a FEET of Strength

(I know I spelled that wrong.)

Tonight's workout was challenging in a few ways.  We kind of kicked it old-school and went back to basics: lunges, bicep curls, renegade ro's (I'm not sure how you spell that), etc.  We also did something that was new for me, and I don't know what they're called.  For all intent and purpose, I'll call them The Box of Death Switchfoot Jumps.

To appreciate these exercises, I have to explain something to you.  I have a very, very real fear of falling.  Falling down, falling and breaking something, falling and not being able to get back up, whatever.  This is very real.  So when the boxes come out, I get nervous.  This is (not exactly) what they look like:

(I don't look that good in shorts and a tank.)  So there are actually three heights of boxes.  If I had to guess, there are a 1ft, 2ft, and 3ft tall boxes.  These Switchfoot Jumps are very similar to what this cool animated hottie is doing, only instead of just bringing the knee up and back down, we kind of jumped and switched feet in the air, bringing the opposite foot back down.  We did these on the smallest (1 foot) box.

I associate this Box of Death with Box Jumps of Death, which I've been too afraid to try.  Knowing me, I wouldn't jump high enough, catch my ankle, fall, break my shin, bust my knee, crack my teeth, and break my nose.  (I'm super positive.)  So when this exercise came up, I choked.  I literally stood in front of this box (after watching the two other girls that train with me do them) and cried.  I couldn't bring myself to even step on the thing.

I'm so thankful to have people in my life who will encourage me and help me prove myself wrong in situations like this.  Between Rhea, Kat, and Melissa, who all pumped me full of positive energy and strength, I did them.  I didn't do them well, and I could hardly see the box through the tears, but I finished them.

I found out my feat... or FEET... of strength tonight, and I realized it extends far beyond what I can do on a 12-inch step.  We are at the gym everyday, busting our butts, to find our outer strength... the strength people physically see.  But what about our inner strength?  That's the strength that really counts.  That's the strength that gets us through hard workouts, trying days, nights without sleep, one more rep, one more minute, or one more mile.

Health and losing weight is 80% nutrition (what we put IN OUR BODIES) and 20% working out (what we see on the OUTSIDE).  Think about that.  Our heart, mind, and spirit is what drives our strength and gives us the emotion, the rage, and the pure adrenaline to push through just one more.  What will you do to build your inner strength?

Edit: That guy is super distracting.  I'm sorry.  If you have any good name suggestions, let's hear 'em.