WEEK THREE: SWEAT ONCE A DAY
** This blog post was originally posted as part of a personal challenge I did in 2016 **
Since Christmas and launching Before Twenty-five, I’ve had so much trouble going back to dance. I’ve been “[insert excuses]” and decided I needed a boost to get myself back into the studio. And so Week Three’s challenge: Sweat Once a Day was born.
Why is it that we put off the things that mean the most to us? I LOVE dance. As soon as I get going, I feel like my most alive self. Still, everyday when it comes to heading to the studio my mind tells me no thank you.
We all do it. We put ourselves off for less important things. We make excuses and allow the couch to call our name. Our mind plays tricks on us. It tells us we want one thing, drawing us in like a mouse trap full of cheese. We KNOW we’ll be happier if we don’t take the cheese but oh is it tempting.
When we don’t listen to that evil little voice in the back of our heads and persevere towards our true wants, it’s so satisfying. The more we ignore that voice, the quieter it gets. This is probably the number one lesson I learnt this week.
Another big lesson I had: my body deserves a break sometimes. Even though I was LOVING this challenge and feeling great, nearing the end of the week I was feeling pretty exhausted. I ended up getting sick. YUCK. It probably would have been a good idea to take a day for my body to mend. Instead, I pushed through and the bug decided to stick around. In future I’ll make sure to listen closer to what my body wants but for the sake of the challenge I am glad I finished despite being sick.
Something else I noticed this past week was it felt WAY longer. Do you remember when you were a kid and time seemed to go so much slower? That’s what this week felt like. My theory is by “playing” everyday it had a similar effect. As a “grown up”, I often find my weeks only feel slow when they aren’t the best. We all have those weeks when we’re DYING for the weekend but it never seems to come. This week wasn’t like that at all. It was very enjoyable but when it was done it felt like it was eons long.
What I take from this: Play everyday and time will stand still.
Although the challenge made me bruised, sore, tired and sick, I haven’t felt this awesome in a long time. So here’s the part where I dare you to give it a try yourself. Re-awaken that inner little you, shut down that voice in the back of your head, get sore, have fun, and enjoy a week of getting sweaty everyday. I can’t wait to see some sweaty selfies!
P.S. If you were curious how I played everyday last week, here’s what I did:
Monday- Climbing for 2.5 hours
Tuesday- Dance (Modern and Jazz) class, total of 2.5 hours
Wednesday- Dance class (Modern) for 1.25 hours
Thursday- Climbing for 2 hours
Friday- Dance class (Modern and Jazz) for 2.25 hours
Saturday- Climbing for 1 hour
Sunday- Climbing for 2.5 hours
