Do Not Give Up On You

Check out this video…

What you see here is 4 unassisted kipping pull-ups. The first 4 that I’ve ever strung together like this. What you DON’T see here is the years of consistent hard work & commitment that it took. There was nothing sexy about those countless hours of effort.

4 pull-ups, strung together might not seem like much to some … but it’s a big freaking deal to me. Mostly because it didn’t come naturally to me.

You see, my right shoulder has dislocated multiple times in the past, not because of any traumatic injury — it’s just too mobile. So what you see in this video is the product of years of dedicated work to strengthen and stabilize my wide-open shoulders — 3 solid years to yield 4 pull-ups.

I had to fight for it. And keep fighting for it every single day. Even when it was hard. Even when I thought it wasn’t working. Even when I doubted myself and my abilities. Even though it ended up taking years.

In case it’s not obvious by now, it’s not really about the pull-ups. And I suppose it never was. It’s about challenging who you think you are and what you think you’re truly capable of. It’s about rising above the labels and self-created limitations. It’s about letting go and believing that you’re meant for something more.

Sure I could have spent the rest of my life avoiding pull-ups. I could have continued telling myself that my shoulder is “the way it is” and just went on believing that there’s nothing I can do about it. And I would’ve been completely justified.

But instead I chose to change. Because that defeatist attitude wasn’t serving me or where I wanted to go in life.

You don’t control everything but you do control when you’ve had enough of feeling weak and fragile and broken. You can let those feelings go at any point and, in doing so, take your power back.

In any given moment, regardless of whose fault it is that you ended up there, where you go next is up to you. Commit to yourself. Invest the time and energy in you — to grow, to get stronger, to learn, to expand beyond where you are today.

Do not give up on you.

If you need help clarifying or reaching your goals, I’ve got lots of tools to help — from 1-on-1 coaching to downloadable programs to help you get stronger. Let me know what you’re working on! And if pull-ups are on your list, check out this post I wrote for Fit Bottomed Girls.