The hatred that used to be reserved for burpees has now been redirected towards inch worm push-ups. For anyone who had never done an inch worm push-up, you start in a standing position and then you place your hands on the ground to “walk” out into a plank position. You do your push-up and then “walk” back to a standing position. The goal is to not bend your knees at all, but my hips are so tight that I don’t really have a choice about bending my knees. This move is very difficult for me to do even a few reps. During last week’s kettlebell class, we were tasked with doing 25 inch worm push-ups as part of our workout instructor’s 25th birthday workout. When I saw this exercise listed on the sheet, I actually cursed out loud because I knew it would be a nightmare. And it was, but I did every single one of those 25 inch worm push-ups. Even though it would have been totally possible to fudge my count and skip 1 or 15, I pushed through and did every single rep. I ended up way behind everyone else in the the workout, but I’m so proud of myself for not letting myself get in my own way. It’s so easy to give up when faced with something hard or something we don’t like, but we only hurt ourselves when we do that. Who knows maybe someday I’ll come to peace with inch worm push-ups the same way I have with burpees… but right now they’re still the enemy.