Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Push-up Challenge

If you've never heard the expression, "Everything but the Kitchen Sink", it basically means an extreme amount... "They were going on vacation and packed everything but the kitchen sink". 

You guessed it, they overpacked. 

They were taking everything they own, with the exception of the kitchen sink.

So why am I talking about kitchen sinks?

You guessed it once again, I feel like you know me or something...

This month is the LIPEDEMA FITNESS PUSH-UP CHALLENGE (inspired by the American Cancer Society annual event), and you know with Lipedema Fitness, our motto is #allorsomething - so the KITCHEN SINK PUSH-UP is right up our alley. In fact, coach and I have been incorporating push-ups into every CrossFit workout we do, it is part of the regular warmup, and when I started trying to reclaim my mobility in 2013, kitchen sink push-ups were what I did.

We do them on the floor, or we modify them and do them standing against a wall, or against the kitchen sink, and if we cannot do the full 25 in one go, we break them up into smaller quantities and build up to 25 - it's the doing them that matters!

Any physical movement, any selfcare treatment, etc. that you can do - gives you a little bit more control and power over Lipedema. You begin to come from a place of strength. And there are so many good benefits of push-ups; did you know with good form they activate ever major muscle in your body? 

All push-ups are good push-ups! Any amount you can do is enough, the goal is not to compete with others, but to see what you can do today and try to do more tomorrow or be consistent with adding in some movement each day.

One of the best parts about this challenge has been when members reach out to me, sharing their experiences...

"I'm just hoping to do this for the entire month,
I've never been able to stick to something for myself for that long before."

"Sometimes I walk into another room and forget my cane,

because I'm much more balanced & feel stronger."

"I can lift my leg while my husband puts me in my pumps. Yay!"

"I'm proud of myself for not beating myself up (if I can't do the full 25 push-ups),

and having no bad self-talk!"

They never thought a simple push-up challenge could make the sort of changes they are seeing. This is what I have always wished for, the reason behind the support group, the personal sharing of workouts, etc., for people to see for themselves, that every bit of movement is more than the movement itself, it is the emotional swing in the positive direction, a lift we all need emotionally, and it grows the more you notice it.