Are you scared? (lean in)

We made an announcement that we have our first gym-wide testing week coming up on June 21st, and it was met with mixed emotions by Beyond Strength members.
 

 

Emotions ranging from super excited to full-on scared.

(even though those posters do nothing more than list off some exercises, with zero idea of benchmarks… dun dun dun!)

 

But I have a hunch that everyone has at least a little twinge of fear over it.

And some folks meet fear with a little nervous excitement… while others look for a way out.

 

That way out could be openly proclaiming that they’re scared (rare), or something more subtle, like making a dismissive statement along the lines of, 

I just want to train…

 

Now, it’s one thing if your fear is of something that could genuinely harm you, maybe even kill you.

But fear of finding out what you can DO?

Or, in your mind, CAN’T DO…

(yet)

 

It’s just a sign that you should lean in.  Get curious.  Go after it.

For instance, are you familiar with Alex Honnold?

 

 

If not, do yourself a favor and click that image to watch the trailer for Free Solo—a documentary about his FREE SOLO (that’s absolutely no safety harness or ropes, whatsoever) climb of the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

 

I think we can all agree that he’s a bit crazy… but here’s what he had to say about his comfort zone and overcoming fear:

“My comfort zone is like a little bubble around me, and I’ve pushed it in different directions and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fall within the realm of the possible.”

 

And, like Alex, you’ve got a little bubble around you too.

You live your whole life comfortable.

 

So, what are you doing to expand it?

(lean in)

 

Now, maybe it will help to understand WHY we’re doing a testing week… and as a lifelong skeptic myself, I respect that.

 

So, here are THREE REASONS you should embrace testing week (in no particular order):

 

1. Testing will create awareness of your gaps:

Maybe you LOVE to attend the strength days…

And while you’ve been meaning to get in for some more of the conditioning days, you just haven’t made the time for it. 

But what’s the harm?  At least you’re active, right?

Maybe, maybe not.

Through testing you might find out that you’re at the black level of strength, yet you can’t even pass the yellow level of capacity.

Who cares, you say?  Well, unless your goal is to be a powerlifter, you might want to.  Being strong is cool and all.  But being able to approach any physical endeavor with confidence is even cooler.

And that’s exactly the type of person you can become as you work your way through our levels with a balanced approach…

And heads up, it could be the opposite as well–you’re a blue or black belt in endurance, but can’t pass yellow strength standards, which comes with it’s own limitations in what you can face head on with confidence.

(lean in)

 

1. Testing will help you to create goals you weren’t aware of prior:

Most people join gyms wanting to get stronger, lose weight, build muscle, etc…

And yet, entirely too many people quit before realizing their goals, or jump from solution to solution looking for the “right fit”, never seeing their goals come to life as a result.

So, while those goals are completely valid, we’ve found that folks who find aims of what they can DO tend to find success more consistently in the aforementioned goals.

No one joins a gym saying “I want to be able to walk 1.3 miles in under 20:00 with my heart rate below MAF” or “I want to be able to hang from a bar for 1:00”.

But once they find those aims–the accomplishments they want to knock down, especially when they start to see how those aims will make their original goals a reality in the process–they’re more excited about the little accomplishments all along the way.

 

1. Excitement