Marshall Ramsey

Today was another Line 1 day.  We did suicides, step-ups, sit-ups, wall jumps, squats, and all kinds of other exercises a normal human wouldn’t normally do at the crack of *ss.  I sweated a gallon and got winded. I pumped some iron in the weight room and ended the week on a proper (exhausted) note. I walked out of the workout soaked to the core.

I noticed in the mirror this morning that my body has changed. I have definition in my upper body, including my stomach.  Fat is being burned. Muscle is replacing it.  I kept thinking this morning that I wish I had had this kind of training when I played football.  I would have been a beast.

At 45, I’m in the best shape of my life.

I have energy when I need it.  I can push through my fatigue easier. I have less depression when bad things happen.  And I don’t look (or feel my age.).   I am healthier, meaning less doctor’s visits.

I feel like an idiot some mornings when I wake up at 3:45 a.m.  I feel like a moron when I am lying in a pool of my own sweat at 5:15 a.m.  And I feel like an idiot when I am gasping for my breath at 5:45 a.m.

But I feel like a million dollars for the rest of the day.

That’s why I workout. That’s why I try to get to the next level.

Thursdays usually are my tough day. I’m fatigued from Tuesday and Wednesday and yet I know I still have another hard day ahead of me. Today lived up to its billing.  I struggled. My mind and body are tired.

It may have been what I ate last night. It may have been a slight cold in my lungs.  I even may have been my being bumped back up to Line 1. (My friend Jenny and I usually fill in Line 1 when they are short on folks.) I don’t know. Today kinda kicked my butt.

All my old friends were waiting for me. Towels, treadmills, wall squats, mountain climbers, burpees — but there were new twists. We had to run on the treadmill with the motor off (can you say sweatfest?)  Paul was back. He pushed us hard. (and on a happy note, his son is doing well after surgery.)

I’m very tired right now and have a long day ahead of me.

But at 6:20 a.m., I walked out of the Walter Payton Center with the knowledge I had another strong workout under my belt.  Today I made another step toward the next level.

Thursday was a tough day. But I’m tougher.