Tuesday January 27, 2026
/12-Degree Step-Ups
- 600
Step-ups (40 lbs, 16")
Twelve degrees outside. Six hundred step-ups with forty pounds inside. Day two of the return from anniversary week, and the body is still remembering what it means to work.
There's something honest about step-ups. No technique to hide behind, no momentum to carry you through. Just you, a box, some weight, and six hundred repetitions that need to happen whether you want them to or not.
The cold makes everything harder. Walking from the car to the gym door feels like stepping into a freezer. But once you're inside, once the work starts, the temperature outside becomes irrelevant. Your body makes its own heat, one rep at a time.
The first hundred feel easy. The next two hundred are work. Everything after three hundred becomes a negotiation between your mind and your legs. By five hundred, you're counting every single rep, breaking it down into smaller chunks, promising yourself rest that you know isn't coming.
Twenty-seven minutes and three seconds. Not fast, not slow, just done. In weather that makes most people want to stay in bed, there's satisfaction in showing up and doing something hard. The cold doesn't care about your comfort. The step-ups don't care about your excuses. They just care that you finish what you started.
Day two back. The body remembers more than yesterday, protests less than expected. Tomorrow will be better. That's how it works when you trust the process and ignore the thermometer.
The Red Rocket Lounge meets at 5am in Chattanooga. We're fathers, business owners, and community leaders who show up before the sun to get better. Drop in for a visit or join the brotherhood.
