Fitness Success, Temporarily Disguised as Failure

Caitlin B posted her very honest and inspiring story in our BCx Forum at FitStudio.com. She probably doesn’t even realize it, but she gives some of the best advice in the business. As you read her post, take notice of the bold sentences and see if you get her tips.

“I’m starting another round of BCx Bootcamp.  The last four weeks have been major improvement on my fitness.  Let me first admit that I did not do every workout.  I missed days here and there.  Sometimes I could only get through half of a workout.  But every Monday for four weeks I kept coming back and doing that Lower Body mission.  For anyone getting discouraged by the difficulty (I wasn’t unhealthy, but I was by no means ‘in shape’ when I started this), just keep coming back to it.  My times were horrible.  And I took really long breaks between sets.  Even if you skip a day, so what?  After stumbling my way through four weeks, not only do I feel more energetic and stronger, but (most importantly!) my attitude towards exercise has changed.  I’m not dragging myself off the couch to go workout.  I’m actually looking forward to it.  When I add up my times at the end of each workout, I’m not thinking “did it really take me that long?!” but “heh, go me, I just busted it for 50 minutes! Wahoo!”  

If I just gave up after not doing so well during my first go through, then 6 months from now I’ll just be the same un-fit me, blundering my way through various fitness programs.  

So I started a new round of BCx on Monday.  I’m taking everything I’ve learned from the first round.  I’m aiming for finishing all the workouts, no skips (unless I legitimately need to).  So far, so good.  Thanks Bonnie and Steve.  I think I may finally be on the path towards fitness!” 

What can we learn from Caitlin?

1. You may skip a few workouts. Big deal! A few workouts are better than no workouts. Caitlin obviously strived to do as many workouts as she could, but she didn’t always get them all in – and she still succeeded.

2. Your workouts may not be as long as you want. She admits she didn’t always complete the full workout – but BCx ain’t easy, and even half a workout is more than most people do.They key to success is knowing doing something is always better than doing nothing – and every little bit counts!

3. You just have to keep showing up. This is one of my favorite personal mantras and it’s also my favorite tip she shares. No matter how short, how few, or how ugly her workouts were, she kept showing up each Monday to start fresh. Way to go! Definitely the trick behind creating a lasting healthy habit.

4. You don’t have to be in shape to workout hard. Although BCx is a tough program for anyone, it’s not designed FOR the fit, it’s designed to GET you fit. Caitlin didn’t let her fitness level interfere with her effort level. Way to go!

5. You don’t have to be THE best, you just have to be YOUR best. She admits her time was horrible and she took long breaks to rest. But time is simply a measurement and is there to push you to perform at your personal best. Caitlin didn’t compare herself to others, she compared herself to her own prior performance and noticed she was getting stronger and faster.

6. You can get results despite how crappy you may think you’re doing. Caitlin’s hard work and consistency paid off. She got stronger and feels more energetic. Not only did she feel better but she was also learning to enjoy her workouts and not dread them. She stuck it out when it was tough and has discovered the more fit she gets, the more her attitude changes about working out.

We can learn SO much from Caitlin! What encouraging words to hear. You can fail, you can stink at it, you can even mess up repeatedly, and  you can STILL get great results …as long as you JUST KEEP SHOWING UP!

Way to go Caitlin and thanks SO much for sharing your story!!!!
Now, let’s ROCK it this go around – it only gets better from here girlfriend!!

Here’s my mantra pic from my facebook cover. Feel free to steal it if you need a daily reminder to…Just Show Up!

To Join Caitlin B and do our 4-week BCx Boot Camp program online, sign up at www.FitStudio.com and join our program. Post your times and interact with other BCxers in our BCx Forum and connect with us on facebook and twitter too!