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Isn't it funny how sometimes we push ourselves so hard we ignore the voice in our head.

Instead we push a little harder, we add a little more weight. Instead we squat less deeply and more crookedly and far less safely.

We tell ourselves we have to keep up with the board and our friends.

It isn't until we either 1. get injured or 2. a friend says it's ok that we cut the reps or modify the  movements.

We don't all have that friend, so I'm here telling you - it's OK. It's OK to keep the bar where it's at, to do fewer reps to maintain form, and to substitute.

You time.

That's what your barbell time is.

It's your chance to free your brain of fighting kids, work reports, meetings, chaos and stress.

It's your moment of inner peace and quiet. Nothing to think about but the reps ahead. 

It's how you keep all the balls in the air, it's the glue holding together the best, most powerful you.

Don't trade it in for a little extra sleep or another TV show. 

Make the time. Prioritize you. 

Trust me, you're worth it.

Don't forget the fun.

That is what it's all about right? Having fun, getting fit and healthy, making friends, pushing limits.

Don't get caught up in everything that isn't working out. Don't let a few unattained skills ruin every workout.

So you don't have double unders or pushups or muscleups or rope climbs or huge numbers on the bar. Are you going to let that stop you from enjoying every workout?

Are you going to let what you can't do get in the way of your potential of what you can do?

Take a deep breath. Remember, this is a journey, one that is supposed to be fun. Sure there is work and pain and frustration, but it should still be fun. If it isn't, go find something that is. Because life is too short to be hating what should be a great part of your day.

The one that broke me.

The workout shattered my soul. 

It didn't look so bad on the board, but then again, do they ever?

I remember counting off single reps, the down and up of the painfully weighted front squat, I remember how damn long it all took. 

More than 30 minutes of soul crushing never ending agony. 

I could walk away thinking it was a bust. Thinking that it killed me and how I never want to do it again and how nothing good ever comes of team chippers. But you know what else happened? I hit the first sub 2 min 500m row since the birth of my second one, heck, I even saw a 1:53 pace on the screen there for a bit.

OK, so that is the entirety of my highlight reel from that workout. But it's a big one, and I'll take it. 

I've been angling for that time for more than two years. No amount of double unders, or deadlifts, or situps, or squats, or jerks can take that one glimmering moment away.

Get inspired.

The next few days we get to ooh and ahh at the screen. We get to see what the human body can do.

We get to cheer for our friends and become heartbroken when someone does far less than we all know they are capable of.

We get to see amazing feats of strength and perseverance. We get to see sheer amazing.

Let that amazing inspire you instead of hold you back.

Let those athletes, at the top of their game, doing the best that they can teach you something about the game and about you. 

Don't let them bring you down because 'I could never __________'. Most of us could never ____________.

Hard work and change.

That is what success boils down to. It isn't pretty, which is why everyone is always trying to sell you a neat little package with no change and no hard work attached.

They want to sell you a masterpiece with no revisions. No reflections, no second looks.

But in reality, everyone who has ever found it knows: success isn't easy. It isn't given out. It is only earned. 

Earned through sacrifices, changes, frustrations, agony, sweat and hard work.

So if you are still looking over at your friend, wondering what their secret is - wonder no more.

Their secret is hard work. Their secret is to change the parts of their lives that aren't working.

Their secret is doing instead of wishing.

Things in your control:

1. Showing up 2. Working hard 3. Being coachable 4. Getting back up

Things out of your control:

1. Other people's success 2. Talent

Get back up.

Quite possibly one of the most simple, and most powerful lessons you can learn in life.

After the face of defeat, of disappointment, of frustration and heartbreak - if you want something, you must get back up.

You must dissect your failure, find why it happened, learn how you can change it.

This is not an easy lesson to learn, it is not fun to reflect on the pain. But yet, it is necessary.

If you choose to get back up, you have another chance at success. If you choose to rise, you have another chance at ringing bells, and first place finishes, and wild PRs.

If not, then in that one bitter moment, you truly and completely fail.

Stop worrying about who beat you, or how much weight someone else had. Start thinking about how you can improve. 

'I could never'

The one statement that keeps all of our bucket lists long and unfulfilled. I hear it all the time. 'I could never do a marathon.' 'I could never finish a triathlon.' 'I could never get that skill.' 'I could never start a business.' 'I could never travel the world.'

Why? I know it might be hard, I know the training might suck, I know the life sacrifices will be tough but it sure seems like you want it.

Or do you? Are you just waiting for it all to fall into your lap? Because then, yeah, you could never. 

But if you are willing to work for it, to put in the time, the sweat, the sacrifice, the frustration, if you are willing to get back up a hundred times in a row? Then you certainly can.

So write down all your I-could-never's and pick your top one. Put it by your light switch, write it on your mirror, post it on your fridge. Make a plan, sign up, put in the training. 

Decisions.

They fill every minute of every day.

Will you wake up this morning? Will you make it in?

Will youbwarmp up right? Will you stretch and mobilize?

Will you pick up the 18# or 20# wallball? Will you add extra half pound weights to the barbell to see if you can lift just a little more?

Will you push just a bit harder? Will you run your guts out? Will get back up and try again?

Will you choose the path that leads to PRs and goals and high fives and that one moment of bliss?

The choice is yours. Every minute of everyday you have the chance to keep moving towards your goals.

It's not about WHAT but HOW.

It's not about the score on the board or the weight on the barbell if you lack integrity.

It's not important that you Rx'd a workout if you didn't really try.

There are a lot of things more important than the score on the board or some silly tick by your name.

Do you do it with integrity? Do you do it with grit?

Does it make you hurt for days after? Are you gasping for air in the middle?

Did you do better than you ever have before? Did you have better form?

Did you put it all on the line?

If you're answering yes, but lamenting about how you scaled - STOP.

It isn't about what level you are at right now. That will change. It might take a long time, it might be frustrating, but it will happen.

It's about who you are. It's about how you do the workouts, how you approach them, how you survive them, how you push yourself to be better through them.

One of our biggest mistakes is that we assume it will happen today, or tomorrow or next week.

We set lofty goals for ourselves, so high that sometimes we can't even visualize them. 

Then we wonder a week later why we didn't PR. We wonder a month later why the muscle up still hasn't clicked or why our mile pace hasn't changed. 

It. Takes. Time.

There is nothing else to be said here. It takes time. Which means you have to be patient. You have to be working diligently towards that lofty goal for a long long time before it will come true. It won't happen overnight. It just won't. 

To get discouraged that it is "taking so long" is just silly. Of course it is taking a long time. You are training your body to do something it has never achieved before.

Listen.

Do you hear that?

Do you hear the sound of your coach downloading information to you?

They aren't just jabbering to hear themselves talk. They are jabbering to help you reach your goals.

They are giving you all the important tips, all the important ideas, and all the important tricks.

They are helping you stay healthy and injury free. They are helping you increase your mobility and your skill level.

They are helping you turn on your inner beast mode.

All of that can only happen if you have your ears open. Listen. Stop chatting away and becoming lost in the day's workout. 

Start over.

Again and again and again.

As many times as it takes to get the job done.

Know that more often than not you will fail. More often than not you will have to get back up from a fallen bar, or start back over with whipped legs.

But this is how you learn. You learn by doing, by failing, by trying again and again and again. You learn with the resilience to get back up and the courage to start over. So step back up to the plate. Give it another go.