This weekend, my wife and I went hiking. Throughout this four hour journey and a total of 7 miles traveled, I realized that hiking a mountain is very much like pursuing your health and fitness goals.
Setting a fitness goal is like looking at a trail map and identifying your destination. On paper it doesn’t look too challenging. However, once you pick your destination, you soon realize that you don’t have the right shoes, hate being outdoors (well not anymore), and 7 miles uphill is not the same as 7 miles walking through the streets of Hoboken.
Once you begin the journey, it isn’t so bad, in fact it’s actually quite nice. Until you hit your first hill ascent, where your heart races, lungs burn and your legs are on fire. After a few steps uphill, you look back and realize that you are only a few hundred yards into the trail. Do you turn back now? No, you just started so you keep pushing on. After you reach your first summit, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment and try to figure out the next steps. Do you walk back downhill and call it a day? Maybe. Or do you look at the signs and identify the next trail that you are going to follow? The trail markers placed throughout the mountain give you other routes that are intriguing. You choose to take another trail.
You soon realize that you are walking downhill, which is easy but that means another uphill climb in the very foreseeable future. You remember the first ascent and feel motivated that you can conquer anything. You decide to turn back (for today) to your car. At the end of the hike, you are exhausted but really proud of what you’ve done. You just hiked 7 miles.
Does this seem like a familiar journey? While pursuing your health and fitness goals, there will be some highs and lows. With the right guidance and a little perseverance, you’ll be surprised of how far you’ve come. All you need to do is just take it one step at a time.
So what steps are you taking this week to get you closer to your fitness goal?
Share them with us. How can we help you achieve them faster?
Talk soon,
Ashley
***Not sure where to start or need help with overcoming a plateau? Book a no sweat intro with one of our coaches this week. Let’s come up with a plan to help you.
