Yesterday I had an epiphany in the middle of mountain climbers.

It’s easy to note, that these are absolutely the most dog-awful, ugly exercises anyone has ever invented. Head down, arms splayed, tummy bouncing, all while bent over and bringing your knees to your chest, huffing for air as your arms burn and your throat closes. While sweat beaded on my forehead, the smiling woman in the workout video declared “6 more.” I scowled.

I really hate being winded, exhausted and feeling incapable of doing an exercise – when you’re nowhere near as good as the instructor, and you’re just holding on. That’s what I’d call “ugly exercising.” You’re doing it, but it’s not looking so great.

But then it hit me. This is the work. This is where the magic happens. Where you push yourself, and it gets better. If we all did it as well as the fitness instructor, we wouldn’t have to workout (duh, Eva!). We’re all going to be bad, or sometimes really bad, until we’re not anymore.

I guess that’s one of the hardest things for me: being bad at something and struggling through. You hit a wall, say this is hard, and move onto something else. But if you acknowledge that you are in the fledges of ugly exercising, like I was, it’s suddenly more bearable.

When my mountain climbers were all over, I reminded myself: “it’s supposed to be like this.” Guess I better buck up, and embrace the ugly!

What exercises do you truly hate doing? Share with me in the comments below! Image courtesy of Loomis Dean via House Beautiful.