Excuses

It was raining, pissing down raining this morning. The kind of rain that rests over sydney like a grey woolen blanket. The kind of rain that makes the cats curl up on the sofa and stay there. The kind of rain that makes you want to stay in bed.

Which was a shame because this morning I'd set a cracker of an outdoor workout for a group I'm training from the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

I had eight signed up for the workout. Two showed up. One was my LSH (Long Suffering Husband) and the other a woman who has as her goal losing ten kilos in 12 weeks.  We had a great workout and both my participants worked with intensity.  And, while the woman has set herself a tough goal, the way she worked makes me believe she will definitely reach it. The ones who stayed in bed ... not so much.

For a start, even though she's not huge, she burned close to 500 calories in a 45 minute session (setting short, intense workouts is my thing), giving her, and her metabolism, a head start on the day. For another, there is no way she's going to undermine her goal by reaching for that cold weather comfort food when she knows how much she has already sacrificed to work out this morning. 

Across town a group of friends had organised a group cycle for this morning. Cycling in heavy rain, especially with wind squalls can be dangerous. So they were wise not to go. But did they sleep in? No, they hooked their bikes up onto wind trainers (metal frames that encase the back wheel and allow you to peddle with force while stationary) and rode, while stationary, for two hours in a garage. Another group went for an indoor power training session. 

We come up with all sorts of excuses for not putting in the effort to reach our goals, whether they be health and fitness, or life goals.  I know I have some goals outside health and fitness that, because they are so dear to me, have taken on a importance which makes them seem all too hard. It's easy to find excuses not to pursue them.

Today I was reminded by all these examples that if I really want to reach those goals, I need to drop the excuses. 

PS: I'm not saying never change your plans no matter what is going on. A sick child or family member is a tragedy that requires your attention, not an excuse. Water falling from the sky is an excuse.