Threshold

Pulling the shirt over my head in the locker room, my chest vibrated in protest. Soreness and stiffness momentarily taking me by surprise.

In the back of my mind, a voice hissed "Why am I doing this?" With those "uttered" words, my body was crushed with fatigue. I sighed loudly. Stymied, I stood still for a second, contemplating the question.

Why do I get up early, only to stress my body?
Why do I stop sleeping to torture myself?

This particular day, I was looking at a half hour run on the treadmill. Its tiring. Its boring, requiring exorbitant amounts of focus. Bleech.

"Make or break?" I laughed inwardly.

Taking a deep breath, I continued changing for my workout.

Make.

That was pivotal for my progress and growth. Easily, I could've packed up my gym bag, promising to pick up again tomorrow. I'd probably grab a McGriddle along the way, just to torture myself. Aye, the mind can be a mutinous, rebellious thing when the body's in pain.

I remember reading Bob Paris. Yeah, I was one of those nascent, scrawny little boys, reading (and getting off on) muscle men mags, of which, Bob Paris was one of my obsessions. Anyway, he wrote, "The best time to go to the gym, is when you don't want to." Or something like that. At the time, I didn't believe it.

Now, I understand that it is true. You have to keep pushing when your body doesn't want to push any harder and it has nothing left to give. Press on, break through. The body is elastic and pliable. It'll grow and adapt, if you give it the right stimulation.

"Why am I doing this?" a rhetorical question of which I have always had an answer. I just needed some reminding.

Oh, the pain we pay for health. But let's be honest, we all go to lengths for vanity.