Now that the police academy is coming to a close, I've been thinking about something that happened a few weeks ago.
At the academy, you run everywhere. One afternoon I was jogging across campus when I passed one of the Training Officers. You're supposed to stop, greet them, and then continue on your way.
I greeted him but forgot to stop.
He looked at me and said, "If you do that again, you'll be punching out push-ups."
Fair enough.
It wasn't a big deal, but it got me thinking about something that's always been interesting to me.
From the very beginning of the academy, fitness gets introduced as a consequence. You forget something, you're doing push-ups. You show up late, you're doing push-ups. You make a mistake, you're carrying your gear until your shoulders are on fire.
There's value in accountability, but I also wonder what relationship we're creating with fitness over the long term.
If every workout is tied to punishment, why would anyone want to keep doing it once nobody is making them?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized this isn't just something that happens in police academies.
I've seen parents make their kids do push-ups because they were acting up. Coaches run athletes after a bad practice. We joke about having to "earn" dinner or "burn off" dessert after a weekend.
Without really thinking about it, we make movement feel like something you do because you messed up.
I've always looked at it differently.
The ability to do push-ups is a privilege.
Going for a run is a privilege.
Picking up a barbell is a privilege.
Being able to wrestle with your kids on the living room floor, hike with your wife, play catch in the backyard, or say yes when your buddies ask if you want to go do something hard together...those are privileges too.
That's what we're actually training for.
Keep training hard,
Jason
