I want my blog to be a plethora of tidbits that will motivate, answer questions and be fun. This story was sent to me this morning, and I felt that the message was something to share. Enjoy!



Love The Climb

I started doing cycling at the local Good Life Fitness gym last year.
If you've ever done stationary cycling you know how grueling it can
be.

It's a deep pain and extremely exhausting. That little bike can dish
out quite a punch. It is a great workout.

It's been over a year now. I've been cycling once per week to get into
better shape for hockey. It's worked!

When I first started cycling I used to hate climbing. Climbing is when
you crank up your gear shift (resistance) on the bike. You crank it so
you literally have to jump out of your seat to hammer down those
pedals and keep moving.

It takes every ounce of energy and effort to keep moving forward. It
tests your will and your mind. Walking down a set of steps after this
work out is not an option. Welcome to the climb.

I almost fell off the bike once when climbing. It was my fourth week
cycling and we were running a climbing circuit. The circuit went like
this: Stand up and climb for 5 seconds, down for 10 seconds, up for 5
and down for 10, and so on and so forth. As I was going up and down on
one of those cycles I was spinning too fast and lost my footing - and
almost lost the bike too!

Yesterday I was climbing again. When the music started and we were
about to climb, I got excited!

All I could see was this massive mountain in front of me.

As I was climbing I was thinking about every challenge that has ever
come my way. I was thinking about every obstacle that has ever been in
my path. I was thinking about every time I've ever gotten knocked down
and how I got back up.

The mountain is a metaphor for all these things. Now, when I start a
climb I think to myself,

"You're mine! I'm gonna eat you up!"
And you know what, that's what happens when I leave the gym. Every
time I face a new challenge, an obstacle or get knocked down, I think
of the climb. I realize that there are only two options - go back
where I came from or love the climb.

To the top!

Stephen Martile