“21, 15, 9…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
“21-15-9…”
The workout was simple.
Thrusters, Burpees, Push-Ups.
3 rounds, starting with 21 reps and decreasing by 6 each round.
I wrote it on the whiteboard for my 4th period PE/Weights class and was met with a chorus of “ughhh,” “seriously,” and one “are you trying to kill us?”
If you’ve been around high schoolers for any length of time, you’ll know that it’s not cool to act excited about anything. And definitely not a workout. Despite this, all thirty students set up their weights, found a space, and waited as I set the timer.
“3, 2, 1, …Go!”
Immediately (most) of them began busting out their thrusters, and I watched as they transitioned quickly from one movement to the next.
I shouted a few reminders as they worked. “Squat to 90 degrees!” “Touch your chest to the ground on your burpees!” “Go the full range of motion on your push-ups!”
But, for the most part, I was impressed with how quickly everyone was working with good form.
Until I started counting their reps.
I employed my best teacher stance in the weight room so that it would look like I was scanning the room, but really I was about to count how many push-ups the student next to me was about to do in his round of 15.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…Okay, awesome, he’s going to finish them all!
…11, 12, 13. Done, stopped at 13, and moved on to push ups.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I miscounted (I know I didn’t!). I’ll count someone else.
The same was true for the three other students I counted. For most, it wasn’t a huge amount they were shaving off. 1-2 reps, just enough to make it seem like they were finishing. Something no one would notice. Unless someone was counting.
The thing is, I know how my students feel. I decided to complete the same workout later that day.
Sure enough, I got to a point in the workout where my lungs were on fire and my legs were shaking. In my mind, there was a small tug. No one would know if I stopped at 20 reps instead of 21. I accomplished what I came to do; to get my heart rate up and break a sweat. I don’t NEED that last rep.
I’ve come to find that the last reps are where the magic happens. It’s in that moment that we have a choice. Will I choose to complete those final reps, or will I choose to listen to my excuses and give up? Only I will know what I decide.
I’ve done both before, and have made a promise to myself to never cut corners again. Because once you do it one time, it becomes easier to do again. Suddenly that tug is now a thought. Now the thought is an action. And the action becomes a habit. The habit of giving up when the going gets tough. That’s the WORST habit!
In this scenario, 95% of the workout had already been done. It’s the final 5% that often gets overlooked as unimportant, and often shaved off. The irony is it is in that 5% where true resiliency is developed. Not in the 95% of the workout that was “easy” to do.
I have now come to embrace this feeling, viewing it as a gift. Because I know that when I choose to push through, I am building resiliency.
Final rep, by final rep.
#DaringlyResilient
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