Woozy

If you've ever experienced being light-headed, you know how bad it sucks. Today at the gym, I got that feeling, and it almost cost me dearly. You'll see below that Derek (my medical expert) changed my workout again this week. And it was much more difficult than the weeks prior to this one. It seems like every time I feel like it can't get tougher, it does. Today was no exception. The difficulty makes my heart beat faster than running a mile and the first few exercises of the workout were definitely doozies.

However, the one that got me the worst was the barbell step ups. For those of you who don't know what that exercise is, you take a barbell and put it on your back as if you are about to squat, but instead of squatting, you step up onto an 18 inch box. You then lower yourself and repeat the move with the other leg. I had to do 96 total reps of that exercise today and it is one of the hardest exercises I do. Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed. I was doing great though...that is...until something threw me off a little bit.

I was stepping up, feeling my heart race faster and faster. I was pushing myself to the limit, trying to go as fast as I possibly could when suddenly I got light-headed. Now, this wouldn't be too abnormal or too big of a problem except for the fact that I was stepped up balancing on an 18 inch high platform with a 95 pound barbell on my back. I teetered for a second, trying to maintain my balance. I felt myself get a little weightless and begin to slip when I took in a huge breath and paused. I tried to stay as still as possible. After a few more deep breaths, I was able to regain my balance and get back on track. It was a really scary moment though. I thought about what could have happened.

***Worst Case Scenario Warning***

I would have fallen off the step backwards into the squat rack that was behind me. This would have caused the barbell to halt on the rack making me bang the back of my head on the bar and then falling to the ground. After falling all the way to the ground, the bar would have landed on top of my face or neck causing serious injury to me. 

But that didn't happen. The worst thing didn't happen. I was able to regain my composure and finish the exercise completely. I could have quit due to the fear of what could have happened, but I didn't. I kept going, and now I'm stronger for it. 

There are a lot of times we don't move forward with what God wants in our lives because of fear. As my pastor said on Sunday, "The devil always wants to make you afraid and alone". So many times he strikes the fear of the unknown into us and makes us quit doing anything God wants. We can't let that happen! God knows better than we do what is best for us, and He loves us more than we can imagine. There is no way He'd ever lead us astray. Just trust His plan and remember that fear is from the devil.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

Box squats - 185
lateral raise super set - 25's
Barbell shoulder press - 105
Barbell step ups - 95
Bench press - 175
Alternating front raises - 20
Chest flys super set - 60
Db alternating chest press - 50
Medicine ball squat/chest pass (4x30 seconds)