Are You Better Today?

What have you done to make yourself better today?

Last weekend, the weather was pretty nice (but of course, living in North Carolina, the weather is never too out of whack the entire year). I got up early on Saturday morning to get a workout in.

I grabbed some DBs, and took them outside to my back yard and got to work. The air
was still cool from the night before, there were few people out and about yet, the sun wasn't even completely up and the grass was still wet with the early morning dew.

It was so beautiful, quiet, and serene - PERFECT for getting a kickass workout in!

And a kickass workout it was, too!

Started off w/GPP rounds of jumping jacks, skier shuffles, and mountain climbers. Then it was onto strength work of heavy DB snatches, presses, and rows. Conditioning was done with circuits of bench jumps, burpees, swings, more burpees, and more bench jumps.

(BTW - if you're a fan of workouts like this, then "Working Class Fitness - The Programs" is for you. Program #1 is made up completely of workouts just like this. And if you CLICK HERE, you can save big $$$$!)

Halfway through my first conditioning circuit, my 9-year old daughter stumbled her way onto the back porch. Having just woken up, she stood there quietly, rubbing her eyes, still trying to 'wake up', watching me jump, burpee, and swing my way around our back yard.

After my last circuit, I stood there, bent over, hands on my knees, trying to suck as much oxygen as my lungs would take in.

She looked at me, and asked me a pretty simple question:

"Daddy, why are you up so early?"

I thought this would be a good time for my little girl to learn a lesson about life.

"Well," I said between gasps of air, "I wanna be better than everybody else. I wanna be bigger, stronger, in better shape, smarter, a better dad...you know?"

She nodded.

"That takes a lot of work, right?"

She nodded again.

"Take a look up and down the street. Do you see anybody else up and around?"

She shook her head.

"Right. While everybody else is asleep, and resting, I'm out here working. Making myself better. It's early in the morning, and I've already done more than many people will do all day long."

I asked her if she understood, and she said she did, but I wasn't sure. I was hoping that this would be a lesson I could reinforce over time.

The next morning, I arose to find my little girl had been up for quite a while already. She was dressed, bed made, room cleaned, and reading a book about animals.

"Why are you up so early?" I asked her, not even thinking about our exchange the day before.

"Because while you were in there sleeping," she said, "I was out here getting smarter," and she tapped her book.

That's my girl. ;-)

Have you done anything to make yourself smarter, stronger, richer, more spiritual, or
better in any way yet today?

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins
http://www.workingclassfitness.com

PS - Don't forget that link to "Working Class Fitness - The Programs" is HERE.