There’s been a trend on Facebook of sharing different blogs with advice on married life and the whole  “sticking it out through the good times and the bad”.

I love these stories. Now maybe it’s my profession, but my mind immediately relates the underlying theme with fitness.

Grit

We end every Boot Camp with that word. Heck, it’s on the back of our shirts. 

When I started this program back in 2011, I came across this article in Women’s Health:


http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/success-secrets

And I found our new motto


“…in 2002, Angela Duckworth, Ph.D., interviewed high achievers in various fields and found that they all shared one personal quality: grit. Defined as “sustained perseverance and passion for long-term goals,” grit seemed to explain why more top CEOs hail from state schools than from the Ivy League, and why some people gut out that last series of sit-ups in boot camp while others flop on the floor when the burn really kicks in. According to Duckworth, “Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges and maintaining effort and interest despite failure, adversity, and plateaus.” While some people cut their losses when faced with boredom or disappointment, those with grit stay the course”

Those with grit stay the course. All quotes can be tied into “grit”.


Fall down 7 times, get up 8
Will it be easy? Nope. Will it be worth it. Yes!
Show up even when you don’t feel like showing up

Life would be great if we could remove ourselves from the situation and actually see the “falling down” or the “hard times”. Instead we feel it…hopelessness, the urge to give up, the what’s the point, or the it’s never going to happen.

How do you “sustain perseverance”? Everything that makes Boot Camp Challenge great:

Group Accountability. Find a group or a buddy. They will encourage you when you don’t feel like it or better yet, you might just encourage them. And misery really does love company!

Routine and Scheduling. Campers know that if they sign up for our 9AM class on MWF, they will avoid scheduling appointments and put BOOT CAMP in that 9-10AM time slot.

Variety. It really is the spice of life. Strength training, flexibility, cardiovascular, medicine balls, dumbbells, partner work, running, sandbells, bands, battle ropes… check all of the above.

Progress. We all need a way to track progress and not just with the scale. My favorite milestones are the ones that go something like, “I ran the entire time, I couldn’t do that 4 weeks ago” or “I did 10 push-ups on my toes!”.  Not just the scale which can be discouraging.


And I came across this today…


“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow'”


Having a bad day. Try again tomorrow.


…”maintain effort despite failure, adversity, and plateaus”.