Struggle now? Or struggle later?

Many parallels to life happen inside my studio when we’re talking about exercise.

Working with pregnant women gives me the opportunity to tie what we do with our bodies in the gym to how it’s going to impact them in the real world, in labor, or motherhood. We’re preparing the body to do hard work, endure stress. They struggle against heavy weight or a faster pace in the gym, so the struggle in the outside world isn’t as great. So that lifting a carseat doesn’t feel so uncomfortable.

Preparing today, for what is to come tomorrow, makes our struggle less. Will there every be instances in our life when we don’t struggle? Maybe there are times after we learn a new skill or build a new habit (which are hard) that life seems better, easier. But is that suppose to last forever? Or does that mean we’ve stopped trying new things?

Challenging ourselves to bring positive outcomes is one of the great things we can do for our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. We call this ‘positive stress’ because it allows our bodies to adapt quickly to change and new stimulus. With her first, a woman’s body has never given birth. But we know from others that it is physically demanding. How do we prepare for physically demanding experiences? We physically challenge our bodies to be their fittest so that no matter what happens, we did what we could to show up our best.

Women presently struggle in the gym to make the future labor struggle less intense. They prepare.

When you’re wondering how the hell you’re going to accomplish anything in life, remember that your best chance of success is starting now. Be it educating yourself, taking a class, asking for help, or lifting heavier weight, you’ll thank yourself when the hardship comes and it’s not as hard as you thought it would be.