Over at my CrossFit box there are a couple of ropes for those days when rope climbs are part of the day’s skill lesson or workout. I really haven’t seen them get much use, but that’s most likely because I tend to go there on days when more emphasis is put on weightlifting skills. Anyway, after yesterday’s workout a bunch of us were talking about climbing the things. One of the coaches came over and gave us a short overview to satisfy our curiosity. It seemed like wrapping the rope around our legs to create enough friction was an important part of it. Well, one of us tried it out and actually got a fair bit up. In all honesty I was in awe. I half-heartedly grabbed a rope and tried to lift myself, but I didn’t get quite as far. I just got back down and stared at the rope. It brought back some memories of the gym at my elementary school. There was a rope there, but no one every climbed it. Back then I reasoned that my lack of upper body strength was too much of an impediment to ever get far on it. That fear has propagated all the way up to this point in my lift. It has formed a block such that now when I see the rope I just figure that I’d have to get stronger.

As I was getting ready to go home I spoke to another coach and pointed to the rope while saying “I’ll climb that one day.” He told me that I could do it now. I just gave back an incredulous look. He asked whether I was physically incapable or whether it was just fear. I was about to say that I was incapable but I sensibly chose fear as the better response. He said that all of us can climb it, and that he’d show us how to do it on Friday. Well, fine. I really want to know how.

When I got home, I spent a few minutes looking up YouTube videos on rope climbing to see the technique. Honestly, the videos seemed to indicate that with proper foot technique climbing a rope doesn’t involve too much upper body strength at all. Seemed a bit crazy to me, but the people in the videos made it look doable. I don’t know. It might take me a while to get my coordination down, but I might be able to do it all. I want to know that something that was a block previously is conquerable. I’m ready to prove it. I want to be able to mentally tell my 12-year-old self that I shouldn’t let a rope like that intimidate me.

It’s a fait accompli: I have signed up for BootCamp at my CrossFit box. I paid a visit there early this morning and came across two people doing their daily workout. The coach was working them and encouraging them. When things were done he spent about half an hour chatting with me about the box and what they do. All in all, he seemed to be an encouraging sort, and the way the programs were described seemed in line with my personal goals. Now, my personal goals aren’t necessarily well-defined but I do have a general idea of what I need. Running has done a great job of increasing my fitness, but I really need something else that acts as a complement. I want something that helps me build strength. I believe that I have a lot of potential that hasn’t yet been tapped. I haven’t pursued anything in this direction yet because I don’t really have a compass. With a proper program I have hope that I will achieve results of some sort. It starts with one month, I guess. We’ll see what happens by the end of the month. If I see a net positive I’ll keep doing it. Wish me luck.