The purest moment of my life was standing alone on top of a mountain looking out over a misty valley watching the sunrise on a bone-chilling morning. Not a sound was made while all my troubles vanished with the mist and for once I felt at peace with myself. It wasn't just the view that brought me such a clear moment in my life but the culmination of the challenge of getting there that rewarded me with a drenched shirt meeting the cold air and an ache in my legs. That reward was crisp and earned. I wouldn't have had that moment of serenity unless I was able to get there which featured a 12-mile hike starting off in the black of night with the 60lb pack that was supposed to last me the rest of the week. I have chased that moment ever since. Hiking, kayaking, lifting, running, swimming, and all things under the sun that require movement have never led me back to that sweet bliss but they have come pretty close. Looking back on it, I realized that I get euphoric from exercising.
Physical exercise in its simplest form is to move, exert, and challenge oneself. It’s an entire lifestyle that has benefits that far extend beyond the limited time we devote to it. It comes in such a variety that no one person can truly master it yet it's worth everyone attempting to embrace pieces of it. You can dance your face off, run in the rain, weight lift until you can't scratch your own back, or whatever enhances your own physical well-being. Beyond just increasing your cardiovascular health, strength, or endurance, physical exercise can bring with it an entire life of feeling clean. Not weighed down by either life's insurmountable challenges or the artery choking fat that cripples some of us.
To start, physical exercise begins with honesty. One needs to be honest with oneself about what condition they are in physically, where they want to be physically, and how best to fit physical fitness into their life. If you don't know where you are at or what you want, you’re going to be running in circles chasing every fad or new marketed exercise. Then comes the step of actually just doing it. Half the time it’s getting to the gym that's the problem. It’s waking at 5 am to go on a three-mile run that's stopped by not wanting to get out of bed because you’re too comfortable. It’s not wanting to put that 60lb pack on your back to go hiking because your shoulders will be raw. This is the part where I stop thinking and I just do it. I lay out my clothes for going to the gym the night before so when I get home from work it’s the first thing I put on. I put my foot down on the floor at 5 am while still lying in bed to let the rest of my body know that it’s moving. I throw my hiking pack on and cinch down the straps so it’s not coming off because you have to learn to love a little pain.
When you are just doing it, think about your workout in three distinct yet intertwined phases. Warming up, exercising, and cooling down is where you are going to get the sense of challenge and that euphoric feeling of accomplishment. When warming up, you need to break a sweat and wake up your muscles. It’s not about soaking your t-shirt, it’s about activating and stretching your muscles for what you're about to put them through. This will not only prevent injury but will also increase performance if done correctly. When exercising, it’s about balance. Some days it’s about slaying yourself and peeling yourself off the floor because you exerted yourself to your limit. Other days, it’s about facilitating muscle recovery through exercises that stretch your muscles without tearing them further. Regardless of whether you just want to achieve walking down the road or running an Ironman, all your exercises should be laid out like you are planning to get somewhere with it. Cooling down is about lowering your heart rate and stretching out the muscles that you just used. This aids in shortening your recovery time and increasing your flexibility to prevent injury. Sticking to these three phases can put you on the right path of continuous growth and those incremental gains in the gym, on the road, or on the mountain.
Physical exercise is an endless concept that I have barely scratched the surface of and, for me, a chase to get back to a single pure moment in my life. For all, it’s a worthy endeavor to just get out there and move because at the end of each workout you are going to be better for it. Simply, that is what the rising is about; becoming better.
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