Squats are like life, sometimes you are up and other times you’re down. Not every day was a good day, yet when I did my squats on those low days I felt a surge of reward, which replaced the feeling of the squats being a chore! It was an excellent reminder, in life we might want to skip that healthy meal, or work-out; instead push through that and just do it. The reward is greater than the regret!
Quality over quantity, better to do fewer good squats than a lot of poor squats. On days when my energy was low, I focused on the quality of my squats. This meant fewer, but technically better form. Where my feet rooted, my spine aligned. Was I breathing in on the way down and exhaling on the way up. This quality of a squat practice kept me more present!
All pain is the same! The challenge may be different, but the pain is the same. There is no hierarchy in pain. Suffering should not be ranked: Pain is the same for us all! And in that muscle pain, there is growth, and connection. We can commiserate and celebrate together.
A community keeps us accountable. If I was to just give you the challenge and say - now off you go - with no way to keep you accountable, would you have done as many squats? The answer for me is no. Having a community of people, who are participating in the same challenge and logging their stats, keeps us on the ball! We accomplish so much more when we work with other like minded people. The community supporting this challenge helped keep me on track! Thank you for that support!
Missing a day isn’t the end of your challenge: It's an opportunity to see tomorrow as our chance to get right back at it. Detours are a part of life. When the unexpected happens and takes us off of our path, remember its not the end of the road. It's just a bump in the road.
The only person you are competing against is yourself. The challenge asks us, are we better today than we where 3 days ago, or 30 days ago. The answer is, YES, of course. Whatever effort you put into the squat challenge is something! Every day that something compounds in benefits.
Rest and active recovery is a game changer. It’s time to let the hard work marinate. When you've been pushing yourself, a rest day is a time for your body to build all the muscle it has broken down with repetitive squats. Your body rebuilds and gets stronger as a result of that rest and recover. Active recovery means you are still moving, but its the stretching or walking that helps balance our body.
8. Growth is not a steady incline; Growth is full of highs and lows, plateaus and pivots. Any achievement in life is going to have highs and lows and maybe even plateaus. Investing money, or losing weight, or training for a race. Learning to accept these obstacles means we can pivot when we have to. No time for squats today? Double it up tomorrow. Injured? Take a break, come back when you are healed!
9. Listen to your body. This is a key ingredient to a rewarding accomplishment. Your body is intuitive. Often, we ignore the whispers of discomfort until our body shouts out in agony. Now, pain is a good teacher, but I prefer to use my instincts and when my body whispers, slow down or stop, I listen.
10. Finish what you start. Some days we want to quit. That’s your inner critic telling you you can’t do it. Push past that temptation to throw in the towel. You made a commitment to yourself, seeing it through to the end is not only rewarding it's a sense of pride when you push past the feelings of wanting to quit and, to borrow a phrase, Just Do IT!
What are some of the lesson's you learned on your 30 Day Squat Challenge Journey? I'd love to hear from you! The good, the bad, the highs and the lows!
Now incase no one else tells you! I'm proud of you! You did it! Way to go:) Who's ready for the next challenge?
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