Just one more rep! Feel the burn! Give it all you've got! Don't quit till you've crossed the line! You've got this! Just 5, 10, 15 more seconds!
You've heard them all before. It may have been a coach, personal trainer, friend, team mate, spouse who uttered those words. At the time, you may have been ready to quit. You were tired, sore, fatiqued. You had had enough and you just wanted to stop. But you didn't. You found the strength for that one last rep, the pep in your legs to go that extra 100 yards, the mental toughness to hold that pose for 10 more seconds. You thought you couldn't, but you did it! And you were stronger, faster, more confident for having done it!
There's a reason you hear so many coaches, personal trainers, physical therapists utter those words. Its not that we want to torture you (it may seem that way at the time as we smile at you and ask you for just one more!). We're not trying to punish you (though the screaming of your arms and legs may beg you to differ). We're challenging you to challenge yourself.
You see most people give up, just when they're about to see results. Its that place in your workout where things get tough. When holding that pose seems impossible. When just one more rep seems like asking you to lift a 1000 ton elephant. When going all out for just 5 more seconds will make your lungs burst. When you think you have nothing left to give, that's when results, be it strength, speed, agility, balance, stability, endurance, etc, are made.
Its that place where you're uncomfortable. When you have the choice to give in or to give it just one more. Be it exercise, nutrition, work, family, life. Its the things that make us the most uncomfortable. The things that challenge what we think we know (I can only do 12 reps. I can only run a 5K. I could never compete in a triathlon. I could never be..... I could never have.....). Those are the times, where if we're willing to be a little uncomfortable, to challenge the truth we think we know to be absolute, those are the times we change and grow the most. Those are the times we see the biggest rewards. Those are the times we get results.
I ran my first 5K the other day. My first 5K since coming back from a knee injury. My first real run without stopping in 10 months. I knew it was coming. I had planned for it. I had completed all my rehab and was keeping up with my training plan. But I was still nervous. Would the knee hold? Would the pain return? Could I do it? As I started my watch, my nervousness grew. By the end of the run, the results were clear. I was good! I felt great! Sure, I'll always have to take care of that knee. Make sure I'm doing all my exercises. But it was my physical therapists, massage therapists and myself who kept going with the exercises even when they hurt. Even when the pain made tears come down my face (I don't recommend that to anyone! Remember, I was under a physician's care!). It was those extra reps that got me here. Challenging myself, even though it was difficult and uncomfortable at times that got me here. I am, once again, a runner!
So the next time, your coach, your personal trainer, your team mate, your therapist says "Just one more rep!", "Just 5 more seconds!", "All the way to the line!", choose a moment of discomfort for bigger results and rewards later. Not only will you not regret it, but you'll grow as a person. Becoming more confident and reaching all your goals and dreams in the process.
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