I was thinking about something my client said to me in her session this week. “ I have never had a trainer tell me NOT to push through before.” I don’t believe in pushing through the pain. I guide my clients to identify it, find the source and correct it. Why was was she so surprised by this? I was pondering this as I was pushing myself out of bed to make a pot of coffee. Push to to be skinny. Push to be healthy. Push to be stronger. Push ‘til you puke. Push ‘til you drop. If I just push through this diet, workout, or hunger, I will be skinny and happy! Will you? I am thinking you will be exhausted, cranky and drained. You will have pushed ‘til you are sick.

And it is not just in fitness. We push through our life too. Push to be happy. Push to be balanced. We even push to be chill! Remember “Serenity Now!” from Seinfeld? Are we serving ourselves and our loved ones after we have pushed ourselves to emotional bankrupt? We push past. We push harder. We push faster. Listen to your own voice. “ I need to push past this day. If I can just get through this week. I need to push through the holidays, then I can relax. One last push. I need to just PUSH!” You say it once or twice and then before you know it, you have been saying it for weeks and even years.

We all learned this pushing stuff somewhere. I learned the push from my dad. He was always pushing to get through the next storm, then he would be able to relax. Then he would be able to visit. Then he would be able to be happy. The storm rarely let up, and even if it did another was on it’s heels . He and I pushed right through our time together. I miss him. I love him. I am pushing back. I want to laugh and enjoy the company of my friends and my family. I want to take some time to watch a really good movie or gaze at the flower garden that I pushed so hard to get planted. We need goals and aspirations. We need to get things done. Kids need to clean their rooms and do homework before they waste away on their video games. But, do we need to PUSH through all the time?

I don’t want my clients pushing through their workouts. I want them to feel every nuance , every muscle movement, and sensation as they cognitively move through the exercise. I want them to notice the pain and discomfort, so that we can make adjustments. The same is true for our whole nature, mind, body and soul. When we stop the push, we make progress.