After a family dinner out last night (I enjoyed a bocca burger) Dan and I hit up the beach to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Which is only appropriate since I watched a gorgeous sunrise just the day before.
While we stood around staring at the horizon I couldn’t help but have my mind wonder. I started to think about my goals, my weaknesses and what I can improve on. I was having a very unlike-me philosophical battle in my head.
Just a girl and her thoughts.
And what did my thoughts say: “I need to be more accepting of others advice, and do the things I know can help me.”
Deciding To Be Stronger, Better, More Physical And More Kick-Ass
Dan keeps telling me to do pull-ups every day on our doorframe pull-up bar at home.
And every day I keep ignoring him.
It’s not because he’s wrong. He’s 100% right (I hate saying that). Pull-ups are amazing, they work your core, work your arms and of course work your back. And since I am “hip heavy” working on my upper back can help make my waist appear smaller.
If he’s so smart then why I am ignoring him and continuing to walk right under that damn bar?
Because I don’t have the patience to get better with them. I feel weak. I feel pathetic. So I let those feelings keep me from doing better and potentially looking better. Ugh, I hate that. And I just realized it right now.
I used to be able to pump out around 13-15 pull-ups without rest, now I am lucky if I get to 8. I’ve neglected them for so long that my body is unconditioned in the pull-up world. And because I know it, I say “screw it”.
Because I have had this light go off, I am going to change my ways! And you’re going to help me (I’ll get to that in a minute).
How to Increase Your Workout Performance & Set Better Goals
1. Push Away The “Not Gonna Do It” Thoughts
There are going to be exercises that you know you can’t do. Most women can’t do a “big girl” push-up or a single pull-up and that’s okay. That’s normal. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
Be patient with yourself, allow your body to gradually get stronger.
2. Work On It Continuously.
Patience is a virtue, one that I don’t have but am always trying working on. If I am not good at something from the get-go, I have a hard time being patient with learning something new. But that’s what it is, teaching my body (more specifically my muscles) to be stronger and more efficient with certain moves.
Be patient, continuously work on what you want and it it will come. 1 rep might not sound like a lot, but if a week ago you couldn’t do even one rep of something then you’re progressing.
For me pull-ups are my exercise goal, so every single day I should set a goal to try and do “X” amount.
3. Push Out The “You Suck” Voice
You know what I am talking about. No matter how hard we try to be positive when we’re learning something new, there are going to be those moments when you say to yourself… “this stinks, I suck, I should give up.”
No, no, no. Be patient with yourself and the learning curve. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’re not going to master new skills in a day either. Stay positive with yourself and acknowledge that. You’ll get to where you want, just not as fast as you want. That’s okay.
4. Have fun with it.
(Nothing spells F-U-N like star jumps on the beach!)
Maybe I do 8 pull-ups on day one, but the next I do 10… that’s a feeling of accomplishment! And accomplishing something is always fun. Another trick we used to do that I will be brining back is to do 5 reps every time I want to go into the bedroom (this is the door with the bar). It’s fun because you suddenly find yourself becoming very efficient at doing lots of stuff each time you walk in!
4. Stop Comparing.
Nothing makes me want to push harder than when I see another girl doing something better. For some people, this is the straw that breaks the camels back. You see some chick at the gym doing the move you want to achieve, or maybe using a weight you want to use and you become deflated. Your heart rates climbers, you feel a spike in your blood pressure and you want to give up. Forget about them, you’re here for you and if you’re not then that’s another blog post entirely.
5. Track Yourself.
Now this is where you are going to help me. Tracking your performance is key for anything. Whether we’re talking weight loss or performance, keeping track of how you do things is going to help push you farther in the long run. Research shows that when people are shown how many reps they were able to do with a certain amount of weight in a previous workout, the more likely they were to out-perform themselves in the next one. It makes sense, right?
6. Take Steps Forward, Make A Game Plan
So here’s what is going to happen. When I get back to Charleston from Siesta Key , I am going to track how many pull-ups I do each day. I’ll be posting them on the Facebook page to keep myself accountable. Accountability is key to staying motivated.
So if you haven’t “Liked” the page, let’s be friends! You can check it out at:
This is the accountability that I need to become better and to stop ignoring my wonderful husband. For the first week, I plan is to complete 25 each day. Week two, 30. Until I get up to 75 pull-ups in a day.
Notice I said a day… I don’t plan on doing 75 pull-ups straight. That’s the great thing about owning a pull-up bar.
So thanks, and lets stop making excuses and actually work towards something real.
Questions:
- What is an exercise you want to be able to do?
- What is your biggest excuse when it comes to working out?
Happy Birthday To My Favorite Niece
On a personal note, it’s my beautiful niece’s first birthday! She is of course the cutest thing and I am so glad we’re all together to celebrate.
Now the question becomes, will she have brother’s (and mine) sweet tooth and face plant into her cake or will she be more like her mom and not be impressed with the icing covered deliciousness before her?
Happy Birthday Lainey!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
These are great tips and just what I needed to hear to get my booty in gear! I’ve been on the excuse train lately and its time to get back to work. Thanks for the inspiring post!
You are like a fitness trainer I know. Appreciating small stuffs (sunrises and sunsets) while working out. Good pics by the way.
Hi Taylor!
I’ve been a loyal reader of yours for almost a year now… and I enjoy checking in to see what you and Dan are up to. You and I are very, very similar in how we think about things – when reading your posts, I always feel something familiar. The pull-up goal and plan above was the nudge that finally made me want to reach out to you because I did the SAME exact thing for 7 months… Pull-ups each time I crossed the threshold of the doorway. I enacted this plan BEFORE I attended National Personal Training Institute and got my certification, by the way. It was my religious adherence to the P90x program that got me started on wanting to do pull-ups – and my own obsessive desire to want to do MORE pull-ups that made me train with the same determination you have just set out with now. I got to where I could pump out sets of 19-20 pull-ups without too much trouble… and then rest, then pump out 15-16 more, etc… until I was doing 150-200 pull-ups a day as a hobby (this in addition to all other workouts). HERE IS MY WARNING: It caused me to develop a protracted shoulder girdle from overworking the lats and not working enough of the rhomboids & traps. I lost mobility and flexibility in the shoulder complex that I’m still working to correct 2 years later. As I’m sure you know, the lats and pecs insert on the same place on the humerus… and since most of us ALREADY have overactive pecs due to our daily activities/favorite exercises (typing on keyboards, driving, push-ups, anything in plank, etc), any ADDITIONAL over-training that chronically tightens the lats makes this a worse problem. My advice… keep up the pull-up goal but ALSO ADD the same (if not MORE) reps of exercises that strengthen the upper/mid/deep back muscles. And remember, seated rows don’t cut it… they still over emphasize lats as primary mover. You want to do bent rows, reverse flys, rear delt pulls, and posture work at high reps/low weight to get the deep type 1 endurance fibers. You also MUST stretch those pecs/lats continuously. Check out the exercises at the end of the article here for how to prevent/combat protracted shoulders: http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Posture.html. Good news is… many of these stretches only require a doorway… and you’re already there!
I still love doing pull-ups – it’s a part of my identity to be the chic at the gym that throws down weighted pull-ups… it’s impressive and gives me confidence… after all, I was once an overweight size 16 who couldn’t walk up stairs and talk at the same time. However, if I knew then what I know now, I would have worked hard to maintain balance in my body and keep mobility and flexibility as more important goals than how many times I could clear the bar.
Good Luck and keep up the awesome work being such an honest voice in fitness for women… you’re a great role model.
Stacy in Seattle
Thanks Stacy for writing! We do seem to have a lot in common! I really appreciate hearing from you and wow, you are pull-up queen! Thanks for the words, and I totally agree with you. I never limit myself to one form of row and always work the different range of motions. To be honest I don’t foresee myself getting up to your caliber of 150+. That’s crazy impressive, and you should be proud. Keeping a balanced workout is essential and something I always practice and stress to all my clients.
You’re a wonderful role model yourself, and I would love to hear more of your story! Please keep in touch, don’t wait another year!