March Fitness Challenge Pull Ups: Day 1

Why is it that YOUTUBE catches you in a weird face?

I seem to be a SUCKER for challenges and I really don't care. Challenges ignite a fire, and the fact that others join in gives me encouragement to push through.

So with all the HAIR going on I though I'd throw in a fitness challenge!

This March Fitness Challenge is started by my friend & inspiration Tab from Unleash Your Inner Athlete. She has been a constant source of inspiration for me by her ability to always be on the ball with her workouts and business as a Beachbody coach. 

Whats the challenge?

PULL UPS BABY!!!

Your probably rolling your eyes and thinking " Oh heeeeeck NO".

I can agree.

Its tough. There is NOTHING easy about them. They make you feel weak.

But though they suck, you only get stronger with being consistent with a workout program.

You may feel as though you will NEVER EVER able to do one, but believe me, you will. 

JUST DO IT.

Last year when after I was told I needed "professional counseling" for my PPD, I thought "screw that, I'm getting a trainer". I couldn't come to terms with the fact I would need professional help.

But now that I think about it, I did get professional help, from my awesome trainer Audra.

I have to stop and talk some sexy shit (sorry the language, but that is the only way to describe her) about Audra.

I had only heard Wonderful Nightmares about her. Friends had taken her spin & Power Flex classes at the gym, and could only express how INTENSE, CRAZY & BAD ASS she was. Also she was an IRONMAN triathlete. With that being heard, I needed this woman. So I made a phone call, I told her I didn't want to be a fluffy mommy, I explained everything, she listened & understood. She's a mom herself. Thank God.

So I went to the gym. NERVOUS. I really had no clue what to expect. 

Was she going to run me into the ground?

Would she scream?

Is she some super shorty skinny triathlete that look like she could break when the wind blew?

No.

Up walked a woman with legs that could kill a grizzly bear but also be on the cover of playboy (this is real, no joke). Perfectly svelte arms that bordered ripped but elegant. UBER tomboy & perfectly professional.

I think I was shaking. I didn't expect this.

But with all the nightmares ingrained in my head I found the perfect friend/trainer. She knew my goals, and kept things realistic. She was REAL and skipped the BS. 

I was in love.

BUT then came the pull ups. I think I had been working with her a couple weeks when she decided to toss my ass on to the freaken bar. When she told me to do them, I thought she was kidding.

"I'm serious, get your ass up there. I'll help you"

Damnit (there is a lot of swearing in this post, deal with it).

I hung there. I couldn't do anything but give myself a panic attack. She helped push me up, but I couldn't help but feel extremely weak, I could barely keep myself hanging on the bar. I was pathetic.

Weakness overcame me. I was scared. It made me think: what if I was hanging from the side of a cliff, and my children needed my help? 

I wouldn't be able to save them because I couldn't even pull myself up.

It was pointless. I hated pull ups, I was pissed at Audra for making me do them. Didn't she understand I would never be as strong or bad ass as she was?

We continued to do them as our time together continued. I still couldn't do a FULL one, but I was soon able to get the top of my head to the bar. Whoop-dee-doo.

Eventually I stopped seeing Audra, and continued to workout on my own while training for IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3. 

The hubs and I eventually bought our own bar and set it up .

I couldnt help but stare at it and think of Audra. Picture her helping me up, hearing her telling to get over myself, and that I would eventually be able to do them.

"I feel the lactic acid building up, it burns"

"Theres no such thing"

Yes, she told me that once. I felt like a dumb ass. No such things as lactic acid? I asked my husband when I got home. "Yes there is baby. She was telling you to SUCK IT UP."

So, I got on the bar, let my body weight hang, and was ready to shake and give up, but "uh!" I did one! Wait, I think I had another.... and another.

"I'M AN EFFIN BAD ASS!"

I was psychotic when that happened, I was pumped, I felt so tough, amazing, I felt I could take on the world. Audra was right. I could do it.

So now I look at the bar and grin, though he owns my ass now, it wont be long till I'll be busting them out.

Thanks for being an inspiration Audra. You own my pull up mind.