated, but bottom line, I pretty much sucked.

Now don't despair...I had friends and they DID include me; they DID let me play.  True, I was never the first or second round draft pick for teams but then neither was Aaron Rogers.  I usually got selected in a respectable tenth or eleventh round.  Let's face it...if you're picking teams for Red Rover the 4th grade girl with the 15 inch forearms does have market value.

Being "funny" also helped.  Family legend states that I began developing my sense of humor from the moment I started talking.  For most of us, our first words are Dada or Momma...mine was "really?"

From the start, humor was my defense mechanism.   It was what I did to offset the embarrassment, the humility and the frustration of not being good at any of the physical or sports "stuff" everyone else seemed to be so good at.  By poking fun at myself, I helped everyone else laugh about it as well, and that made them feel more at ease with my lack of athleticism and ability.  It added an element of fun.  And as long as I kept poking fun at myself, I didn't really have to improve. In the world of sports or fitness, failure became my expectation. 

All that changed last September when I joined Next Level Extreme Fitness. 
True...I have tried to maintain a sense of humor throughout the process, but this time it's different. Humor is no longer a defense mechanism that I use to justify my inabilities.  My willingness to laugh at myself is NOT functioning as an "excuse" for quitting or for not trying. Finding the humor in the impossible (and trust me...most days it is impossible), is helping me better appreciate what we are all being asked to do.  And this in turn is challenging me to want to improve.  It's helping me stick with it.  And I guess I'm hopeful that my insights, comic and otherwise, are encouraging others in the program to stick with it, too.

And that's why I've started this blog. 

You see, I can't believe that I'm DOING NLXF.  To my astonishment I am willing to get up VERY EARLY every morning in order to get to a 6:30 a.m. class that kicks my butt so bad that I need an anesthesiologist to get through the rest of the day.  And not only did I complete the first 10 week session, going EVERY DAY, FIVE days a week, BUT I signed up for a SECOND TEN WEEK SESSION. 

NLXF's impact on me is completely different from any other fitness thing I've tried.  And I want to know why...what is it about the program and the people in that program that not only motivates me to participate, but inspires me to push myself to that "next level."

So welcome to my blog.  If you are reading this, chances are you are also a member of the NLXF family. Or maybe you are thinking of joining NLXF.  Either way, I invite you to join the conversation.  Feel free to post your own responses, reactions, insights and experiences.

As for me, this blog is a chance to reflect on a very unique and special adventure.  I'm excited about the discoveries it may help me uncover.