When it’s not right
(Warning: This posts is CAPS-A-LICIOUS with righteous anger.)
Last week, Holly wrote a great post about strategies to keep fitness fun. One of the things I loved in her post and commented on was “if you hate what you’re doing, UR DOIN’ IT WRONG.”
Now, here’s the thing. I love Crossfit. I also love fancy stilettos, violent video games, puppies, and Jeopardy. Do I expect all of you to love the same things I do? (Well, seriously, if you hate puppies, we need to talk.) No. Though I can talk your ear off about what amazing things Crossfit has helped me achieve, I understand that it’s not for everyone.
And we’re about to hit the point of the story where I have beef – BIG BEEF – with the fitness industry as a whole.
The other day I’m in the car and had the radio on – a rarity since I usually have my iPhone plugged in – and a commerical for a local gym came on. Not mentioning any names (cough:::Schmanytime Schmitness:::cough), the commercial voice went on to (and I’m paraphrasing) say, “Working out sucks. Going the gym is NO FUN. We get it! That’s why at Schmanytime Schmitness you’ll find REAL people not trying to sculpt abs but just trying to not get fatter.”
And then I drove my car off a cliff.
Because SERIOUSLY? That’s your commercial? You need to find your marketing guy and punch him in the face repeatedly with a spiked mace that was dipped in hot lava with little baby dragons attached to it who will spit fire and burn your FACE OFF ZOMG.
IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO SUCK. Why are people shoving it down Americans throats that BEING HEALTHY SUCKS?
Feeling good, being active, sweating, being able to outrun a zombie when they come to eat your brains is, like, evolutionarily what humans are designed to do. That being said, I don’t think you have to push-press 135# over your head if that is not fun for you.
If you hate running, don’t run.
If you hate biking, don’t bike.
But FOR THE LOVE people, it’s honestly, truly not supposed to suck, so stop using that as an excuse for failing.
I think a lot of what makes people succeed or fail in fitness endeavors is their ability to be kicked in the face and get back up. It’s disheartening to try something new and not love it. Zumba? Is an amazingly great cardio-vascular workout and while I will never not say that women need to weight train, if Zumba gets your off your ass and makes you happy? Shake your bon bon, baby. But if you walk into a Zumba class and you hate it, it takes a nice pair of balls to try something else.
Succeding isn’t about acheiving some sort of fitness milestone; it’s about failing on a continual basis, but failing better each time.
Walking in the doors of my Crossfit box a year and a half ago was the single most daunting thing I think I’ve ever done. I was terrified. I had done the globo gym thing, I had boxed, kickboxed, trained for races. But looking back, I know why I’ve succeeded with Crossfit.
It’s the only place I’ve ever had in my life where you check your negativity at the door. You are NOT ALLOWED to suck. The world is full of whiners, myself included. People gossip, complain, give up. Humans on the whole are kind of awful most of the time. But CF is the one place I’ve had where the entire environment seethes with support and positivity. When you watch the Crossfit games on ESPN? You see the first-seeded person cheering on the last place guy. You see people high-fiving the guy speeding past them and kicking their ass. It is the only sport I know of where the essence of the competition is fueled by positivity, not negativity.
And maybe for you, you find that positive environment alone with your thoughts as your feet pound the pavement to Skrillex. Maybe it’s in your living room bouncing around to a Jillian Michael’s DVD while your baby naps. Maybe it’s in a group class, at the YMCA, in a pool, at a race, or a Crossfit box.
But I promise you this: if you think it’s going to suck, it probably is.
Keep failing. Fail better.
When you find the place and the moment where the negativity fails to whisper in your ear that you can’t do it, UR DOIN’ IT RIGHT.
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YO LADY..YOU ROCK! Signed “the guy you out OHS”
YES. Thank you for writing this. I have recently discovered a bootcamp-style class that I am in love with. But every month I feel guilty for writing that check. It is SO much money, and there are too many days when I feel like I should be spending that on someone else. BUT…I love it. I mean, I really love it. I love NOT going to the gym, looking around at everyone else who I am sure are watching my booty jiggle on that damned elliptical. I love waking up in the morning, waiting to hear my mind talk myself out of going, and then hearing…silence. No excuses. Just sweating, sprinting, non-sucky goodness. And you know what…I’m worth that. Thanks for the reminder.
Right on!!! Couldn’t have said it been.
Well stated… Working out is MY time. I let nothing come between me and my wods. Firmly agree that you have to find something you love. I think most people struggle with self motivation and doing something which gets results. Enter crossfit. It is the next best thing to personal training in my opinon. You go in someone qrites a really gut-wrenching workout, you give it your all, you die a little (lol), and then the satisfaction kicks in. As MAC Mommy states above, i first struggled with the bill, but is absolutely a love of mine and i wont give it up for anyone!! “i workout” ~ LMFAO. ;)
You couldn’t have written it better!
Amen sister! I wrote a post that touched on exercise recently that touched on the same topic. There’s no way you’ll keep at an exercise if it’s not fun. I’m glad someone else is also spreading the message.
OMG, you got two of my favorite things in one post (CF and Skrillex) AND a lol (Schmanytime Schmitness commercial). On top of all that, it’s rockin’ post. =D
Okay, so I tried Crossfit, I mostly liked it. I am a pretty serious runner, and also like to row, and so I have trouble fitting another variable into my already tight schedule (I also have three kids, and work part time). I will give Crossfit another shot at some point and THIS IS WHY – both Crossfit boxes I went to were filled with the most INCLUSIVE and POSITIVE group of people I have ever met in my entire life. Ever.
The truth, though, is that while I won’t always make the time, exert the energy, or spend the money on some fitness activities (Crossfit, swimming, biking) – I always make time to run. Because I love it so much.
THIS.
Hope you don’t mind I’m linking this on my tumblr for all to see.
I like the IDEA of enjoying exercise, and I’m a bit jealous that you/others seem to get so much pleasure from it, but I don’t know…other than the month I had my foot in a cast/five weeks of PT I’ve been working out regularly for about a year and a half now (recently I’ve gone to the gym four to six days a week since I got the okay from my PT in August), and MOST of the time I still think working out is primarily a chore. It isn’t TORTURE or anything, but nor is it something fun I look forward to (other than the Tuesday night class with the instructor I have a crush on, but that is a totally separate thing). Isn’t needing to “love it” kind of a high bar?
I’m doing it to be healthier and all those “normal” reasons. Is doing something healthy BECAUSE it is healthy (even if it is kind of a little bit of a chore) wrong? I don’t like flossing but I do that for my dental health, too.
Ideally I’d like to enjoy it more, but the best I’ve managed so far is finding a few things that are mostly tolerable, and that seems to be the best I can do. I’ve tried dozens of classes at two different gyms, many home-videos, personal training, group personal training, boot camp, fitness challenges, and running, so it isn’t lack of trying. But I’m still doing it, and trying, and that counts, too.
Yes! Maybe it’s the hopeless romantic in me, but your continued faith in yourself to keep trying makes me hope that you still have yet to find your love. Haha :)
But like you said, being “in love” with what you do isn’t what matters so much as that you’re doing it and you’re not MISERABLE. I just think we’re all spoon-fed a “THIS SUCKS SO BAD” mantra about fitness that we ACCEPT it as it is, and that’s not right either, ya know?
Maybe some of us need to live in a middle ground between LOVE and being drawn and quartered, and that’s fine too. But HATING something means it’s not right, ya know?
P.S. (On a personal level, I am SO proud of you and what you’ve accomplished this last year. I know how hard it’s been!)
Well, shit, this is just plain awesome: “Succeeding isn’t about acheiving some sort of fitness milestone; it’s about failing on a continual basis, but failing better each time.”
Failing better each time. Yes, yes, and yes.
Thanks for articulating that!
YES. So well put. It took me a long time to get to a place where I really loved exercising/training/fitness or whatever, but now I can’t get enough. And let’s be honest, Crossfit often does suck. It’s amazingly fun and awesome, but it also sucks. The midway point of most WODs I’m all “I HATE THIS SO MUCH” and then when it’s over I can’t wait to do it again, and BETTER. It’s a different kind of suck trying to be awesome than it is just doing something because you feel like you have to.
Slow clap…
Enjoyed the article and agree with nearly everything you had to say. However I have to take some offense for a comment I see way too often in claims about people’s favorite sport: “It is the only sport I know of where the essence of the competition is fueled by positivity, not negativity.” I’ve heard this from people who play frisbee, crossfit, run marathons, etc. I think its great that the people around you are so positive and encouraging while competitive, but its not just crossfit. I swam my whole life, on none of my teams did I ever not find that same feeling, the same for my friend who played softball, and so on through the sport community. Crossfit is great, and I’m very happy with the environment at my gym, but we need to get away from this belief that the group I’m a member of is different and better than the rest. Have you not seen how positive and enthusiastic people are towards each other in marathons?
You know what? You’re absolutely right. I apologize for not being more open-minded to other sports which celebrate positivity over ruthless competition. Thanks for pointing this out.
For me it’s the pool. And biking…and an nice quiet evening walk. But you are right, if I don’t like it and I’m not having fun, I won’t follow through. You are also right that exercise does not suck. It should be fun. Challenging. Enjoyable. Relaxing. And make us feel better about ourselves and our situations. Thank you for a great article.
YES! i do aerobic pole, which i am SUPER WELL AWARE is not for everyone. but i want to practically FORCE every woman i know who doesn’t like exercising to try it, because i was not aware exercising could be this not-awful before i started. i’ve worked out in various forms my whole life, but it was always a chore. pole is not a chore for me. i know not everyone will love it, but i want everyone to love SOMETHING as much as i love it, so i keep trying to make people try pole in case this is The One for them.
And THIS…is why I come back to read your blog everyday. You’re the best!
This is fantastic, mostly because I used to be a WORKING OUT SUCKS person. And really, it’s not my favorite thing to do ever, because sitting on the couch playing video games will always be MORE FUN. But! I have gotten to a point where I realize I feel so much better after I do it, and that in itself makes it more enjoyable. And finding something you like to do is important! Yes! For me it’s running and yoga. For someone else, it might be weight lifting or Zumba or CrossFit. But DUDE. That commercial is so so stupid. People need to grow up and suck it up, man.
Oh this made me laugh because I’ve heard those exact same commercials and they drive me crazy too. You’re awesome. :)
I am new to your blog and LOVE THIS POST SO MUCH. I’ve tried to make myself love running because many of my friends run, but for me? Running blows. I felt like a loser because I so vehemently hated it, but have recently decided to quit doing things that I hate and to try more things that I’ve never done before.
Tomorrow I take my first spin class (plus weight lifting afterwards!) and even if I hate it, at least I gave it a shot.
Thank you so much for writing this.