Have you ever been on a hike up a hill or a mountain where you could see the top? Only to realize it wasn’t actually the top, just a little peak that was hiding the top – a false summit.
Life can be very similar to climbing a mountain. To reach the top you often have to reach a few false summits, go down a little bit on the other side before you can start to climb again. There’s times that you feel like you’ve reached the top, only for the extreme temperatures and wind to quickly force you back down.
This happens in the gym too. There is no straight line to achieve your goals. Even if you do everything right, sleep, consistency, nutrition – you can’t guarantee you’ll get to the top. You’ll get side swiped at times and halted on your path.
The only way you can be successful is to enjoy the journey along the way.
You will not make progress every week or even every month. Just because you could lift ‘X’ last week, does not guarantee you will be able to lift it this week. But learning to enjoy the act of lifting will ensure you stay consistent long term and year over year you will be making progress.
There is a lot of beautiful scenery to be seen while climbing up a mountain. If your focus is always on the top, you’ll miss it all. Sometimes the coolest part is when we take a few steps down to appreciate the mountain itself, each step is a part of the process.
There’s a lot of great things that happen along your fitness journey too. Let’s be real, most people want to lose body fat and gain some muscle when they start going to the gym. When you reach the goal number you had in mind – now what? Is that it? Is that the top? Or just a false summit?
Even worse, if you are not losing weight as fast as you’d like, does that make you quit? Are you focusing on that and missing the views along the way? Missing the fact that training is making you healthier, your squats are stopping your knees from hurting and the core work is taking away those back pains.
Your goals are your summit. It’s good to know where you’re going but also understand it may not be the right place when you get there – there may be more goals (and should be!). It’s important to find joy in each step, enjoy what your body can do, enjoy working out with friends or a coach and take note of all the other benefits your fitness journey is giving you.