Alright, so I was watching my kid, Theo, the other day. He was trying to grab this toy off a shelf that was just a bit too high. He kept jumping, getting frustrated, almost gave up. Made me think, you know? We all have these little height challenges, things just out of reach.
Setting Up My Own Thing
So, kinda inspired by that, I decided to set up my own little challenge. Nothing crazy, just something to push myself a bit. I went out to the garage. Found a spot on the wall, way up high. Higher than I could comfortably reach.
I grabbed a piece of chalk. Stretched up as high as I could on my tiptoes, made a mark. Then I thought, okay, the challenge is to jump and touch that mark. Simple, right? Called it the ‘Theo Challenge’ in my head, kinda funny.
Getting Down to It
First things first, had to warm up a bit. Didn’t want to pull anything. Did some stretches, jogged in place. Felt kinda silly, doing this in the garage by myself.
Then, I took my first jump. Not even close. Landed flat-footed. Okay, maybe not so simple.
I tried again. Focused on bending my knees more, really trying to spring up. Got closer that time, but still missed by a good few inches. Did this a few times.
- Attempt 1: Way off. Lousy form.
- Attempt 2: Better knee bend, closer.
- Attempt 3-5: Pretty much the same as the second. Getting winded.
- Attempt 6: Really pushed off my toes. Fingertips brushed the wall, but below the mark. Progress!
The Grind and The Record
I kept at it. It became less about just jumping and more about figuring out the timing. When to swing my arms, how much to crouch. Took a few breaks, caught my breath. My legs started to feel it.
Finally, after maybe ten or fifteen minutes, I took a deep breath, focused, and gave it everything. Jumped, stretched out my arm… and my fingertips tapped the chalk mark! Just barely, but it was a clean touch.
Felt pretty good, actually. A small win. I didn’t film it or anything super formal, just made a note in my workout log. ‘Theo Challenge – Height Mark Reached’. Just a personal record of pushing past a small limit I set for myself that afternoon.
