I've written about my fears before. In fact, in almost every post if you stick with me long enough I'll dig up a fear and obsess on it for a paragraph or two. This time I decided not to even pretend that I'm writing about anything else: I am absolutely writing about a fear this time. My biggest fear since I entered the gym almost three years ago. Box jumps.
On the surface box jumps don't seem like they should be scary. The box has a sturdy base. It's wide enough to jump up on. Most of us can jump. So what the heck was my major mental block?
Have I mentioned I'm somewhat clumsy? Okay, using the word "somewhat" is being entirely too generous. I trip on FLAT surfaces. I have a t-shirt that says "I don't trip, I do random gravity checks". I am aware of my challenges with gravity and I do my best to avoid situations where I will be forced to challenge gravity. Usually...
Did I also mention at some point (or many points) that I like to be in control? In my mind being afraid of something is not being in control and not being in control of as many situations as possible is unacceptable to me. I'm a control freak, pure and simple.
On Friday, August 15 Tyler had a fun workout for us "American Ninja Warrior". One of the stations was box jumps with a burpee for fun. I felt my stomach clench when I saw that. Tyler makes it look easy, I swear he just hops and floats to the top of the box. You don't even hear him land.
I tried box jumps. I jumped on mats and I HATED every second of it. I was afraid and that was NOT okay with me. So when I got home and thought about it I used Facebook to publicly ask Tyler for help overcoming my box jump phobia. Why not just email him privately? Well... if I asked and my friends read it I knew I wouldn't back out. I want people to be proud of me...so I would work on my box jumps.
Fast forward to Thursday at 5 pm: Buddy training. A time of the week I LOVE. For me buddy training is the chance to work on my strength with barbell cleans, front squats, bent over rows and presses as well as work on my endurance with the Prowler and tire flips. Give me something heavy to lift, pull or push and you have made me a happy camper. Last night I was nervous, because I knew Tyler was going to honor my request and work with me on box jumps.
I am happy to report I'm getting there. I can jump on a stack of mats with no knots in my stomach and even jump on the lowest box without fear. There is a picture on my Facebook page of me jumping onto a stack of mats. I'll share it with you if you aren't on Facebook. I was darn proud of those jumps. Mostly because in the past even with a fitness professional telling me I could do a box jump I would refuse. This time I pulled up my big girl panties, faked being brave and got it done. I was by no means as light on my feet as Tyler. You don't hear him land, I'm pretty sure they heard me land in Morgan. But hey, I landed on the box and didn't tip it over or break anything or anyone. A victory for sure.
Do I love box jumps now? No, but they don't scare me. I need to remember to focus, use my hips and stick my landing. Am I going to scrape my shin? Undoubtedly and I won't like that one bit. The truth is though I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and scraping a little skin off my shin is not going to hurt me. Heck, I have been known to haul my butt up and down mountains through mud and water just to get an orange head band, a t-shirt and a free beer while my back is spasming because I am too stubborn to quit. I don't think a woman who will do that should be scared of a box jump. She might need some serious therapy, but no way should a little box scare her.
Next fear on my list...Rope Climbs. The Spartan Sprint is coming up in September and I do NOT want to have to do 30 burpees because I can't climb up the rope. Last night Tyler had me start with rope hangs. The first round for 5 seconds (I got this). The second round was 8 seconds (Umm, this isn't easy). The third round 10 seconds (Maybe 30 burpees aren't so bad). The final round was 12 seconds (Oh heck no: I am not going down until that time is up: I don't like burpees). Holding your body up on a rope by your arms and feet is tough.
I might not be the best at everything I attempt, but I will be persistent.
Thanks for reading!
