The Escalator.

es•ca•la•tor
[es-kuh-ley-ter]
-noun
 a moving stair case consisting of an endlessly circulating belt of steps driven by a motor.

stair•mas•ter
[stair-mas-ter]
-trademark
revolving sadist



Today my goal was to defeat 30 minutes of some type of cross-training exercise.

I chose the term "defeat," because to "complete" would be an understatement of what I was to accomplish. Simply running at a moderate, steady pace for thirty minutes is a completion exercise (for me). Tuesdays are my opportunity to push myself. Increase my fat burning potential [with High Intensity Interval Training, aka HIIT]. And see what my body can do. My choices today were between sprint intervals or speed intervals on the revolving sadist - that endlessly circulating belt of steps that takes you nowhere is deliberate cruelty - the kind that hurts so good. I'm no masochist - I just like results.
Considering the distress my stomach has been experiencing lately - I opted for the less-jolting exercise machine that lets me go through the motions of climbing stairs while staying in one place. Let me tell you - my stomach was still not a fan. I set the machine to 30 minutes of "speed intervals" at level 15. Two minutes on high, two minutes on medium. 15 intervals. No touching the railing. No decreasing the pace.

I got bored.

There I said it: I got bored. But I did not stop. I fixed my gaze on the big silver letters across the gym "BELIEVE." So I did. I believed that the time was almost over. I believed that the results gained from this exercise was worth the temporary sacrifice. I believed I was fully capable of finishing. And I also believed that I would be incredibly disappointed with myself if I gave up. I didn't want to find out.

Before I knew the roaring monster came to a sudden halt: 30:01 !! TIME WAS UP. Yeah baby. It felt good! (Mind you - I had already ran a warm up mile  and worked out my deltoids {shoulders} for an hour) I felt GREAT.

The workouts I want to do the least are the one's I succeed at most. I go hard so I can go home and in turn get an amazing sweat sesh.

Next time you force yourself to go to the gym when you really don't want to be there - don't waste your time. Go there. Get it done. Do it well. The feeling you get afterward is more than rewarding. You will feel uplifted and take that attitude with you the rest of your day (and hopefully life).

When the road in life (or stairs at the gym) seem endless, remind yourself: Believe. Believe theres a purpose.


If for nothing else... for the health of it!