**Lots of people will be starting new programs as we wrap up 2017 and head into 2018. I wanted to boost this post again cuz I think it matters. The struggle is real but the results and rewards are real too! Hope y’all enjoy it!**
The sadistic side of me thinks it’s pretty funny LOL! But it also serves to point out that we all struggle at different levels. I mean, just look at her. She’s trim and lean — no excess body fat at all. But these workouts are hard, and it takes a high level of fitness to be able to do them. There’s no shame in that! As long as you are doing your best, that’s what matters.
The reason I bring this up is that I get a lot of questions like this:
“I can’t do the Ab Ripper X all the way through, and I’m already on month 2. Is that normal?”
“I can only do 1 unassisted pullup. Will I ever be able to do more? What tips do you have?”
“I can get through the first round of Chest and Back, but I’m totally wiped out during round 2. What should I do?”
“I can only make it through half the step ups in Build Legs. How do you hold out for so long?”
Coach Wayne never struggled, right?
You get the idea. Basically, people are struggling! Guess what! So did I! Of course, it’s normal! These are the hardest workout programs ever created. If we could get up off the couch and knock them out as overweight, out-of-shape people, then they wouldn’t be worth doing!
I couldn’t keep up with Ab Ripper X until about halfway through my second month. I started off doing 17 reps of each move while Tony did 25. Each week I’d try to do another 1-2 reps of each exercise. It was HARD! But I kept showing up and I kept pushing play and I kept doing my best, and guess what — I got better!
I could do 1 pullup on Day 1. I used a step stool to assist myself, and I had to use so much leg pressure that my legs were burning from the pull-up workouts! It was HARD! But I kept showing up and I kept pushing play and I kept doing my best, and guess what — I got better!
The first time I tried Insanity, I was in shock! I was hitting pause during the warmup. I was dog-tired before we even got to the stretching break. I looked like that lady pictured above after about 5 minutes! It was HARD! But I kept showing up and I kept pushing play and I kept doing my best, and guess what — I got better!
Keep your head up!
So don’t get discouraged. Just keep showing up and keep getting better! It’s completely normal to struggle. And remember, that’s the beauty of doing these workouts in the privacy of your own home! If you have to pause, pause. If you have to go to your knees to get some pushups, do it. If you have to use a stool for every pullup, do it! There’s no one to laugh at you! Look as ridiculous as you need to, but get better!
So if you are struggling … GOOD! Pushing ourselves is the only way our bodies will change, and it’s the only way we will get better. Don’t worry if you are struggling. Worry if you aren’t! If the workouts are getting easy, that’s when you will stop seeing change. You will need to add weight, add resistance, move faster, jump higher, but you NEED TO STRUGGLE for it to work!
Don’t expect to keep up with Tony or Shaun at first …. and some may not ever be able to. It’s not a contest between you and Shaun or you and Tony. It’s a contest between the YOU of yesterday and the YOU of today! Do everything you can to be sure that the YOU of today is better!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
