Small gains

A good coach knows when to push you and when to let you go at your own pace. At Orangetheory Fitness last week, my coach encouraged me to move up from the 8-pound dumbbells I was using for arm and upper body exercises.

My initial reaction was NO WAY. Have you seen how scrawny my arms are?

I doubled the weight I use for upper body exercises—from 5-pound dumbbells to 10—in just 3.5 months!

I started coming up with a whole list of excuses for why I couldn’t do it: I was still warming up. My shoulder is particularly prone to injury. I didn’t start Orangetheory all that long ago, and even the lightest weights (5 pounds) were a struggle.

Then I caught myself and wondered why I was having such a strong response. The coach is great, and his observations were true. I had been using 8-pound dumbbells for a while, and it wasn’t all that difficult anymore. I decided to give the 10-pound weights a shot—I could always go back down.

And you know what? I did just fine! I used them the rest of class.

Okay, I realize that 10 pounds may not sound like much to you, but it’s a new record for me. I’ve never used such heavy weights for arm exercises. Thank you, coach, for pushing me!