March is Madness

What’s that phrase? March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Uh, in NYC it’s more like “March: the month where the lion and the lamb try to punch each other out in a cage match.” It’s madness. Earlier this month it was warm enough that the hardcores ditched their puffers and moved on to shorts and tanks. This week, we are back to wearing the contents of the closet on morning walks. Adding insult to all of this: the daffodils are beginning to bloom and the magnolia trees are threatening to flower. It’s chaos and confusion, I tell you! Freezing in the shade, weirdly warm in the sun, spring blooms and frozen toes. You can’t dress for it. You can’t plan for it. March just does what it wants.

Sometimes training feels like this too.

There are days when you walk into the gym expecting nothing–a sloggy little recovery session, just enough to shake off the soreness and stiffness – and your body decides it’s ready to throw down hard. You feel strong, capable, maybe even She-Hulk like. You’ve still got it, baby. You train as if you can’t be stopped and plan to do the exact same thing next week. Same day, same time, same awesomeness.

Then next week arrives and you can barely lift the barbell. Also your back hurts. For no apparent reason. And you want to take a nap.

There’s a coaching concept going around that I keep thinking about: 30% of the time your training is going to be better than expected. 30% of the time it’s going to be worse than you want it to be. The remaining 40% is going to be decent, fine, just ok. Which means on any given day, the odds do not favor a She-Hulk session.

The problem isn’t the bad day. The problem is making the good day the measure of everything.

So what's a gal to do so that those non-She-Hulk days don't depress her into quitting? Arrive empty. Have a plan, yes. But show up without expectations of a specific outcome. Just do the work and stop auditing every session like it's a daily earnings report. Training takes time. Results show over months and years. A bad Tuesday in March means almost nothing. Showing up whatever the weather means almost everything.

So just show up. Do the work. Go home. Live your life. Again and again. Forever. Not sexy but super effective.

Also, I have a random pain in my foot and I have no idea why. Maybe I’ll go to the gym and see what I can do.

In Strength, Elizabeth