I have been a member of the Julie Gym for over 10 years. The Julie Gym is any area in my home where I store hand weights, resistance bands and an exercise mat. I’ve also been a member of the YMCA and Orange Theory Fitness at times, but well over 80% of that time has been spent working out at home.
My son was in preschool when exercising became integral to my life. A single, working mom, I didn’t have the help or the time to go the gym and exercise before work. Any extra time in my day was a luxury, so I continued working out from home even after my schedule was more open. These days, my obsession with Peloton, coupled with maximizing my time, led me to create an actual Julie Gym on the first floor of my house. It’s complete with all my needs for a good workout…or so I thought.
Recently I completed a short but effective upper-body workout. The moves utilized muscles I apparently hadn’t used in a while. By the second round of the circuit, my chest and shoulders felt the resistance of the heavier weights and movements they were unaccustomed to. As a result, I completed fewer reps, but the reps I did were of higher quality.
Unsurprisingly, I woke up the next day to a feeling of soreness. I couldn’t tell you the last time that was true of a workout for me. Sure, I’ve had some sweaty sessions. Yes, I’ve been tired following an exercise heavy in cardio. But actually having the type of sore muscles where lifting your arms makes you wince or walking downstairs is as challenging as it was when you were two…well, it had been a while since I had those types of feels.
That upper body workout helped me realize I had become complacent in my workouts. I rarely chose heavier weights or picked classes that would make me uncomfortable. I knew my comfort zone well and intended to stay in it. I was exercising and getting by, so shouldn’t that count as enough?
But that was the thing – I was just getting by. I had not plateaued in my training or reached the peak of physical fitness. I still needed to meet my wellness goals. I had allowed myself to fall into a routine I had been unmotivated to change until now. I had become lazy in my workout routine. The tenderness of my stretched-out muscles made me realize I could be doing something more.
We can encounter complacency in our lives, just like in our exercise routines. We can find ourselves putting less into our parenting. Less into our jobs. Less into our spiritual growth. Less into our friendships. Less into our marriages. While routine is good, even necessary for some, complacency can slowly kill parts of us.
When we strength train, our muscle fibers contract and stretch the whole time. We are literally making tiny tears in our muscles. During recovery, our cells revitalize and repair the torn muscle fibers creating a new, stronger, and larger muscle.
Few, if any, of us would embrace trials and challenges in our lives. But it’s those very obstacles that break us down that also result in healing that makes us stronger, more resilient, more fulfilled people.
Sometimes we are motivated and strong enough to challenge ourselves on our own. For example, initially, creating the discipline to work out consistently at home was enough of a challenge for me. But sometimes, we need others to see where we can grow and be more challenged.
Too often, we don’t see our own strength – that we can do something more.
This exact thing happened to me once at Orange Theory. One Saturday morning, the trainer sat a heavier weight down in front of me during the weights section. He didn’t say a word, just left the weight and took away the lighter one I had been working with. Sure enough, I could use the weight he “suggested.” Was it more challenging? Yes. But it was also physical proof that I could work harder and succeed when challenged. I was excited to see that I could indeed use a heavier weight. Even more, I was encouraged that someone else saw something more in me.
It’s ok to lean into someone else’s view of Something More in you until you can see it in yourself.
Without a challenge, we can become complacent. It can cause us to feel like this is it – it’s all we got. When in actuality, there is so much more available to us. We have to be willing to identify where we’ve become complacent and incorporate one forward step. Moving beyond complacency doesn’t mean you have to stack up work the height of your laundry pile by week’s end. You simply need to do Something More.
I thought the Julie Gym had all I needed for a good workout. I had the essential equipment but was missing a more committed buy-in from me. I was able to push back on complacency by adding a bit more weight and taking more challenging classes.
Don’t let complacency weave its way into your life. Instead, be aware of the most important areas of your life and look for where you can take a small, simple step to combat complacency. Read one more page. Add 10 extra minutes to your walk. Smile and say hello to one new person. Something more is waiting for you.
Kelly Weaver says
So good Julie!! Needed to hear this!!😘😘
Julie says
😘 So glad it resonated with you.
Kelly Weaver says
So good Julie!! Needed to hear this!!😘😘