Weekly Vlog: The Journey Toward One Pull-Up
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- Опубліковано 30 кві 2024
- Today I want to talk about my journey to be able to do one pull-up. This has been on my bucket list for a long time. It reminds me in some ways of the journey to lose and keep off excess weight. Here are five similarities I’ve noticed.
First, some context: When I was young, every year we had to do fitness tests-including one to hold yourself with your chin above a pull-up bar for as many seconds as you could. I was abysmal at this, at the bottom of my class. Now, I’m almost 50, and upper-body strength is still a challenge.
The first Bright Line Eating principle that I’m reminded of is unstoppability. When we come into Bright Line Eating, we may struggle. When I started seriously trying to do a pull-up, shoulder impingements kicked in and I was in too much pain to keep training.
Then I got frozen shoulder, and that meant at least one more year without being able to train.
This year, however, my shoulder impingement was mostly gone AND my frozen shoulder was mostly gone. I was doing treatments for joint pain, too. I had to move unstoppably through challenges to get to a point where I could start to train toward a pull-up.
The second lesson is this: my book Rezoom (www.brightlineeating.com/rezo...) talks about how to ride the waves in your journey. I mention something James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits: when trying to achieve something, most people focus on the goal. But what creates sustained behavior change is to think about your identity, not your goal, and then move on to focusing on the processes that will get you there.
My process was to get a good personal trainer and do what he told me to do. I realized that my identity as an exerciser needed to be: someone who strives for physical goals and who shows up for training consistently, with accountability and support.
That brings me to the third similarity to a Bright Line journey: accountability and support. My friend Timo asked to join me in striving for pull-ups: his goal was to do 10, my goal was to do 1. Now we do a voice memo every Sunday night reviewing our week’s exercise progress. We decided we would strive to achieve our goals by my birthday, June 29.
I got to the point where I was close to doing a pull-up about three weeks ago. But I couldn’t quite do it-I got stuck at 90 degrees. That’s where the fourth BLE similarity comes in. Last Tuesday, before going on the pull-up bar, I paused and remembered WOOP. That’s an acronym from Gabriele Oettingen that stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan. It’s a way of thinking that has you visualize your plan to overcome your obstacles.
I visualized myself bursting through that 90 degree stuck-point, and this is what happened: I made it! I did a pull-up! I was so proud!
The final Bright Line lesson is something I teach in Bright Line Mind. Achieving goals doesn’t make us happy. Was I happy when I did my pull-up? Sure, for a few days. But raising your baseline happiness requires you to be striving for a goal: the pursuit of something matters, not achieving the goal itself.
At first, I thought I’d make a new goal to do three pull-ups, or five. But then I realized that neither of those goals felt self-concordant (aligned with my Highest Self), so right now, I’m trying to become a lap swimmer, someone who can (and does!) swim for 30 minutes, three times each week, and that’s my goal. I also have a new goal to be able to do 20 full pull-ups.
When you look at your BL journey, know that reaching your goal weight isn’t going to make you happier in a lasting way. What will, though, is being someone who is striving for what matters-whatever that is for you. Maybe it’s making it through the Bright Roadmap and then doing it again to help others, or maximizing your peace and serenity in your Bright Body, or maybe you want to publish a book, or take up painting.
A bonus tip: A good goal is one that you have about a 50 percent chance of achieving. That helps you to feel accomplished when you do reach it, but it’s also okay if you don’t.
My pull-up goal is one I had about a 50 percent chance of reaching. But I achieved it, it feels great, and I’ve moved on to other goals.
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Frozen shoulder/impingement/joint pain verrry common in peri/menopause. Might be worth checking into updated HRT recommendations.
Yup! Definitely on bio identical HRT. It’s a game changer! Great sleep, steady emotions. But hasn’t resolved all my joint pain.
Fantastic Susan. I’ve been with you through many years listening to this goal. I’d like to do one also. Hmmm my shoulders ache thinking about it.
You can do it! 🥰🥰
Wooohooo Susan!! Love your child like glee and joy from doing that!!!
So sweet! 😘
Woop, woop, woop!!!! you go girl! proud of ya!🤩
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❤Tears of joy for you, SUSAN!🥳👏✅😂
You are always so motivating.
Aww! LOVE!!! 🎉❤🎉
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Congratulations!
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yesss! congrats on the pull up!!!
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It makes such a difference to go to 3x/week training - it will keep your bones strong! Congrats on hitting your goal!
Thanks for your kind words 🧡
When I started Boot Camp 2.0, I bought that book First! Because I did not want to have to Rezoom and wanted to understand why most go off program. So far I'm 192 days bright! :) Thank you for writing it. Loved it. And Wowzer that is an awesome Pull up! You should be super proud!
HAPPY HAPPY 192 BRIGHT DAYS!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Woohoo! Way to go YOU with 192 days! 🧡
Congrats!!! That was awesome! 👏
Right? 🥰
Congratulations!!
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SUSAN! I am THRILLED for you, for accomplishing this long held goal of doing a pull-up! I can relate in that I have never been able to do one. In elementary school during a physical fitness test, I was unable to even hang on the bar, much less do a chin-up. The gym teacher accused me of FAKING IT, saying "No one can be that weak!" What humiliation for me! Anyway, I just am in awe of you and your life and all you accomplish. (I never thought it would become a reality for you, to be honest - perhaps projecting my pessimism regarding my own upper body strength or lack thereof. HUGS AND CONGRATS!
We're sorry you had that that experience! 💗Thank you for your encouraging words.
Congratulations! This is fabulous!
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Thank you for sharing this!!! I am on this exact same journey! I just started the day before yesterday w/ some negatives (3 sets of 3, which gradually got faster on my descent, haha) and boy was I sore yesterday in places I didn't know existed on me ;P I'm so encouraged by the timing of this vlog!! Hope to report back by the end of the year (my goal) with an update-- or perhaps as with your experience, maybe it'll be sooner! Yay Susan! Rock on!!
You got this! 🥰
Congratulations on doing a pull-up before your 50th birthday!
Woot! 💗🧡
Congratulations!!!
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I am shocked at how much happiness I felt seeing you achieve that pull up. I welled up!! Maybe it will be short lived :). I can’t help but wonder if your shoulder issues are related to this pull up training. I’m sure that was addressed. Swimming. Right on!
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Aww! LOVE!!!
No, I’m not sure I conveyed the timeline fully in this vlog, but my shoulder impingement issues definitely started way before any pull-up training.
Yayyyyy!!!! Great job!!! That’s awesome! I am pretty fit but cannot do a pull-up! Such a hard angle pulling your whole body up like that, plus I am a strong solid not small woman. Wow, I feel proud of you!!! I wanna do a PUSH-UP, WITH CONTROL…..
I am most definitely a goal-setter, and am always striving every single day to be better, stronger, fitter, more amazing lol, every single day!
It’s in my genes…..my parents are totally like that….I will never understand ppl who do not have many many goals lol. I strive to be a better version of myself every single day. And I don’t ever think there is a finish line to that lol….so I see what you mean that THE GOAL doesn’t really make you happier, but THE STRIVING FOR WHAT MATTERS TO YOU is what matters. Yes ma’am. 😊😊😊😊😊
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A huge Congratulations Susan - to achieve this prior to your 50th Birthday! Have you looked at Dr. Judson Brewer MD. Ph.D, Author of The Hunger Habit - as an Addiction Psychiatrist - interesting work
Congratulations!!! Do you know Jeff Krasno? He started Commune.....health information, podcasts, interviews etc. He also wanted to do a pull up. I don't know if he ever succeeded, but he talked about it some and when I hear you, I laughed. I too was a kid in school subjected to President Kennedy's gym requirements and know that feeling very well of just sinking downward as soon as whoever let go of my legs...let go. Much older than you and still can't do them. Good for you!!!!
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🎉🎉🎉🎉WAY to go SPT!!!🎉🎉🎉
WOOT! 😘😘
I was always so embarrassed because I could not hold a pull up on Presidential fitness test. I excelled all but that one thing.
Ugh, we hear ya! 🥰
Whoop Whoop Whoop
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You lost me with this one- I couldn’t relate.
The application was too far into the vlog.