One of the most common things I hear as a coach and trainer is “I am so slow compared to what I used to be”. I get it. I think we all get it in one way or another. As we get older, as our body changes, as our LIFE changes, our abilities change. This is normal, natural, and to be expected. However, it doesn’t make it an easy pill to swallow.
This doesn’t mean we are necessarily worse at our athletic endeavors, in fact, in many cases way be better! Or able to do stuff now that we were never able to do before. It is just a new and different you. I hear this a lot primarily because I work with postpartum moms as the majority of my clients. Moms go through the most insane body changes in a year. We grow a baby, give birth, feed, nourish and care for that baby, all using our body to its fullest extent. Imagine how much this changes how your body functions and performance. Our muscles, ligaments, everything gets stretched, ripped, torn, and pushed to the limit. So, how can you expect to be where you were before your body went through this? This applies to any change in life, growing older, injuries, etc.
Someone once said “you are where you are now” in regards to this difference in our abilities and it really stuck with me. It’s true! We are where we are now and we cannot compare ourselves to where we used to be. Now, we focus on what we can do better or different than we did before. Sure, we may never be able to run a 5 minute mile again but maybe now we can run a marathon whereas before that seemed impossible.
It is hard and sometimes humbling but what I can say is, yes, we may not be where we used to be but we can be great and inspiring in who and where we are now! Instead of being depressed about our lack of similar abilities to our past, let’s find gratification in our current abilities and what we and our bodies have gone through.
