Put your sneakers on girl!

Or guy .

Or whoever.

Get up off your butt and get your sneakers on!

Honestly, I love the feeling after I workout. It doesn’t  matter how long or short my workout was, how well or poor I think I did, the intensity, whether or not I got a PR (personal record) or ran my fastest minute mile. I feel good when I finish, I feel motivated, I feel accomplished, and I feel well, a bit proud. My moral is lifted every single time.

Then why is it so hard for me to get to the gym everyday? I struggle with this more days than not. If I go in the morning, I arm myself with multiple alarms and go through a strenuous snooze process. I go to bed set on getting up and conquering the morning WOD, until 4:45 a.m.  comes. Terrible  counterproductive thoughts intrude my foggy morning brain. “You should sleep in, you can just go later” is usually what I convince myself before ignoring that last alarm and drifting back into sleep. Then I wake up mad, disappointed in myself and vow to go later after work. Until 3:00 p.m. comes, my motivation fades  more defeating thoughts swirl my brain. “Just take the night off,  go to bed early, and get after it in the morning.”

It is a vicious cycle.

This morning I woke up late  (classic), and decided I’d go after work. I didn’t want to go at all when the time came. I sulked, made excuses, and looked at my couch longingly. But then thanks to my gym buddy (blue sneaker) I got the push I needed. I got dressed, but until the last second I refused to put on my sneakers. It sounds silly but honestly sometimes putting my gym sneakers on is the hardest part of my workout. It is like some part of my brain signals off and its like “Oh crap if we put these on, we gotta actually do this.”

The drive there I did not feel much better. Even when I got to the gym, I debated not going inside. It is so crazy how much mental anguish it can take me to get somewhere I know is just going to benefit me. Somewhere I feel comfortable and welcome (thank you Rough House!) Somewhere I don’t feel judged. Somewhere that can get me to my goals way faster than my couch can.

Tonight’s class was just what I needed to remind myself that if you can get through all that anxiety and doubt and negative thoughts and make it there, the reward is rich. It was a small group of bad ass girls, working on being their best selves, having, fun, and cheering each other on.

And then I realized sometimes you just need to push through those seemingly small steps…. like waking up when your alarm goes off. Driving to the gym. Finding a place you feel comfortable. Getting a gym buddy to hold yourself accountable. Make time for a tiny part of your day to work on yourself and your health. Just push through. If you can make it that far, half the battle is won. The hard part. So get up, and get your damn sneakers on and do the damn thing!